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LANDOVER, MD – The Honda Civic, on sale for almost 40 years now, revolutionized what a small car could be.
By combining cutting-edge performance and safety with a high-quality interior, Honda engineers have been giving U.S. drivers a good reason to go Japanese since 1973.
The Civic has chugged along for eight successful generations over the past 38 years, becoming a perennial top-seller in America as the competition barely budged, answering with underwhelming models.
But now the tables have turned. Finally, General Motors, Ford and the Koreans have gotten their acts together.
The new Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze and Hyundai Elantra are stellar compacts. Each boasts advanced technology of the type Honda used to initiate, and their interiors are fashionable, with high-quality materials. Exterior styling, at least in the case of the Focus and Elantra, is groundbreaking.
That only makes the below-par, ninth-generation Honda Civic now on sale in the U.S. all the more puzzling.
The driving dynamics of the new ’12 Civic tested here prove Honda engineers remain dedicated to their craft. The small car is ultra-composed, quiet, light and highly maneuverable, even in hybrid form.
But the plot thread gets lost inside the cabin, where it’s clear Honda’s bean counters overran the engineering department.
