Honda Malaysia launched the tenth generation Civic recently. This has to be the most awaited C segment car launch in recent times here in Malaysia. I have not heard so much talk about a C Segment car like this in a long time. This is because the C segment sedan has been a dying market for most car makers here. The prices for the cars in this category are around RM100,000 to around RM140,000 and it actually overlaps a lot of the smaller B segment cars and the larger, D segment, full sized cars in the market. It also has to deal with the popular in recent times B and C segment sized SUVs and MPVs which actually take a sizable chunk out of the sales. So when Honda teased the fact that the new FC series Civic was going to have a 1.5liter turbocharged engine, people started paying attention.
A VTEC Turbo. Wow. The thing with a lot of Malaysian motoring enthusiasts they have actually put anything with the words VTEC on a pedestal. They think Honda, they think giant killing performance. They associated VTEC with Type-R and everything that had a VTEC was very 'powderful'. So now you had a direct from the factory Honda VTEC that had a turbocharger plonked onto it. And the crowd goes wild. Obviously.
I suppose it did get me a little bit curious too. I started driving in 1990 with a 1981 second generation SA series Honda Civic. My mother in law had the seventh and eighth generation Honda Civics. I come from a family who at one time or the other drove Civics. And then they did a sad ninth generation one. So now, this turbocharged one comes up. I mean, this is Honda's first mass produced sedan for the general market that had a turbocharged engine. It is unique in this sense.
This was Honda suddenly realising that even with all of their fantastic engine gimmickry of switchable cam lobes, variable valve timing, lift control, and other mumbo jumbo the engine would not be as efficient at making horsepower as well as being able to be economical for the mass market. They had to go turbo to create performance whilst saving the planet at the same time. So the tenth generation Honda Civic gets a small 1.5liter turbocharged lump for most markets. Here in Malaysia, there are three variants, a normally aspirated 1.8liter entry level model (Honda is still keeping this for those that do not need or believe in the extra power) and two 1.5liter VTEC Turbo models.
The top of the line car basically costs almost RM10,000 more than the cheaper 1.5 turbo because it has navigation and also LED headlights. Not really worth it in my opinion, but this is the one that you test drive at Honda showrooms nationwide. This was what I actually did. Went out to a Honda showroom and asked for a short drive in one. This is what happens when you get curious but manufacturers do not entertain you quickly enough. You use the system in place for one or you get your hands on a friend's one. And furthermore, I do think that this also allows me to give you my honest opinion as quickly as possible.
I also suppose that most of you have read in other websites or newsprint about what the all-new tenth generation Civic is all about. So to add to this I have to say that it looks futuristically nice on the outside and on the inside. The exterior is styled in such a cutting edge way that has already made the previous, ninth generation Civic look like an old fart. It has a lot of metalwork and plastic sculpting everywhere – the front, sides and rear are all full of character lines and styling creases. The test car also looks good with its 17inch alloys and fill up the arches quite well (the 1.8liter uses smaller 16inch wheels and tyres and this is the only drawback of the cheaper car). The new Civic also looks so much larger than its predecessor on the outside too. The only issue about this design is that I do feel the front and rear overhangs stick out a little too much. It is a futuristic design, but it isn't an outright sporty ' wheels at each corner' type of design because of its overhangs.
On the inside, Honda has made a victorious comeback from the previous crappy ninth generation Civic. That Civic had a horrible interior. It was made up of hard plastics everywhere. Nothing was soft to the touch on the dashboard or the door trimmings. I hated that Civic's interior. The previous eighth generation Civic was so much better than that model which Honda actually admitted to have designed it during recession caused by the US property meltdown and other downturns that happened during that time. How can Honda decide on the fact that since their largest market was crashing, people from that market would accept a slightly crappier Civic than the previous one is something I cannot fathom. No one buys a crappier car than their previous one or no one would buy one when your competitors make nicer interiors.
So with this model, Honda have actually made a fantastic return to form. It now looks good inside and out. I do not have any real complaints on the instruments and controls as the layout seems pretty logical to me. It is also easy to get in and out both in the front and the rear. You would have thought that the sloping rear roofline would make it suffer from a lack of headroom, but any average height Malaysian would find it accommodating and spacious. The infotainment screen is a fingerprint magnet though. So take note on this little detail.
So let's talk about the powertrain and other details.
The spec sheet says that the engine is a 1.5liter 4 cylinder fuel injected engine with 16 valves, double overhead camshafts, variable valve lift and timing control and something called a turbocharger. It makes 173PS and pushes out 220Nm of torque. These are quite good figures from a 1.5liter engine. It is coupled to a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) gearbox which powers the front wheels of the Civic. This drivetrain is all about efficiency and not all out sportiness. I shall explain later on obviously. The car also has an electric power steering and the suspension setup is MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link setup at the rear.
Aside from the mechanical bits, this top of the line Civic 1.5TC-P ('P' obviously for Premium) car is well equipped. You have traction control, ABS, EBD, remote engine start, away auto lock, smart entry with push start, paddle shifters, a reverse camera, 6 airbags (which all of the variants get). Only navigation and LED headlights are specific for this model. There are more, but my fingers want to type about the driving experience instead of stuff which you can find elsewhere.
The Drive Experience
This car is still typically a Honda. Turbocharged engine or not it still feels Honda. There is no doubt about this. At least it feels so much more well put together than the previous model. There is more high quality parts inside and when you get into the driver's seat everything is within reach and easy to adjust. It was easy for me to get into a comfortable driving position within a few seconds (all electrically powered) and with a press of the starter button, the engine starts up without any drama. Well, it is just a 1.5liter engine. Not a V8 okay?
Slot the gear shifter into Drive and it moves silently out of the parking lot. The initial throttle response is good at low speeds and when you give it more throttle the car just goes well. So we first drive at the usual city speeds on around 40-60kmh and you notice everything is all nice and well. The steering is light and turns well, the CVT keeps everything quiet and efficient here. Crawling around town would be quite nice in this car. The Civic also feels like it has a decent ride too on the smooth but somewhat worn roads where I drove the car on.
You will however notice that this car is typically a C segment Honda because of the way it handles NVH (noise vibration harshness). Typical because it does not seem to do so very well. Especially road noise. Like most Hondas from the C segment and below.The car or the tyres specced are very road surface intolerant. If you are on worn out tarmac, the road noise levels are quite higher than what I would like in a car. It is not the final word in refinement. It may have a smooth engine and at 120kmh there is very little wind noise but you can tell that the road noise or tyre roar is a glaring aspect with this car. So typically Honda. Wish it wasn't.
And then when you gun the Civic it feels fast for something with a 1.5liter engine. That engine and the CVT seems to make the car accelerate well. It feels like a low 8 second 0-100kmh car like its specsheet tells you. On full bore acceleration the car tracks well and there is no torque steer or tramlining. But whilst the CVT is efficient in doing so it feels like a CVT does and this isn't that nice. This gearbox is one of those CVTs that are programmed to hold peak horsepower/torque. So what it does is hold its revs at for example, 5,000rpm as hold as you are flooring it. Imagine doing so for about 16 seconds or so in order to reach close 160kmh. A four cylinder turbocharged engine holding 5,000rpm does not emit a nice noise actually. This isn't like an old 1.6liter B16A engine with a ghostly wail at 8,000rpm. This isn't also one of those cleverer CVTs like the one you see in a Subaru or a Mitsubishi. This is just a Honda being efficient. Earth Dreams remember? Not VTEC yo! Like what a boy racer would want a VTEC to sound like.
The CVT also has a rubber band effect to it when under full acceleration. I personally do not like waiting for the car's road speed to catch up to the engine's revolutions. This is what rubber band acceleration feels like. The engine screams WaaaaaaaAAAAAA at 5,000rpm and the car accelerates 20,30,40,50, 60,100kmh and then only at the speed you desire, say 100kmh the CVT would then taper off for a cruise. So you get noise for a lot of seconds before things calm down. I have to say luckily this is a C segment sedan and there is quite a lot of soundproofing in this segment and above. If it was like something smaller, it would be noisy inside.
The pedal shifters make things a little better and gets rid of that rubber band CVT feeling a bit. If I intend to drive like a boy-ricer, and shout glorious words about the temple of VTEC and Turbo, then I would have to shift this Civic this way. If I left it to its own devices, there is no way I am going to be happy with the way it transfers its power to the front wheels.
Now as for cornering or taking the Civic turbo through the fun bits on a road. My first impression is that electronic power steering (EPS) is overly sharp at times. You have to adjust to its speed when you take a corner at first. Now whilst fast, it lacks any feel whatsoever. There is not one single ounce of feeling in it I think. Very playstation-like. If I were to go on a little, there is not much feedback you can gauge from the steering only that it is super sharp and that the initial turn-in in almost too quick for the rest of the car. You have to get used to this first before everything will flow nicely. I also managed to take it up to around 130kmh, and it is obviously stable at that speed. I suppose it could easily reach the 200kmh maximum speed easily. I also think 200kmh is a conservative V-max for a car with 173Ps. It must be limited by something. This maximum could be limited by the gear ratio of the transmission or limited electronically.
CONCLUSION
So this is my initial assessment of the all-new Honda Civic 1.5 VTEC Turbo. It is intriguing. It looks quite good and should look good until the next version comes out. It has a well put together interior with lots of space - the quality is back inside this Civic!!!! Yay!. It is also decently fast and affordably priced for what is offered. It however has noticeable road noise, a lifeless steering and a transmission that I do not really like.
I also think that for RM127,800, the 1.5 TC without the Premium is a better buy. You're just paying extra for SatNav and LED headlights. And then, the 1.8 S which has nearly everything except has fabric seats and 16 inch wheels which comes in at RM113,800 is an even better buy especially when it comes with a bullet-proof normally aspirated 1.8liter engine. Slower but safer. Remember, this is Honda's first foray into mass produced turbocharging for their cars. I personally would give them a year before I would jump into one.
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Would I buy this car? What would be its competitors?
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The Ford Focus 1.5 Ecoboost
At this price (RM135,000) I would buy a Ford Focus 1.5 Ecoboost hatchback or sedan. This car is similarly specced and is in the same C segment as the Civic. The reason is that the Focus has better ride and handling characteristics and it has way better refinement. At 90kmh the Focus is as quiet as some of the premium sedans out there (Mercedes Benz C-class, Audi A4). It has also the most fluid chassis out there when it comes to handling. You can string corner after corner easier in this car as there is more feel in the steering wheel. The engine and transmission are better. The 1.5l EcoBoost feels stronger upon acceleration and mid-range pull. I suppose this is because it is coupled to a torque convertor 6 speed gearbox which shifts better and feels more refined. The drawbacks of the Focus is the slightly tighter interior space. The front passenger space and rear legroom could be better. Here, the Civic trumps it. As it does bootspace.
Test Drive is here for the Ecoboost Hatchback Sport+
Test Drive is here for the Ecoboost Hatchback Sport+
The Proton Perdana 2.0 & 2.4
There is another car which I feel could do the Honda Civic thing just as well and in a more refined way – The new Proton Perdana 2.0. At under RM118,000 it is only slightly slower being as fast as the normally aspirated 1.8 Civic but it is larger, and more comfortable. And slightly quieter. It is also no slouch in the handling stakes too and it does look contemporary too. There are benefits in buying a D segment, full sized sedan sometimes. It gives you comfort, refinement as well as decent levels of performance. If you want more, buy the 2.4liter which only costs slightly more than this Civic. Both come with Honda's smooth and reliable larger 2.0 & 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engines and 5 speed torque converter transmissions. Drawbacks? Most of you would rather die than buy a Proton. I know. But this is exactly like the Proton Inspira which people suddenly wanted after production had stopped. It is a previous generation Accord underneath the altered bodywork. So you're still buying something Japanese or still buying a Honda.
Test Drive of the Perdana is here.
Test Drive of the Perdana is here.
The Honda Civic 1.8 S
I have to ask you guys to think about the entry level Civic 1.8 S instead. It may have fabric seats, smaller 16inch wheels (225/55/16) instead of 17inch wheels and tyres but it comes in a more 'safe' package. There are still lots of equipment including the 6 airbags and reverse camera in this model. The 1.5liter VTEC turbo is a new engine. The 1.8liter normally aspirated engine may be brought over from the previous generation of Honda Civics but it is a proven and trusted engine. Since it is normally aspirated, the maintenance costs are so much lesser in the long run. Turbocharged engines usually require more TLC especially if you intend to floor it at every traffic light and run like the wind all of the time. If you do not need the performance, this would be a better bet. It only costs RM113,800 OTR with Insurance.
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SPECIFICATIONS
2016 HONDA CIVIC 1.5TC-P
Price as tested: RM135,800 OTR with Insurance
Engine Type
4 Cylinder, 16 Valve, DOHC VTEC TURBO
Displacement (cc)
1,498
Maximum Power [PS(kW)@rpm]
173(127)@5,500
Maximum Torque [Nm(kg-m)@rpm]
220(22.4)@1,700-5,500
Transmission Type
Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) with pedal shifter and virtual gears
Wheel/ Tyre size: 215/50R17
Maximum Speed (km/h)
200
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (secs)
8.4
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