Cruising onto the scene in late 2011 as the 2012 model year car, the Honda Civic will be fresh from a new redesign offering loads of features and new technology to attract buyers. Entering its 9th generation with the 2012 model year, the Honda Civic is one of America’s best-selling automobiles due to its affordability, reliability and feature-rich variety of trim levels available. A hybrid is also expected of the 2012 Civic, which should provide that little extra incentive for those who wish to live a more green existence.
Performance
Likely to remain a front-wheel drive vehicle, the 2012 Honda Civic will be a four-cylinder for both the gas and the hybrid motors. The Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) powertrain made famous in the 2009 model vehicles will return as well. The engine should produce around 150 horsepower which, given the car’s pep and uptick before at 140 may just surprise some drivers into falling in love all over again.
A continuously variable transmission (CVT) will certainly offered alongside the traditional manual transmission for those who like to keep control over their own shifting. New federal fuel-economy standards that begin to take effect for auto manufacturers in 2011 will affect the New Civic so we can expect that Honda will do all that is required to achieve the 30.1 mile per gallon fleet average for its cars. New IMA advances will help the Civic hybrid to beat the 40/45mpg city/highway numbers touted by current-model Civics.
Exterior Features
The Honda Civic sells around the world as a four-door sedan, two-door coupe or a hatchback. The hatchback version is not very popular in the United States, however, so it is rarely sold there. The Civic has always had something of a sporty profile, especially in its two-door coupe models, so more aggressive styling along those lines, in keeping with the recent trends in twenty-first century vehicle architecture, will be in order.
Conclusion: Will the 2012 Honda Civic be a Good Buy?
The Ford Focus in 2012 is expected to be a serious competitor for the Honda Civic when it is released – especially if Ford manages to pull through with its implied threat of releasing a pure-electric model. The Toyota Corolla is, of course, Honda’s great arch-rival for the Civic, but the Corolla just underwent a refresh in its design in 2009, so it’s 2012 models will have some difficulty impressing the way Honda can.
