The 11th-generation Civic is Honda’s bold first step into a brave new world of premium aspirations
The almost-all-new 2022 Honda Civic has done an about-face with a dignified and refined persona that replaces the previous model’s brassy showmanship. Slightly bigger than before, and appropriately updated in safety tech, the 11th-gen Civic is Honda’s first new car to be rolled out under the ‘agency’ sales model that sees fewer dealer outlets, higher prices and a focus on profits rather than outright sales. The Civic is available right now only in one form – the well-packed, top-line VTi-LX hatchback – and is priced way above what have previously been its major competitors. Honda is clearly on a path that aims to reposition the Civic not as a volume contender in the competitive small car segment, but a step above.
Elephant in the room
Sticker shock has rarely hit with such vehemence.
Priced at $47,200 drive-away, the premium-spec-only 2022 Honda Civic VTi-LX exceeds by a country mile the pre on-roads pricing of major competitors such as the top-line Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid (from $34,695), Hyundai i30 N Line Premium (from $34,220) and Kia Cerato GT (from $35,790).
Only the already-exy Mazda3 X20 Astina (from $42,490) comes close to matching it. And the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class aren’t too far away.
As you’d have a right to expect, the now Japanese-built (previous Civics were put together in Thailand) 2022 Honda Civic is well fitted out. There are others who do just as well, and a few who do better, but Civic buyers are unlikely to feel short-changed in terms of safety spec, or the level of overall fit-out.
The more restrained cabin architecture goes some of the way to justifying the Civic’s upmarket push.
A clean, balanced dash layout factors in a striking full-width honeycomb-pattern inlay that incorporates air venting, there’s a conventional LCD instrument display with easy-to-read round dials, classy leatherette/suede on the seats and just enough soft-touch padding.
The upper dash contains the usual tablet-style, high-res colour screen which, at 9.0 inches, offers crystal-clear resolution and is large enough to help identification and operation of the sat-nav (with five years of complimentary over-the-air software updates) and other touch-screen functions.
Both front seats are heated (but not cooled) and power-adjusted, the driver’s in eight directions and the passenger’s in four. An unfortunate omission, considering the Civic’s bordering-on-premium nature, is the lack of memory settings on the driver’s side.
Apart from the inclusion of wireless phone charging and a quality 12-speaker Bose sound system, the Civic doesn’t really surprise or delight in terms of equipment provisions.
There’s two-zone climate control (complete with ‘Plasmacluster’ air purification), venting to the back seats, Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto (not wireless) connectivity, an electric parking brake and a self-dipping electro-chromatic interior rear-view mirror.
Safety rollcall
The 11th-generation 2022 Honda Civic rates acceptably well in terms of safety.
Headlined by a rarely-seen road-departure mitigation system which reads the outer edges of a sealed road rather than just the painted white lines, the safety rollcall includes forward-only low and high-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, cross traffic alert (rear only), rain-sensing wipers and driver fatigue monitoring.
Honda also says its new camera-only detection system covers a wider view than before and is able to more quickly identify road markings, other vehicles and pedestrians and cyclists on the road.
In a collision with a pedestrian, the Civic’s bonnet is designed to remain fixed at the front while popping up at the back to help minimise injury.
In addition to the new Traffic Jam Assist lane keeping system which is active from 72km/h down to standstill, Honda also says the Civic’s behaviour in maintaining a path between road lanes is smoother and more ‘natural’ – in terms of steering and braking reactions – than before.
A multi-angle reversing camera with a bird’s eye perspective, along with selectable normal or wide-angle rear views, helps take some of the anxiety out of parking in tight spots.
The eight-airbag tally includes knee bags for both front passengers as well as the usual dual front, side and head airbags. There’s no centre airbag to prevent head-clash between the driver and front passenger.
The 11th-generation Honda Civic has not yet been safety-rated by ANCAP.
Match fit
The 1.5-litre turbo-driven powertrain in the 2022 Honda Civic is little changed from the previous model, the long-stroke direct-injection engine producing a bit more power – up from 127kW/220Nm to 131kW/240Nm – and driving through a worked-over CVT transmission that’s claimed to increase engine braking on throttle lift-off while being less fussy when shifting through its sliding-scale ratios.
Under regular operation the Civic’s CVT feels maybe a little less intrusive and irritating than is often the case and the up-powered engine combines with the slightly lower kilo count (1369kg) to help deliver a marginally improved power-to-weight ratio.
The Civic doesn’t exactly get down and boogie , but it’s match fit for its class and isn’t too tardy when the little turbo’s resources are called upon.
It spins quite happily to the 6500rpm redline without getting too raucous or breathless. The driver can also select Normal, Sport and ECON modes in the CVT transmission, or take over the shifting – to a degree – via the standard steering wheel paddles.
Honda doesn’t claim any economy improvements – in fact, the official figure has gone up from 6.1L/100km to 6.3L/100km – but our recorded consumption figure of 6.9L/100km was deemed pretty good and more than comparable with the bulk of its competitors.
Automatic engine idle-stop helps with consumption and emissions (148g/km) figures too, and it’s happy to run on regular 91 RON petrol.
Hint of sportiness
Bearing a design that’s said to be influenced by the third-generation Civic from 1984, the Gen XI 2022 Honda Civic is generally bigger than its prime competitors.
There’s more overall length and width, which translates to an interior lacking quibbles in legroom and shoulder-room, as well as headroom.
Possibly the only beef is the low hip point for the front seats that could create access difficulties for those less athletically inclined. That said, the higher-set, stadium-style rear seating means there’s less of a problem up back.
There’s a hint that, although the Civic’s rear overhang has been reduced, the front overhang could be a problem nudging up to steep kerbs. On one occasion, we unexpectedly and lightly impacted a conventional-height kerb when parking nose-in.
Though there’s neither lumbar adjustment nor position memory settings, the seats are shaped and padded nicely and there’s more legroom in the back than most of the Civic’s immediate competitors other than the Ford Focus.
Honda’s ability to find space where many can’t is also evident in the 449-litre boot, which is 35 litres bigger than before and more generous than most of its competitors – particularly the Toyota Corolla hatch (333 litres) and Mazda3 Astina hatch (295 litres).
This generosity is party explained by the fact that the small Honda now uses a puncture repair kit instead of a space-greedy spare wheel.
On a slightly larger footprint where the wheelbase stretches from an already-generous 2700mm to 2735mm and out-measures its base competitors, the Euro-tuned suspension is essentially an updated version of the familiar MacPherson strut front, multi-link independent rear arrangement. Braking, as before, is by ventilated front discs and solid rear discs.
On the road, the 11th-gen Honda Civic feels tight – the body structure is said to be 19 per cent more rigid yet around 16kg lighter – and responsive. The quick, well-weighted steering swings from lock to lock in 2.2 turns to deliver more than a hint of sportiness, along with a competitive 11.4-metre turning circle.
Tending towards firm, the Civic’s ride is helped by the longish wheelbase but there is a degree of noise intrusion – exacerbated by the grippier, bigger 235/40R18 tyres – on coarse-chip road surfaces.
It’s at an acceptable level though and won’t worry the majority of passengers who are still able to enjoy the subwoofer-boosted 12-speaker Bose sound system.
Immediately noticeable when stepping into the new-gen Honda Civic for the first time is the repositioning of the windscreen A-pillars.
Looking thinner than just about any other small hatch, they combine with relocated door-mounted mirrors, a lower (and longer) bonnet with concealed windscreen wipers and a lower beltline to noticeably enhance all-round vision.
Value for money?
Viewed independently of price, the 11th-generation 2022 Honda Civic is a more-than-competent small hatch that really does have a premium presence.
Inside and out, it presents a tasteful new persona that just might attract customers who found the previous version a tad too extroverted.
Honda’s claim that the 11th-gen model’s looks were inspired by Euro hatchbacks sounds quite plausible.
The interior is also gracefully designed, comfortable, spacious, ergonomically intelligent and nicely finished. And the boot is among the best in class.
But there’s a pretty big elephant lurking in the room.
The temptation to bang on about the Civic’s pricing is irresistible. Despite the Honda Civic being right up there among small hatchbacks in terms of quality, capabilities and design, many potential buyers are simply going to find the price, even though on-road costs are already included, too hard to swallow.
Is this a better Honda Civic? Certainly. Is it good value for money? Over to you, Australia…
How much does the 2022 Honda Civic VTi-LX cost?Price: $47,200 (drive-away)Available: NowEngine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrolOutput: 131kW/240NmTransmission: Continuously variable automaticFuel: 6.3L/100km (ADR Combined)CO2: 148g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: Honda Civic VTi-LX 2022 Review