When Honda launched the all-new 2022 Civic last November, there was something that caught the attention of long-time fans of the brand, and it had nothing to do with the VTEC Turbo engine or the Honda SENSING. Instead, it had to do something with the variant names.
Not escaping eagle-eyed fans, they noticed that Honda Cars Philippines changed their variant nomenclature with the Civic. The most recent time the S and V grades were attached to the Civic nameplate was with the eighth-generation model way back in 2005. At the time, V was the entry-level model, S signified the mid-grade variant, and the S-L with its 2.0-liter engine being the range-topper.
By the time the
ninth-generation Civic rolled into the country in 2012
, Honda, changed it again. While S was still the entry-level model, the E became the mid-grade model, and the EL the top-of-the-line. Then, when it was time to introduce the
tenth-generation model
, the variants were tossed into the mixture yet again. With the E serving as the entry-level variant and the turbocharged RS as the flagship (in
2019, they added back the S to the line-up
).
Now with the eleventh-generation Civic, Honda is reversing course, and brought back the S and V variant names along with the RS. So, what gives?
Well, according to Atty. Louie Soriano, General Manager of Sales for Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI), the decision to bring back the S and V is down to their plan to standardize variant names across their line-up. And that was spearheaded by no less than Noriyuki Nakamura, the current President and General Manager of HCPI.
Realizing that there’s been confusion on what S, V, E, EL, and RS stands for, Nakamura-san, together with the rest of the HCPI team decided instead to make the S variant Honda’s entry-level model. This is then followed by V as the mid-grade model, and if applicable, RS. If that particular model doesn’t have a dedicated RS trim like the Accord or CR-V, then the team can append a different letter. Oh, and additional features like a turbo engine and Honda SENSING also appear as part of the official model designation too, in case you need to ask.
So basically, the modern naming convention works like this: Honda + Model + Variant + Engine + Transmission + Honda SENSING.
This trend may have caught the attention of Civic fans first, but a closer look at HCPI’s line-up shows that they’ve been doing it already with the BR-V (S, V) Brio (S, V, RS) and the City (S, V, RS). Currently, the HR-V and CR-V have been caught in a state of flux, but expect as the all-new models roll in, they’ll likely get the same S, V, and RS trim names as well (in the case of the CR-V, since there’s no confirmed RS trim as of now, it may get V-X to signify all-wheel drive). On a side note, hopefully, they don’t call is RS-X because that’s the North American name of the fourth-generation Honda Integra.
Anyway.
Honda fans already know what RS means in Honda-speak (spoiler alert: it’s Road Sailing). But when asked what S and V means, S apparently means “Standard,” and V means “Value.” Well, how about that. The more you know.
Keyword: What's Up With The 2022 Honda Civic's Variant Names?