Big reputation for clean-sheet Civics

By DAVID LINKLATER

Two days into the seventh-generation Civic's tenure in New Zealand and already Honda's small car packs a big reputation. Delayed from its initial November 2000 launch date, as a result of supply problems, the clean-sheet Civic has had plenty of time to pick up plaudits from the international motoring press and two of Japan's biggest Car of the Year awards on its way to Kiwi showrooms.

Why all the fuss? The star car in the two-tier line-up is definitely the hatchback. It's Honda's first five-door Civic since 1983, but its genre-bending design and packaging owes more to the Odyssey MPV than any small hatch. The short nose, long wheelbase, flat cabin floor and dash-mounted gear change are pure people mover.

There's a four-door sedan, too. Style-wise it's a different proposition - and deliberately so. Rather like Toyota's treatment of the smaller Echo, Honda handed the styling of the Civic hatchback over to its European styling studio, while the four-door was penned back home in Japan to appeal to more conservative buyers. Honda's sedan styling team met with much more success than Toyota's, of course, but that's another story. No body panels are shared between the two.

Both Kiwi Civic models are built in Japan on a common platform, using a compact engine bay and completely flat floor thanks to careful packaging of the car's underpinnings.

Redesigned MacPherson strut suspension has been used up front, while Honda's trademark (and usefully flat) double wishbone arrangement is employed at the rear. The Civic follows Honda's sporting models - the S2000 and NSX - in using an electric power steering system.

The Civic sedan rides on the same 2620mm wheelbase as the previous four-door, but the hatch's is 60mm longer to liberate extra legroom. The five-door is also 55mm higher than its sedan sibling, yet it's 150mm shorter overall.

Some interior components are shared between the two, but the dashboard styling is completely different - most noticeable in the centre console area, where the sedan's conventional floor-mounted gear lever contrasts with the hatch's dash-mounted lever and walk-through floor.

The repackaged underfloor area has been a boon for the Civic's cargo-carrying ability. The sedan's boot capacity has jumped 33 litres to an impressive 450 litres, while the five-door swallows 370 litres with the rear seats upright. Both sedan and hatch have 60/40 split rear seats and the hatchback also folds forward to form a flat tray with the cargo area.

Three four-cylinder units are offered: a 1.5-litre for the sedan in 77kW/138Nm and 85kW/142Nm versions, and a 96kW/158Nm 1.7-litre for both sedan and hatch. All but the base 1.5 also employ Honda's VTEC variable valve timing technology.

The flagship 1.7 is claimed to be 7 per cent more compact and 11 per cent lighter than the previous Civic's 1.6 engine.

A five-speed manual is standard on most models, with two types of automatic transmission offered as options. A four-speed unit with improved Grade Logic software is available for the EXi sedan and all three hatchback models, while the VTEC sedans can shift through a Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT).

Dual airbags, air conditioning, remote locking and an in-dash CD player are standard even on the entry-level sedan and hatch, badged EXi and Vi respectively. Move to VTi specification in either body shape and you also get anti-lock brakes with electronic force distribution.

The top-spec VTi-S models have side airbags and alloy wheels, while the range-topping hatch version adds ivory leather upholstery and heated front seats.

The new Civic benefits from the aggressive pricing policy introduced by Honda in May 2000. The company says that its lower recommended retail prices now reflect the prices paid after discounts, incentives and special offers.

It has held prices for its entire range since the new price price structure was introduced, and has pledged to keep Civic prices static for the "forseeable future".

The new Civic sedans are priced from just $23,900 for the fleet-focused 1.5 EXi, through $26,500 for the 1.5 VTi to $29,900 for the 1.7 VTi-S.

The hatchbacks start at $25,500 for the Vi, run through $27,600 for the VTi and top out at $32,900 for the luxury leather-clad VTi-S.

Automatic transmission adds $1300 for both sedan and hatch, except on the 1.7 VTi-S models where it is standard.

Honda is making a modest sales forecast of 1800 units in 2001 for the Civic, with a 55 per cent weighting towards the five-door. However, a company spokesman admitted that it is hoping for much more than that from its new hatch. Five-doors account for more than half of sales in the lower-medium segment, and Honda hasn't had one to sell in New Zealand for 18 years.