2013 American Honda Civic - the detail differences

Honda has debuted its heavily facelifted North American Civic at the Los Angeles Motor Show. The updated model received a total aesthetic makeover on the outside and inside, and the chassis setting has been recalibated, both intending to rectify the cheap-car feeling of the 2012 model and set to deliver a more satisfying driving experience.

From the outset, it is clear that the 2012 Honda Civic is the car for recession time. In order to fulfill the targeted projected area in side, front, rear and top elevation with minimum material achievable, all the surfaces has been flattened. Why? The curvier metal and plastic panels consume more raw material for a given projection area and the heavier the curve, the deeper the tooling (stamping or moulding) has to be. Hence, a flatter surface not only uses less material, but the tooling can be made smaller and cheaper too. So, there goes the wrap-around fender and sculpted dashboard of the Civic FD generation. While they were at that, all the expensive garnishing like the interior bezel has been taken away too.

This time around, Honda America has re-sculpted the entire front end by giving is a new hood, bumper and grille. The plain looking front end has been beefed up with more substantial bumper featuring the thick chrome bar too. The grille outline has been thickened, and chromed too ala the new Accord. The hood panel has been reprofiled and this lend a more voluptuous look.

The weedy rear end design has been totally ditched. From both photos above (credited to Autoblog), the entire trunk lid is an newly designed item and it features an embedded tail light too. Mind you, it is not the half-hearted reflector insert like the Asian model, but a totally new jewel-like light assembly. Together with the chunkier rear bumper particularly at the lower portion, the rear end now has a more planted stance.

The upscaling move continues with the cabin design. The drab cabin of the 2012 car made way for the redesigned dashboard, floor console and door trim. For the centre console, the audio and aircond control panel has been re-specified with more premium design. The airvents has been resized and garnished with chrome surround. Similar treatment are given to the gear console where the gear base is trimmed in metal-look, and the gear slot is chrome-lined. Similar chrome line is inserted to the cup holder too, although it still lacks the sliding cover of the Asian car. The door trim has been revised, whereby the top portion has been totally redesigned, and now moulded with padded material like the Asian car. Subtle silver insert is there too to punch additional elegant touch. Both the dashboard and door trim top panel comes with leather-like stitching for an added opulence. Tricot headliner complete the interior makeover.

The improvement does not stop there. Honda has taken the opportunity to quicken the steering ratio, stiffen the anti roll bar and front spring while the front disc brake has been enlarged by 20mm to 282mm. All these measures to a better handling and braking performance.

Safety has been enhanced too. Debuting on 2013 Honda Civic are the SmartVent which is a device to minimise the excessive side airbag deployment force, curtain airbags and new alert system in the form of Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Warning systems.

Also making an inroad into the 2013 Civic is a host of multimedia experience found on the recently introduced Honda Accord. Among them are the Bluetooth Hands Free Link, rear view camera, colored i-MID, Pandora Interface and SMS functionality.

Lets get into the detail of the changed item and how does it fare with the outgoing 2012 car, and to certain extend we would like to draw some comparison with the Asian car. The new fascia really added the much needed premium touch to the Civic. The original American Civic bumper is a tad drab compared to the Asian version, which subtly comes with chunkier lower edge and hence looks sportier. Meshed grille insert also has replaced the previous horizontal bars item. 

Majority of the change happen at the back. It is clear cut here that the more jewel-like rear light and tastefully applied chrome does bring the Civic outlook to a more premium level. The lower valence too lends some air of solidity to the rear end of the Civic, which can look under-substance on both outgoing American and current Asian car.

For the interior, apart from the redesign centre cluster, the re-defined gear console has certainly hit the mark. The current gear console, on any continent, can be best described as cheap looking. The black gear surround really belongs to the Honda City class instead of the Civic class. Honda has ditched the previous console, and income a wider gear base that is finished in the metal look (like Civic FD) and the gear gate has been chrome-lined. Honda Malaysia, can you find a way to incorporate this minor enhancement somehow in our Civic? 

The Asian Honda Civic has been blessed with the soft touch material on the upper door trim section, while the 2012 American Civic did not come with this. For the 2013 enhancement, Honda did not simply take the Asian design and applied to the American Civic, it has gone the long route by redesigning the upper section. The padded upper section also come with the stitch-like finishing and the silver accent is a nice addition. The silver trim looks really integrated, unlike the after-though look like the Asian Civic.

The audio system also has not been spared in this round of extensive update. The jumbo-sized audio button with its plain design has been updated. The panel is now more contoured and glossy in finishing and there is also some chrome insert included too.

In North America, the new 2013 Honda Civic continues to come in the sedan and coupe guise. While the sedan has received all the detail update, the coupe make do with the new wheel design. Trim wise, the entry level DX trim has been dropped, thus now comprises of LX, EX, EX-L and Si. The first 3 trims are powered by the familiar 1.8L mill paired to either 5 speed manual or automatic transmission. The range-topper Si is powered by the 2.4L engine and paired only to the 6 speed manual gearbox. In between, there is also a natural gas version with 1.8L engine (110hp) while the Civic Hybrid is powered by the 1.5L gasoline hooked to the IMA system.

For all the improvement, the Civic range starts from $18,615 for the Sedan LX and stops at $26,465 for the Civic Natural Gas. Compared to the 2012 price, the price increase is mere $160.

What do you think about the enhanced Honda Civic? Are there any update you would like to have in the Malaysian version? More photos of the 2013 Honda Civic can be found after the jump.

First real life photo of updated American Honda Civic exterior

We've seen the first shot of the updated interior of the American Honda Civic, now the exterior photos have surfaced out, thanks to the source. These shots were taken at the dealership and it shows clearly the renewed rear end is far more substantial looking than the weedy looking current American Civic.

This is not the best angle to determine the overall outlook of the rear. While it looks more "complete" with larger tail lights with properly sectioned internals and the chromed garnish that make the rear fascia more upmarket looking together with chunkier lower edge of the bumper, from some internet photos, MMN has a suspicion that the rear fascia is a bit angled rear-wards, i.e slightly sagging, which is accentuated further by the contour of the rear bumper upper section. It doesn't have the pert look like the sportier-looking Civic FD. To see side by side how the current Civic differs from the older Civic FD, refer to MMN previous article HERE.

The front end is wholly new, as the changed item covers new bumper and grille assembly and the hood outer panel. Much like the revised dashboard, chrome inserts are featured heavily, prominently inserted around the radiator grille and lies across the car along the lower intake. I however feel that the Asian Civic, especially on its optional Modulo grille looks way better.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the Civic range will look with different trim. MMN is quite keen to see the gear console which we think is a bit understyled compared to the outgoing Civic. We think they won't be any changes there or else this guy would have snap it.

The rest of the photos from the earlier post can be be found after the jump.

First sight on the interior of the updated American Honda Civic

As expected, the refresh that Honda will make for the North American Civic will be extensive, covering both interior and exterior to reflect the critics it received from the press and consumer at that side of the world. We've been officially served with glimpse of the exterior update (HERE). 

For the interior, Honda has retained the main build of the dashboard, but has added the new centre module as well as padding up the area at the front of the passenger. The shape of the air-vent has been changed to almost rectangular and they are trimmed on their surround. The area in front of the front passenger LOOKS padded, but a true judgement still awaits. The previously matte-looking centre console has been taken out and replaced by the glossy panel, with a chromed-laden panel. Air vents and audio buttons are inserted with chromed bits, and the there is also chrome bars running lower down the panel. The climate control panel is now more CRV-look instead of a throwback to the outgoing generation. 

The updated Civic will be reveal during the Los Angeles Motorshow. In addition to the styling enhancement, Honda is expected to increase the equipment level too. 

For the uninformed, North American Honda Civic is an entirely different model to our Asian car. Despite the similar underpinnings, and most of the exterior and interior panel, the specific details are tailored exclusively for each region. For example, the FD generation Civic sports an entirely different front end rear end between Asian and American. Only in certain exception that this fact varies. For example, the FD Civic was rebadged as Acura CSX in Canada where it is truthly just a LHD version of the Asian car. The current model is less so, but with the revised styling, the outlook of the American and Asian cars are now set further apart. With the new rear end that is distinctively American, we won't be hoping that our next update for the Civic will follow the same route. For those who missed the previous update, head down after the jump for the updated exterior photos.

Honda Civic Facelift announced

Honda America has released the first set of photo of the facelifted American Civic ahead of its official unveiling at Los Angeles Motor Show scheduled late this month. The enhancement is the results of Honda reaction to the customer and press complain, although the sales chart says otherwise.

With the facelift, Honda aims to bring the Civic styling upscale towards more premium image. Gone is bland and plain bumper and grille design and in comes an Accord-inspired (no pun intended to the Accord-badged Inspire in Japan) front grille with prominent chrome surround and meshed grille pattern insert. The bumper sports a wider lower intake, garnished by a chrome-plated horizontal bar that run across it. The bumper itself is more sculpted, with more creases and depression found ahead of the upper grille and headlamp leading edge. The lip of the front bumper is more pronounced too, replacing the all-flat affair of the current American bumper. The hood itself is replaced too, with more contoured central section joining the new grille section. 

The changes at the back is more radical and it involves a change in sheet metal too. The trunk lid has been redesigned, the panel is a little closer to the Asian model with the lack of depression for license plate garnish, resulting in a wider look. The rear light has been totally restyled with more upmarket internal graphic and extended deeper into the trunklid inwards. Chrome bar atop of the rear light inner is added too. The rear bumper, despite maintaining the upper contour, has received a redesigned lower section incorporating a reflector on each lower side.

There is no news on the interior yet, but Honda is expected to upgrade some of the material quality and finishing of the its American Civic. While we've been told that the plastic quality differs between Asian and American Civic, don't be surprise if Honda has managed to include some redesign here and there.

For comparison on how the American Civic differs from the Asian counterpart, refer to MMN previous article HERE.

Will this facelift make it to the Malaysian market? We don't know and we don't think it will happen too soon. Not too soon as in Malaysian market, Honda Civic is the best selling non-national C Segment car. Since its July launch, Honda Malaysia has delivered 4,400 units where breakdown of the 6,000 unit of booked car is  2.138 units 1.8L, 1,493 units Civic Hybrid, 1,292 units 2.0L while the remaining 1,148 units is the top-line 2.0L Navi. It captures 30% of the market share for the segment, despite whatever has been said about the car in the internet media. Contrary to the internet bashing, the exterior of the Asian Civic is actually lovable, and kind of grows on you. The boxy interior styling does not look too bad after third and fourth look out. Even the writer himself is slowly developing some infatuation to this new Civic.

Stay tune for for update of the facelifted American Honda Civic.

Honda to update US version of Honda Civic on 29th November?

Before being accused of being blogger who merely condemn car without looking, this piece of new came from the Autoblog. The news is said to come from David Hendly, AVP of Honda National Sales. Taking the excerpt from the articles, Honda dealers are urged to clear the stock of the 2012 Honda Civic as soon as possible as the 2013 model will make life hard for the 2012 model when they are parked side by side in the showroom floor. The enhanced model will be announced on 29th November, which is the opening day of the Los Angeles Motorshow. According to the articles:

"The changes made to the 2013 model will make the outgoing 2012 Civic a difficult model [to] sell when they are side to side."

Another source of article, cited from Hondasacuras said:

When it arrives on your lots you will see dramatic improvements to the exterior styling that moves Civic into a more premium sporty direction. The interior has even more upgrades and improvements to bring more sophistication and quality to its appearance.

While there is no mentioned specifically about what the upgrades details are, it is clearly visible that our Asian version looks markedly more upmarket than its sibling in the US. For one, the front end is treated with different headlight (with amber lens thanks to US regulation) and a different front bumper (almost similar but with blander lower portion with straight lip and empty grille garnish). Asian version gets a more upmarket headlight with clear lenses and sportier bumper with meshed grille insert and more pronounced lower lip. The rear end is differentiated by the reflector insert in the slightly redesigned trunk lid which lift the outlook somewhat.

It is harder to comment on the interior as we have no chance to touch and feel the cabin plastic, however we noted that the climate control panel is different. Malaysian press said that the plastic material is due to different cost structure which was stressed very hard so we have to take their word for it.

MMN thinks the update will consist of a better aesthetic and materials found in the Asian car. However for full confirmation, wait till Los Angeles Motorshow then. For comparison between the appearance between Asian and US Civic, refer below:

Comparison of Asian and US Civic Si - front end

Comparison of Asian and US Civic - rear end

Comparison of Asian and US Civic - interior