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Well, the 1.6 engine and its accessories seem to have
shrunk about half a size. This
is apparent, even as the engine bay itself has been squeezed tighter.
Indeed, the front overhang has been reduced by 55 mm; look
closely and you’d notice this difference from the previous Civic. The
famous double wishbone front suspension, long a distinguishing feature
of the Civic, has been changed to McPherson struts.
Double wishbones are usually superior to McPhersons in steering
feel and handling, and this seeming sacrilege had Civic fans up in arms
when the change was announced. We
would soon find out if were right to be concerned, or just making a
mountain out of an A-arm molehill. The Civic’s trademark large headlights follow generally
the same shape as before, but are more triangular now, and have a
different reflector design. Pity
that the face of the hatchback (again, Europe and Japan only), which is
more sharply raked and aggressive, wasn’t used for the sedan. The beltline crease going from front to back is still
there, but now it’s been aligned with the door handles, just like a
certain German marque. Honda
engineers and marketers freely admit that the 3-series profile was one
of the design targets of the Civic.
Ditto the rear window, which is now recessed into the
C-pillar—the rear glass and rubber moldings do not protrude into the
airflow. The radio antenna
is mounted onto the glass, too. Overall,
it looks as if the old Civic decided to have its suit pressed; it looks
less aggressive, but slicker and neater. The car itself has been shortened by 15 mm. Wheelbase has remained the same, while the rear overhang was extended by 40 mm to increase trunk volume, by about that of one hand carried luggage. It’s taller, too, by 50 mm. The space saved in the engine compartment is gained by the
front passengers. Along
with these, the most significant contributor to passenger space is the
flat rear floor. No more
center bulge, no more splayed knees and displaced feet.
Rear center passengers everywhere will want to plant a kiss, or
at least execute a bow, to the Honda engineers who made this possible.
Why no other carmaker has bothered to do this before (even the
CR-V has a slight bulge in the back) is a mystery to us. It’s no miracle; some exhaust components were mounted
transversely to eliminate the bulge.
Other details that contribute to the larger interior are cabin
and map lights mounted flush with the headliner, and grab handles that
roll up when not in use. The
door pulls still intrude into the rear space, though, and could have
been made narrower. |
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