If a sporty lime-green metallic coupe shown at the New York International Auto Show is any indication, Honda isn’t playing it safe with the Civic anymore.
Four years ago, when the company last rolled out a new Civic, it took no risks. The car was panned for unremarkable looks and a cheap interior, with a chintzy plastic dashboard and bedsheet-thin seat fabric.
The next-generation Civic unveiled Wednesday has dramatic creases, a longer hood, 20-inch wheels and a big rear spoiler clearly designed to jettison the current car’s dull appearance and handling.
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is the return of the sporty Civic,” executive vice president John Mendel said at the car’s introduction.
Honda says the new car was redesigned top to bottom, with U.S. engineers and designers taking the lead. It’s got single-line LED taillights and a mean-looking front grille. The distance between the front and rear wheels is longer, and the car will get all-new engines and transmissions.
Honda was short on details about the 10th-generation Civic. Executives did say higher-end versions will get a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, a first for Honda in the states. The Civic will debut in the fall with a sedan, followed later by the coupe and a high-performance version. A five-door hatchback and other variations are planned as well.
Sales of the Civic grew in the past five years, but its share has remained constant, at 2.2 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Sales last year fell 3 percent to just under 326,000, but the Civic was still the second-best-selling compact.
Toyota’s Corolla was first.
