Topic: First Drive: 2016 Honda Civic Sedan

[Hammy]

I took an ex-t out for a spin lunch time.  I really like the look of the civic up close and the interior it nicely appointed with soft materials and brushed aluminum looking trim.  This model had all the fancy driving aids  which I didn't try out but there is a cool blind spot camera that comes on when you put on your signal light.  The car had lots of pep but the transmission sound is a bit weird.  The groan builds and then cuts back I guess to mimic an automatic?

There was a lot of room inside, it seemed very close to the optima I had room wise.  The steering wheel felt good but steering was fairly light ( of course the 335 has super tight steering).  Felt fairly good on the road, maybe not quite as good as the vw golf but not bad.  Overall it was a very good car but I don't like the c v t sound, I guess you would just get used to it.  It comes packed with all the latest options, has very good get up and go and looks great so it definitely has potential. 

[Noto]

Do you guys really drive only 120 on rural autoroutes?  My driving experiences in Canada....okay mostly Québec only

Yeah, Quebec is not even close to representative of the rest of Canada... 

Good brief article here:

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/12/are-turbocharged-engines-reliable-.html

Absolutely nothing said in that article sways my opinion...at all.  SirO would cry if he read it.  Seriously, SirO, don't read it!!!

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1100951_2016-honda-civic-coupe-spy-shots

...and holy crap is that thing ever as$-heavy-looking. 

[conwelpic]

photos of the new coupe

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/11/17/2016-honda-civic-coupe-official/

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Good brief article here:

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014/12/are-turbocharged-engines-reliable-.html

Absolutely nothing said in that article sways my opinion...at all.  SirO would cry if he read it.  Seriously, SirO, don't read it!!!

[tooscoops]

hmmm... not a fan of that coupe... the front/side view looks like a cobalt mated with a tiburon... the back view makes me think of an uglier crosstour... i bet it will look better in person.

and the turbo talk... what i always go back to is the "why?". if it was because it was the best way to move forward with engines, i'm all for it... but this (like in the 80's) was/is a way to skirt the rules/laws pertaining to testing economy and tax tariffs.

if it was the more reliable and cost efficient way to get more power, every company would have been doing it for as long as they could. time will tell i guess.

[mixmanmash]

hmmm... not a fan of that coupe... the front/side view looks like a cobalt mated with a tiburon... the back view makes me think of an uglier crosstour... i bet it will look better in person.

and the turbo talk... what i always go back to is the "why?". if it was because it was the best way to move forward with engines, i'm all for it... but this (like in the 80's) was/is a way to skirt the rules/laws pertaining to testing economy and tax tariffs.

if it was the more reliable and cost efficient way to get more power, every company would have been doing it for as long as they could. time will tell i guess.

Asians and Europeans have been doing it for years in their respective markets.  I don't see an issue with turbocharging.  Reliability mostly depends on maintenance and modifications.  Don't modify the out of it and it will be fine.  I've seen stock turbos on 300ZX go past 400k miles (640k kms).  These cars were kept in relatively stock format (mild mods of intake & exhaust only), running stock boost.

[johngenx]

  Reliability mostly depends on maintenance and modifications.  Don't modify the out of it and it will be fine.  I've seen stock turbos on 300ZX go past 400k miles (640k kms).  These cars were kept in relatively stock format (mild mods of intake & exhaust only), running stock boost.

There's lots of old 911 turbos out there living happy lives - owners that cared for them and didn't mod the hell out of them.  The 3.3L can have the wastegate upgrade (to 330hp) with no issues at all, but some got butchered.  Just drive the car when you do own one (so it's hot and run hard) and watch time sitting in traffic.  Those cars needed to be driven, and driven on good roads.  Lots of guys drive them 5min to work, nothing more, and then didn't pay much attention to them.  They treated them like a Camry, which they are not.

[Seafoam]

Noticed a 2016  civic today at the Honda dealership. That thing is BIG. Might as well buy an accord.

[conwelpic]

Noticed a 2016  civic today at the Honda dealership. That thing is BIG. Might as well buy an accord.

It's nearly 3" longer than the 2015 version, but nearly 11" shorter than the Accord.

I notice with this new model that Honda is up to their old tricks again, lousy exterior colours and not much choice till you move up the range, but even then its mediocre.

DX, LX - choice of three exterior colours - black, steel grey, and white
EX, EX-T - 5 colours - burgundy, black, silver, steel grey, white and if you get the EX Honda Sensing pack you only get the same choice as the DX
Touring - only 4 choices, burgundy, black steel grey and white

wow, what exciting choices   

[mixmanmash]

Noticed a 2016  civic today at the Honda dealership. That thing is BIG. Might as well buy an accord.

It's nearly 3" longer than the 2015 version, but nearly 11" shorter than the Accord.

I notice with this new model that Honda is up to their old tricks again, lousy exterior colours and not much choice till you move up the range, but even then its mediocre.

DX, LX - choice of three exterior colours - black, steel grey, and white
EX, EX-T - 5 colours - burgundy, black, silver, steel grey, white and if you get the EX Honda Sensing pack you only get the same choice as the DX
Touring - only 4 choices, burgundy, black steel grey and white

wow, what exciting choices   

US colour choice is way better.  For their entire line up.  In Canada, it's mostly black, white and 2 shades in between.

[Seafoam]

Noticed a 2016  civic today at the Honda dealership. That thing is BIG. Might as well buy an accord.

It's nearly 3" longer than the 2015 version, but nearly 11" shorter than the Accord.

I notice with this new model that Honda is up to their old tricks again, lousy exterior colours and not much choice till you move up the range, but even then its mediocre.

DX, LX - choice of three exterior colours - black, steel grey, and white
EX, EX-T - 5 colours - burgundy, black, silver, steel grey, white and if you get the EX Honda Sensing pack you only get the same choice as the DX
Touring - only 4 choices, burgundy, black steel grey and white

wow, what exciting choices   

Yeah I chose MEDIOCRE white for my 2012 LX.
Back then you could have the choice of blue,black,red,white,silver and gray on the LX. 6 colours not bad.

Definately looks bigger when you see it alongside last years model.

[Solstice2006]

Noticed a 2016  civic today at the Honda dealership. That thing is BIG. Might as well buy an accord.

It's nearly 3" longer than the 2015 version, but nearly 11" shorter than the Accord.

I notice with this new model that Honda is up to their old tricks again, lousy exterior colours and not much choice till you move up the range, but even then its mediocre.

DX, LX - choice of three exterior colours - black, steel grey, and white
EX, EX-T - 5 colours - burgundy, black, silver, steel grey, white and if you get the EX Honda Sensing pack you only get the same choice as the DX
Touring - only 4 choices, burgundy, black steel grey and white

wow, what exciting choices   

US colour choice is way better.  For their entire line up.  In Canada, it's mostly black, white and 2 shades in between.

Do we make the Civics for the US as well?  Frustrating that they get more choices...

[conwelpic]

Do we make the Civics for the US as well?  Frustrating that they get more choices...

It's also built in Greensburg, Indiana as well as Alliston

[hemusbull]

Today's edition of Autos.ca is paid by Honda Canada.

[hemusbull]

As a Honda guy I can't watch indifferently...Honda again have built one good from technical point car - the 2016 Civic! But it isn't the right one IMO. It is too big comparing to Accord (even uses its platform!) so Honda automatically got into Nissan situation - Civic (like Altima) is going to eat sales from Accord (similar to Maxima). Having wrong products of its Acura brand, where regrouping of sizing and badging never stopped, Honda now transfer similar problems within the mainstream brand...The hybrid Hondas are almost discontinued and there is no any competition even with Hyundai, don't mind Toyota. Adding to this its extremely good small car Fit, with catastrophic low sales, just only makes the problem worse.

[mlin32]

I've seen a couple the last few days........and thought they were a facelifted Accord of sorts. It's so big.....

[Solstice2006]

Not sure what you mean with the FIT.  Similar sales to the Accent in the US, which has a sedan and a hatch.  In addition to the Accent, buyers can choose the Elantra sedan or hatch.  So it's not like the Accent is only hatch in Hyundais lineup.  Mid pack sales in the US, around 50k

The FIT is the #2 seller in Canada (after the Accent).

[warp]

Got my sights on a 2016 LX with the CVT to replace the 2003 Accord LX (V6) for my wife. Will go for a test drive tomorrow but yesterday at the dealership I noticed that interior space, both front and back seats, for this 2016 Civic is equal to the 1998-2002 Accord. The Civic has grown over the years!!

Road noise in Hondas was always higher than other vehicles, as also impact harshness. It will be interesting to see whether Honda has addressed these 2 issues in the new Civic. Will find out tomorrow.

[dougjp]

As a Honda guy I can't watch indifferently...Honda again have built one good from technical point car - the 2016 Civic! But it isn't the right one IMO. It is too big comparing to Accord (even uses its platform!) so Honda automatically got into Nissan situation - Civic (like Altima) is going to eat sales from Accord (similar to Maxima). Having wrong products of its Acura brand, where regrouping of sizing and badging never stopped, Honda now transfer similar problems within the mainstream brand...The hybrid Hondas are almost discontinued and there is no any competition even with Hyundai, don't mind Toyota. Adding to this its extremely good small car Fit, with catastrophic low sales, just only makes the problem worse.

Got my sights on a 2016 LX with the CVT to replace the 2003 Accord LX (V6) for my wife. Will go for a test drive tomorrow but yesterday at the dealership I noticed that interior space, both front and back seats, for this 2016 Civic is equal to the 1998-2002 Accord. The Civic has grown over the years!!

Road noise in Hondas was always higher than other vehicles, as also impact harshness. It will be interesting to see whether Honda has addressed these 2 issues in the new Civic. Will find out tomorrow.

Exactly. This ever expanding model size thing, only to add another smaller model which in turn starts ever expanding, isn't a new process by any means. The new Civic stands to take sales away from the Accord, perhaps more than other examples (like Audi A3 vs. A4). I don't follow the Nissan analogy, the Sentra is the Civic counterpart vs. the Altima. The Sentra has also gotten bigger, with the Versa doing the same as the Fit in the Honda lineup. The Sentra however hasn't stood out at all, and likely isn't taking sales from the Altima.

warp hit the nail on the head re: Honda, which is like Mazda when it comes to NVH. If either of them improves in this area, and in Mazda's case embraces torque as a desirable thing to have as well, they can grab lots of extra market share. Interested to hear what Honda has done.   

[Solstice2006]

^ I like how Mazda hasn't changed the 3 and 6 that much in terms of dimensions (except the 2nd gen Mazda6).  It so non North American.