The new generation of the European market 2012 Honda Civic hatchback will make its world premiere tomorrow at the 64th International Auto Show in Frankfurt, but the Japanese company is giving us our first view of the car with the release of the official photographs.
The first thing you will notice about the 5-door Civic is of course its exterior styling. While Honda's designers kept the shape of the outgoing model intact, the devil is in the details, and whereas the previous Civic sported a futuristic styling with many creases and edges, its successor is frumpier with a lot more curves.
According to Honda, its designers "wanted to keep the sporty and advanced elements of the car's character but tailor them to express the new model's even more elegant yet dynamic feel", while the company adds that sources of inspiration included a "blended wing body" aeroplane (see picture below) in which the fuselage and wings blend into a single body.
Inside, the styling is very similar to the outgoing Civic 5d with a double layered dashboard combining both analogue and digital displays. Honda says it has improved interior quality as well as passenger space.
Under the sheetmetal, the ninth generation of the Civic sports a heavily revised version of the previous model's suspension system, which means it retains a rear torsion beam. Nevertheless, Honda's engineers claim that the reworked parts will improve the car's ride quality, comfort as well as handling and body control.
We're still waiting for more information on the available powertrains, but Honda previously disclosed that the 2012 Civic 5d will be offered with a revised 2.2-liter i-DTEC engine delivering 150HP, 10 more than the outgoing model's 2.2L CDTi unit. At the same time, CO2 emissions are down 29g/km to 110 g/km, 29 g/km.
Production of the European market hatchback will take place exclusively at Honda’s Swindon plant in the United Kingdom, with sales to start early next year.
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