In the meantime, the Honda Accord has disappeared out of the showrooms.
So that's bad news for the Accord-fans, but it's good news for the Civic.
That's because the Civic now gets all the space it needs, to grow and bloom.
Literally, because this Civic is 15 centimetres bigger than the previous one.
And that's quite the growth. The whole car is more than 4,5 metres long now,
and if you're standing next to it, you'll notice it's a big car for its segment.
Those 4,5 metres however, are stacked with new technology, new engines and a lot of space.
So, a lot of new technology aboard this Civic. New technology for Honda, that is.
The biggest news probably is Honda Sensing. That's a package with a lot of adaptive safety features,
like adaptive cruise control, roadsign recognition, lane keeping-assist,
and the great thing is, Honda Sensing is standard on every Civic.
So that's very nice of Honda.
New technology is also found in the form are the digital dials, and according to the C-segment standards,
it looks pretty good. The graphics are clear, the refresh speeds are very good,
so it's very fluent. Honda has done a very good job.
Something a little bit less positive, also new technology: the touchscreen.
It isn't really bad, but if you press the 'Home'-button, it's quite slow,
the buttons are just a tad too small to be controlled properly while driving, it isn't bad -and touchscreens in the C-segment usually aren't the best-
but it can be done better. Think of the system Volkswagen Group uses,
that's a little bit faster, it looks better, so this absolutely isn't in the top range.
New technology is also found in the new Multi-link rear suspension,
which replaces the old torsion axle from the previous Civic.
The downside to the Multi-link are the costs, because it's more expensive, and it takes more space.
The upside though, is that you gain a lot more control over the wheel movements when cornering,
but also if you encounter potholes.
And that's something you notice when you're driving it, because that's where the Civic has made up some ground.
It's a big car, and that's exactly how it feels, but that's a very nice thing.
It feels very solid, predictable, very secure as well.
It's a car where you'll really have to push to get to its limits, you won't just get to the limits of the front wheels.
When you eventually do reach the limits, the car reacts very predictable.
At the same time, it's a car which handles potholes in the road very well.
The movement is canceled out very quickly, and that makes it a nice car.
It's a nice driving car, without it being too inspiring.
It doesn't have the agility and the quickness the Ford Focus and Mazda 3 have,
but it's a very nice car to travel with. Honda has done a good job.
There could've been some more feeling to the steering if you ask me, but it's predictable and that's good enough.
When it comes to the engines, there's a lot of news.
That's because the Civic was one of the last C-segment cars, which still had atmospheric 4-cylinders.
When compared to the turbocharged counterparts in the C-segment, there wasn't a lot of speed in the lower RPM's.
That's history however, because this new Civic will get two new turbocharged petrol engines.
After a while, Honda will introduce a 1.6 diesel engine.
The new petrol engines consist out of a 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder, which produces around 180 hp,
and the engine I'm driving: a new 1,0-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine.
It produces 129 horsepower and 200 Nm of torque. Those are excellent values for such a little engine.
The way the engine behaves itself, is a little bit mixed.
There's enough power to get along, I mean the car weighs 1275 kg, so it isn't the fastest,
but it's sufficient, especially for Dutch standards.
It does produces some noises though. When you're around 2,000 RPM, you can hear it's a 3-cylinder very clear.
You also feel some vibrations as well, you can hear the wastegate blowing away...
It isn't annoying, but it just isn't as refined as an Opel Astra or something.
There clearly is room for improvement.
What I do like however, is the manual 6-speed gearbox.
It's typical Honda. You can feel very clearly when you enter a gear,
it's a very light gear, but very clear. The same goes for the clutch,
you can clearly feel where the engagement point is, and that makes you with the technique in this car.
It isn't specifically good because this is so spectacular to drive, but you just know you can always rely on the Civic,
which is pretty nice when you're driving.
Right, the space then. That's the factor in which the Civic makes up ground.
Okay, getting in the back can be a little bit difficult because of the roofline, and the headroom isn't great as well,
but the legroom is excellent. There's a lot of luggage space left over as well.
478 litres to be exact, and that puts the Civic in the top regions in the C-segment.
The only problem is, it's only one litre more than its predecessor had,
even though this one is 15 centimetres longer.
How is that possible, you may ask. Well, the previous one was very cleverly designed,
as opposed to the more regular design the new Civic has.
For example, the petrol tank isn't under the front seats anymore. That means the front passengers can lower their seats if they want to, which is nice,
but it also means you don't have the magic seats anymore in the rear, you know, those foldable seats which made it possible to put in your mountainbike.
So that's gone, and that's a shame.
That was one of those quirky things which distinguished the Civic for the past 10 years.
Just like its styling, that also has been toned down a little.
The interior as well, it's very decent, it looks good...
Right, the carbon plastic strip was a little bit unnecessary. But everything considered, a very nice interior.
It just isn't as quirky anymore. And I think that's a shame,
because that way the car is more in line with the standards of the segment, but at the same time it doesn't really stand out anymore.
And that's too bad, because Honda wants the top price for this car.
For example, the entry level model already costs €24.700, and then you don't have airconditioning, alloys, satnav, nothing.
But if you do want that, you'll get to €27.000, and that's quite the price for a car which isn't the best at anything.
On the other hand however, you get the most balanced Civic ever.
And, even though it's a little bit 'normalized' when compared to its predecessor, but it's still more characteristic than its competitors.