| 2006 Honda Civic | ||
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(Tue 02 Aug 05)
In theory, this should mean that interior room is restricted, but apparently not. The Civic, which had the same project leader as the ingenious Jazz, features various clever tricks including a centrally-mounted fuel tank fitted below the front seats, which opens up extra space and also creates a flat floor for the rear passengers and the luggage area. Occupants should be well taken care of, too. Honda is expecting great results when the Civic is put through the Euro NCAP crash tests - specifically, the company predicts that it will receive five stars for impact safety, three for pedestrian safety and four for child protection. The Civic will also be the first car in its class to be made available with six gears in all versions (manual in every case, with the option of automatic for the petrol models). Three engines will be available from launch: 1.4-litre 82bhp and 1.8-litre 138bhp petrol units and the 2.2-litre 138bhp turbo diesel first introduced in the Accord range and currently found under the bonnet of the HR-V and FR-V. Although Honda - which took a very long time to get round to building its own diesel engines - still doesn't always seem entirely convinced of how useful they are, the 2.2 unit makes a case for itself in the Civic by providing much better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions than the 1.4, as well as roughly the same performance as the 1.8. Standard equipment across the range includes climate control air-conditioning, Stability Assist, a trip computer, a fully-adjustable steering column, Magic rear seats (with a one-motion fold-down/flip-up function) and front, side and curtain airbags. The Civic will be built at the Swindon plant, which will also be responsible for the turbo diesel engine and the 1.8 petrol (the 1.4 will be built in Japan and shipped over). Sales start in January 2006 at prices which are still to be confirmed. |
