ON FRONT PAG E N O R T H E AST V I C TO R I A , A L P S A N D H I G H CO U N T RY
OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3, 2016
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HONDA CIVIC: It has a bolder and sleeker look that should appeal to hatch buyers.
New Honda Civic on the comeback trail By ALISTAIR KENNEDY Circumstances beyond Honda’s control contributed significantly to this decline including the GFC, Thai floods and Japanese tsunami. Nor has it been helped by competing against three of Australia’s biggest sellers, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30. While the arrival of the new Civic sedan has certainly re-kindled interest hatches are far more popular in the small car segment and Honda dealers will be counting the days until the arrival of the new five-door model sometime during the first half of 2017. Unlike the previous model all Gen 10
Civics, both sedan and hatch, now come from a new Honda factory in Thailand, with the same design and specifications. Like many in its class the Civic sedan has a coupe-like profile, clearly aimed at attracting younger and less conservative buyers than before. Having said that there’s nothing there that’s likely to really turn heads. The price-leading Civic VTi gets 16-inch steel wheels. All others step up to alloys, 16-inch in the VTi-S, 17s in the others. The Civic RS comes with an integrated body kit, including a gloss black grille, rear spoiler, sunroof and sportier wheels. The interior has been redesigned and has
a more elegant look and feel than before with a level of comfort that’s rare in cars of this size. Civic sedan is also more spacious due to a combination of clever design work and an extra 45 mm in the external width to the car. It’s particularly noticeable in the rear seats which could easily pass for a car in the next size up. The boot is large (around 518 litres) with a flat floor and low loading height. All models have space-saver spare wheels. The dashboard is logically designed with a large touchscreen and a digital instrument panel. Continued page 2 n21d11337-V70/4416
HONDA has unveiled its tenth generation Civic hatchback at the recent Paris Motor Show. It won’t arrive in Australia until next year but it does give us a good segue into our recent test of the gen-10 Civic four-door sedan that went on sale here a few months back. Civic has been a staple of the Honda range since it made its debut in 1973 Civic. Not only is it the Japanese carmaker’s alltime biggest seller, it also sits fifth on the list of the world’s all-time biggest selling passenger cars. Given this pedigree it has been sad to see Civic sales slump so dramatically over the past couple of years.
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