America’s favorite small car gets completely restyled

Since Honda introduced the compact-sized Civic 32 years ago, some 7 million owners in the U.S. alone have fallen in love with its reputation for reliability, durability and exceptional resale value. Civic has been the consistent benchmark and leader in the economy car class.

For 2006, the eighth Civic iteration has strayed from its traditional “econobox” heritage, growing into a stylish vehicle that looks more like an Acura. Immediately noticeable is the exterior styling. In fact, so new is this Civic that not a single body panel is carried over from 2005.

From the front, its new grille features a chrome horizontal bar with the Honda “H” logo floating on a matte-black inset. New headlamps are jewel-like multi elemental. The windshield is steeply raked and gives way to a curving roofline, which, when combined with the short rear deck, lend a coupe-like appearance to the sedan.

The side is more slab-like with a slight blister effect above the tightly arching wheel openings. The rear body style differs significantly from sedan to coupe. The coupe features a sloping trunk lid where the sedan’s trunk lid appears chopped off. Large taillamps are teardrop in appearance. I thought the look made the Civic seem sad with a frowning look.

The rear styling of the coupe is completely different than that of the sedan and, to me, appeared BMW-like, with horizontal tail lamps cut off at the trunk lid opening. The trunk lid, with its razor thin spoiler, is deeper set and appears to be carved out of the rear bumper. Goose-necked trunk hinges intrude into the cargo area, causing difficulty with a trunk full of luggage.

Honda increased the wheelbase three inches, widened the front just over an inch and the rear by 2.2 inches. The wider stance improves ride and handling.

To my surprise, the additional inches added outside doesn’t show up inside. Front seat legroom remains the same as in the ’05 Civic, and the rear seat legroom is actually reduced by more than an inch. Americans are growing wider, and it seems Honda has been paying attention, adding more hip room to both the front and rear seats.

The biggest change of all is the Civic’s new dash, whose layout can be summed up as unusual at best. While atypical and requiring some getting used to, it is nonetheless highly functional.

From the drivers seat, it seems the instrument panel is several feet deep, putting you a long way from the front of the car. All that space lends a sense of security — there’s a large crumple zone in the event of a front-end collision.

There are actually two dash openings in front of the driver — oversize digital readout speedometer, fuel gauge and coolant temperature are in the upper circle and the analog tachometer is in the lower cluster. It’s sort of like the heads-up display feature in the Corvette; I found myself more than occasionally mistaking the tachometer for the speedometer.

The Civic doesn’t use a traditional “center stack” where audio and climate controls are built into the console. Rather they’re built into the dash with a small storage bin separating the two. White-on-blue gauges with red accents are illuminated night and day. There’s too much hard plastic here but Honda textures it well and high quality fit and finish keep it from looking cheap.

The Civic is offered in eight distinct versions, with two or four doors. Three coupes and three sedans are available in three trim levels: DX, LX and top of the line EX. The hatchback version has been discontinued for 2006. All share a 140-horsepower, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with a five-speed manual transmission standard. A five-speed automatic transmission ($800) is optional.

Two additional Civic models are also available. The four-door Hybrid ($21,850) features Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, using an electric motor to boost gas mileage to achieve a rating of 50 miles per gallon. The only transmission in the Hybrid is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with no shift points.

The Civic Si model ($19,990), features a 197-horsepower four-cylinder engine mated to a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox. This is the performance Civic yet still manages 22/31 city/highway miles per gallon. The Si is only available as a two-door coupe.

I tested a well-equipped top of the line Civic EX Sedan with an automatic transmission and no options. Base price is $19,610 including $550 for shipping and handling. The only available factory option is a navigation system for an additional $1500.

Build quality on the EX was, as expected, exceptional. Civic is built in East Liberty, Ohio, which proves Americans can and do build high quality products. Civics are extremely easy to drive and deliver a smooth quiet ride with compliant handling. Sure, you’ll notice increased road and engine noise at highway speeds, and the Civic won’t handle corners like a sports car, but you never feel like you’re not in control. Steering is precise, brakes are superb, emergency handling is predictable and forgiving. The new Civic is noticeably quieter than the previous model.

All Civics come standard with antilock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, front-seat side airbags, full-length side-curtain airbags and LATCH child seat anchors. The new Civic received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Gold Award, one of only five vehicles to earn that distinction. It is the highest a vehicle can receive. One drawback is the unavailability of stability control.

The redesigned Civic is a major improvement over the previous generation and a AAA top pick for vehicles priced $15,000 and below. The Civic remains the standard by which other economy cars should be measured.