(October 20, 2015) TORRANCE, Calif. — Honda on Monday unveiled its all new 10th generation 2016 Civic, a complete remake that Honda says "represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious new-model developments ever undertaken by Honda, requiring an unprecedented commitment of R&D resources and Honda engineering prowess."

While the development of the Civic Sedan was led by a North American team — a first for Honda and Civic — the overall Civic series involves design and engineering teams from Honda R&D, sales and manufacturing operations around the world, especially in North America and Japan, but also in Europe, South America and Asia.

In seeking to realize a "dynamic rejuvenation" of Civic and create a new interpretation "in a league of its own," as the development team defined its mission, Honda engineers set out early during platform development to benchmark the world's best C-segment vehicles — not only products in Civic's traditional competitive set, but luxury compact class vehicles such as well.

Their evaluation of the world's best products involved extensive real-world testing, ultimately targeting European luxury vehicles for the new Civic's ride, handling, steering and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness), and also its interior quality and refinement.

Achieving these lofty aims while meeting requirements for an affordable compact car, in terms of cost, fuel efficiency and manufacturability, stretched the limits of the global Civic team's engineering capability and demanded new thinking and new approaches to body construction, vehicle aerodynamics, powertrain and chassis design. The result of these efforts is a completely reimagined and reinvented new Civic, the sportiest Civic ever, and a new benchmark in the compact class in terms of spaciousness, fuel efficiency, safety features, interior quality and dynamic performance.

The new Civic will start at $18,640 (not including destination charge) or the LX sedan with six-speed manual, and at $19,440 for the automatic transmission version. Pricing tops out at $26,500 for the Touring sedan. The Civic will go on sale later in November.



What's New?

Virtually everything about the 2016 Civic Sedan is new — an all-new vehicle architecture, sporty and sophisticated new interior and exterior styling, a more spacious and high-quality cabin, two advanced new engines, and a host of new premium features and technologies.

Further, with the addition of Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technologies and the first application of Honda turbo engine technology to Civic, the 2016 Civic Sedan offers buyers a wider range of options than ever before.

Powering the 2016 Civic sedan are two all-new engines, both designed to provide highly refined, responsive and fuel-efficient performance. Civic Sedans in LX and EX trim are powered by a 2.0-liter DOHC, 16-valve, port-injected, inline 4-cylinder engine with i-VTEC valvetrain producing a peak 158 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 138 lb-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm, making it the most powerful base engine ever offered in Civic.

The new 2.0-liter engine is mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with Honda G-Design shift control, or a 6-speed manual transmission.

Civic Sedans in EX-T, EX-L and Touring trim are powered by an all-new turbocharged 1.5-liter DOHC, direct-injected and inline 4-cylinder engine with variable cam timing (VTC) and electronic waste gate, turning out 174 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and peak torque of 162 lb-ft. from 1,800 to 5,500 rpm. The 1.5-liter turbo engine is mated to a new CVT that combines with the low-inertia turbo, VTC and electronic waste gate to optimize power delivery across the engine's full operating range.

Both engines feature a wide array of friction-reduction design and engineering features that support both high performance and high fuel efficiency.  These two ultra-efficient engines, married to the 2016 Civic's light, rigid and highly aerodynamic body, help the Civic garner anticipated class s-leading EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings of 31/41/35 mpg (city/highway/combined) for the 2.0-liter engine with CVT and 31/42/35 mpg for the 1.5-liter turbo with CVT.

The 2016 Civic Sedan's new powertrains and sophisticated chassis design are underpinned by its entirely new body construction, where engineers went deeper in the study of dynamic body rigidity to realize an ultra-rigid platform architecture that serves as the foundation for its more sophisticated chassis design, its class-leading collision performance, and its powerful and fuel-efficient powertrains.

Global bending and torsional rigidity are increased 3.8 percent and 25.8 percent, respectively, and unibody weight is reduced by 68 pounds compared to the previous-generation Civic. Localized body rigidity in key areas, especially at suspension and subframe mounting points is dramatically improved.

Key Elements of Civic Body Design:

   •  59% application of high-strength steel, the highest in Civic history
    • 14% application of ultra-high-strength steel (780 mpa or higher), the highest in Civic history
    • New 590-mpa high-strength steel floor for dynamic and collision safety performance (Civic first)
   •  20mm "short pitch" door seam welds for enhanced collision performance
    • Next-generation ACE body structure with new crash stroke front frame rails (Honda first) for enhanced collision performance in a more compact front frame
    • Ultra-high-strength steel B-pillars and rear frame rails with selectively-tempered 'soft zones' for reduced weight and enhanced collision performance

The taut and tidy overall proportions of the new Civic Sedan are complimented and accentuated by its design details, including its sleek, swept-back bodylines, its sharp and aggressive face, and its bulging wheel arches. The hood features sharply defined character lines that draw the eye forward and down to the Civic's aggressive new face, highlighted by a chrome-plated Honda "wing" that runs the full width of the front fascia and is flanked by available new LED headlights in an in-line configuration.

The new Civic's ultra-thin A-pillars lend the cabin an open, airy feeling with excellent forward visibility, while the aggressively sloped roof line connects seamlessly with gracefully arching C-pillars that carry the curvature of the roof rearward to the outside rear corners of the long deck, where they intersect with distinctive C-shaped "light-pipe" LED taillights.

The sharply creased and curving upper-body side line swells over the rear wheel arches and curves aggressively inward to join the upper bend of the distinctive LED taillights, while the upswept lower-body side line is bisected by the bulging rear wheel arches before bending inward to meet up with the rear bumper's upper surface. The overall effect is one of dynamism and premium quality with an unmistakable and yet thoroughly modern Civic design aesthetic.

Honda's vehicle packaging expertise, along with the Civic's longer wheelbase and wider body, results in the most spacious interior in the competitive class. With 97.8 cubic feet of interior passenger space, the 2016 Civic Sedan delivers top-of-class comfort by giving its occupants a sense of spaciousness and premium comfort beyond the compact class with ample headroom, legroom, shoulder clearance and side head clearance.

A class leading 84.3 degrees of forward visibility is aided by a new, ultra-thin A-pillar design, 18.2 mm (0.72 inch) narrower than the A-pillar in the outgoing 2015 Civic. Even the forward visibility of rear-seat occupants is taken into account, as the new Civic features newly shaped front seatbacks and a smaller head restraint.

More legroom for the driver is made possible by the reduced intrusion of the instrument panel into the driver's knee space, while rear-seat foot room is improved by a 27 mm (1.1 inches) wider space between the front seat rails. 

Trunk room has also been significantly increased, by 2.6 cubic-feet to 15.1 cubic-feet, among the largest in the Civic class, with a lower lift over height, larger rear opening, and wider and taller cargo area than the outgoing model. An all-new reconfigurable center console, with up to 7.2 liters of storage space, can hold multiple full-size iPads or an oversized water bottle, with the console lid closed.