Honda Civic Sedan 2006

maxamillion1

IS muy feo...but oh well, different strokes for different folks I guess...

alpha01

Its interesting to note the vehicle most often traded in for the Scion tC is the Honda Civic. This is the trend that the new model needs to reverse, IMO.

~alpha

maxamillion1

The cars have so much in common and the tC is obviously a better car than the current Civic.

They'd better get it together with this model.

corey415

Check out the interior of the Euro Civic, which will be very similar to the american civic... I think its quite nice.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/979/20157479xf.jpg"

maxamillion1

Have any of you guys seen the new Honda Civic Spy video on Edmunds' Inside Line???

Well, if you take a REALLY REALLY close look, the Red Sedan in the front of the back is acutally NOT a Civic, its the new Acura EL!!!!!

I looked over the video for about 10 mins in slow motion.

If you look REALLY closely, you'll notice that the front grille is different, and it has a grille similar to the Accord coupe (emblem with the "wing" thingy) and it also has lower cut outs in the bumpers that the other Civics don't have. The door handles are chrome, the alloy wheels are different for the last Sedan Civic shown, which is OBVIOUSLY an EX (The white one in front of the SI coupe) the other white one in front of the Beige LX is a Hybrid model.

This Red one up front is clearly different from the White EX, and I gathered that it must be an Acura EL. It also has a moonroof if you look closely.

Some folks over at Vtec.net think it might be the rumored "SI" sedan...but I'm doubting that because I don't think the "SI' model would have chrome door handles...that's an Acura touch IMO.

Kinda makes me wish we got the Acura EL here in the U.S.

I wonder why we don't? Isn't it kind of dumb for Acura not to offer it here, espeically considering that the TSX tries to go after the BMW 3 series crowd.

The EL could take on the new VW Jetta....

I like the EL's 5 point grille better too. I'd be more than willing to spend the extra dough to get the EL over the new Civic.

But that's just me, what do you guys think???

mam262

That is the Civic Hybrid, not the EL.

stickguy

Well, if that is what we are getting, it certainly is more "stylish" than the current model. So much for being criticized for being too staid.

And, now I know where the leftover Volvo spaceball shiftboots went!

raychuang00

Check out the interior of the Euro Civic, which will be very similar to the american civic... I think its quite nice.

I've seen the pictures of the 2006 Euro-market Civic 5-door hatchback and frankly I have to give it a major thumbs down. The reason is simple: there are too many busy details when seen from almost every angle of view. The whole design SCREAMS "Surface Excitement" of the type we haven't seen from a Japanese car in many years, that's to be sure.

Is it small wonder why the NA-market 2006 Civics will have a far more restrained design? I don't think American buyers would go for the overly-styled 5-door hatchback, that's to be sure.

stickguy

I like the layout. WOuld have to see the final prduct in person to know if I liked the design.

Kirstie_H

do not respond to rude posts, but alert a host by e-mail instead. Responding means I have to do twice the work in deleting the posts! Thanks.

alpha01

I'm sorry Kirstie.

~alpha

nwng

do I get a quicker shift if I drip WD 40 onto the spaceball surface? Oh, what if i spill soda on it?

maxamillion1

Ummm...no it isn't either.

The ONLY Hybrid in that video is the White model in front of the Beige LX.

That model is the ONLY Hybrid in that group.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the Red Sedan up front has a sunroof, chrome door handles, different alloy wheel designs (looks like 17s) and a differerent lower front end that ANY of the other Civics in that group.

From spy shots we ALREADY know that the first white sedan in the group is a Hybrid (it has the antenna in the back)

Spy shots of it were up at Autoweek.com...

And the Beige one is an LX and the last white Sedan is an EX.
Inside Line has pics of the Beige LX....

The Red sedan in the very front is not a Civic, its an Acura EL. Its got the "wing" that goes arcross the grille, the Acura Emblem that's covered in the middle and its got Xenon headlights.

I don't see the Civic getting Xenons before the Accord does....

Look closely, you'll notice what i am talking about.

The Hybrid won't have a sunroof (even the Accord HYBRID does get one)

anonymousposts

so far. Will be interesting to see the real-life product in a few months.

stickguy

this might be a player, if the price is right.

stickguy

don't hold back on us!

I've learned to wait until I see a car in person to finalize my opinion. Sometimes good in pictures but bad in person, or vice versa..

I have actually seen a few new Jetta's in person, and in some colors, they don't actually look too bad.

The civic? We shall see. I'm more concerned with the interior. The Accord styling to me is OK (the butt could be better), but I could live with it. However, I love the interior, which is 10x more important to me, because that's where I spend my time.

maxamillion1

They are at Autoweek.com

They have added new pics of the Hybrid (which is white), an EX (also white) and an EX coupe with a body kit (Silver)

But low and behold, no pics of that mysterious Red sedan that was up in the front....cause its an Acura EL.. :P

Too bad we won't get it here. Its a shame. That'd make a GREAT graduation car for me.

Also Autoweek.com has an article about the returning CRX (Anonymous you might find this stuff interesting, cause I know you loved the SI you had)

So ya'll check it out.

The White EX looks similar to the Mazda3 IMO.

anonymousposts

I REALLLY like that silver coupe. I heard a bell go "ding". Way cheaper than the 6-speed Accord and should be almost as fast. Hmmm ...

maxamillion1

Give me one WITHOUT the body kit though.

Keep the sunroof visor, and that rear lip spoiler.

Add the splash guards and some fog lights and I'm sold.

I already know what I want for graduation unless the next Sentra does it for me.

anonymousposts

how the interior looks I would even consider turning my 04 Accord EX-L in at the end of the lease to buy a Civic EX sedan 5-speed manual in white.

stickguy

if they have that nice driving feel (slick shifter, etc.) back, and the interior looks good (and the seats work), and of course the price is right, might be worth trading in the tC and getting back into something more practical (and comfortable).

Looks like it should have a good size trunk too. That's actually one benefit of the trned to taller, boxy cars. More trunk space (and headroom).

alpha01

But will it really drive better than the Mazda 3? I'm not sold until I drive it.

~alpha

stickguy

Good point. One thing I didn't like on the 3 was the seats.

It sounds like the new engine might be a nice choice in the EX, close to the 3 in performance, but giving mileage like a 3i or better.

I also hope the EX has 16" wheels with not too skinny tires (say 55 series). The 45s on my current car are just overkill for normal use, and real susceptible to damage.

If there is an ipod plug on the radio, they'll have me hooked good.

anonymousposts

likes the 3 sedan but he doesn't fit in it at all. He fits in the 3 hatch but doesn't like the styling. Plus Mazda uses Sirius and he likes XM better.

From what I can see of the dash in the spy shots it appears that the shot of that European interior might be close to what we see in the US. You can tell that it has some sort of two-tier dash.

stickguy

reminds me a little of the later Prelude with that odd ball dash.

maxamillion1

Some things are a little different it seems.

sik99

are they trying to make it impossible to add an after-market cd player. lets face it, not too many stock ones are worth a crap.....that is unless you don't care much about fine sound

-SiK99

damb

I heard that the north american interior may look similar to this. From the spy photos I saw the shifter will be different and the cd will also be different, but the stearing wheel look the same. It seam that with all the photos out there and the video they must have done something really cool with the dash, I can't wait to see what it is. I woudn't mind it looking like the above pic other than the cd player. How long do you think before we get a real look inside.

callmedrfill

Is that a redundant digital speedometer on top, or is that a tach in the guage cluster.

Engine start/stop button. I wouldn't expect to see that except maybe on the Si.

It is expensive looking. If that is similar to what a 18k EX interior will look like, that is quite an advance for the class.

Looks like overkill. But puts an Elantra in it's place. The Elantra will be new next year.

DrFill

corey415

Higher end cars have had dashes that make it very difficult to swap out the head unit for years. When it is integrated like the picture above, it looks MUCH better than the more traditional modular design.

With regards to sound quality, the easiest improvement comes from changing the speakers, not the headunit.

And I love that interior!!

corey415

Center analog gauge will be a tach, digital display above will be speedometer.

sik99

my 99 si head unit was terrible. just by swapping it out for a pioneer did wonders, even with stock speakers.

-SiK99

jscev

I really hope the new Si does not have digital speedometer. That would would play a huge roll in me getting one. I Valet at a hotel during the summer and i hate cars that have digital speedometers.

biker4

Get used to it - they're back in style.

sandpaper

i don't know about digi speedometer either.

and they definitely aren't in 'style'. most luxury cars don't have them.

the last car i know which had a digi speedometer was the suzuki ariel (sp?).. and that car received horrible reviews for it.

alany

Does anyone else feel that the pictured interior is hideous? There are just too many odd, unusual, novel controls spread around. It looks like the interior of a spaceship. It has a certain appeal, but this kind of "wild" design usually starts looking old and out of style fairly quickly. I wish they would have been just a little more conservative.

blueiedgod

What if the dash is just a big LCD that you can customize anyway you want it? or at least have a couple of options?

blane

jscev,

In your post #495 you wrote: "I Valet at a hotel during the summer and i hate cars that have digital speedometers."

That really scares me. Why in the world would someone who is supposed to be carefully and responsibly driving guest's cars, in a hotel parking garage or lot, even need to think about what kind of speedometer the car has? Damn... Stay out of my car!

stickguy

actually, the S2000 has one, so not unprecedented fro Honda.

It does look busy, but certainly possible the US will get a toned down version.

Actually, this looks like something suitable for the Si or coupe, but I don't really seeing it being a big hit in the mainstream sedan. maybe Honda plans to swing back too far to get the "hip" factor back?

biker4

Look at the new S-class.

erem

Edmunds has a spy video of the new civic sedan and coupe here http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=106351

anonymousposts

Mistakes happen. I've heard of "road rage" but I guess we are now seeing "net rage".

backy

I think "hideous" is too strong, but personally I don't like the dash that much. It reminds me of the overdone styling of some boomboxes. I much prefer the more classy looks of dashes such as the Mazda3 (except for the useless flashing red lights on the audio system) and New Jetta. I even like the looks of the Cobalt's dash better than the '06 Civic's.

The dashboard is there to provide information and control over some of the car's functions. The dash itself should not be a distraction, IMO. This one is.

bimmer4me

my first impression of the new 06 dashboard...this can't be! I said the same thing when I first saw the 03 Accord.

mcap56

I have to agree. I've been waiting for this car for a while and I am dissapointed with what I see of the interior. What could be more distracting than a set of bright blue changing numbers placed right below the road view? What are they thinking?

jchan2

the dashboard looks nice, but kind of strange and eccentric and probably shouldn't be put into Honda's bread and butter.

maxamillion1

But as always, has anybody else heard anything about the new Civic.

I'm going by my local Honda dealer in a couple weeks to check out the new inventory.

I heard over at Vtec.net that dealers will get formal training for the new Civic in the middle of August.

That should be interesting....

anonymousposts

from the pictures that Honda has toned down the US Civic's interior.

user1235

How could it be better than a mazda 3 S which has a 2.3L 160 hp engine ? It's starting to look like the new Civic EX is a flop, unless they price it low. The SI is a different story, but again I would not be willing to spend even $3000 more (if at all) on it than on a scion tC (cause the scion can be supercharged for $3000).

maxamillion1

If this new Civic can offer class leading fuel economy, decent size, a nice interior, good styling and an ample ride, I am sure this new Civic will be a success.
I'm also willing to bet that the EX won't be a bad seller, but that the LX will be the most successful model. That's usually the case with Honda's cars...but not its SUVs or Minivans (EX models readily outsell LX ones)

The Mazda3 is the class leader it seems in styling (subjective), ride, handling and it has a great interior, but its gas mileage isn't great (especially in S trim) and the cars can get really expensive when optioned out (S trim again). The 3 is by far my favorite small car though. I love them.

Also, this new Civic will probably compete with the Mazda3 "i" much more so than the "s" and for 06 the Mazda3i will only have ten horsepower more than the new Civic. 140 vs. 150. The Mazda gets a power boost for 06. Suprisingly, the "s" model doesn't get a HP upgrade.

There are also rumors of a Honda Civic SI sedan (per Motortrend's latest comparison), but I'm not holding out much hope for that...