My, how you've grown

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 05/04/2017 at 14:51 • Filed to: Honda, Civic, Ugly

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The Honda Civic used to be a small three door hatch with restrained styling and a reputation for being just a bit better than many of its rivals.

This kind of thing:

The only Civic I’ve ever driven was one of these.

Then Honda realised that back doors were the way forward so they came up with this dull but sensible model:

Next they decided that dull wasn’t the thing to do after all so they tried more adventurous styling complete with Alfa 156 type rear doors:

The other day I saw the latest model on the road. It’s become yuuuge compared to its predecessors and had a severe thrashing from the ugly stick with sticky-out bits and overwrought details everywhere

Why Honda think this is going to improve their fortunes on my side of the Atlantic I don’t know.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 14:53

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I am in complete agreement.

Nothing > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 14:55

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Hey, I resemble that first one! I like the older hatches, they were fun cars.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 14:55

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The late-90s models were peak civic. Last one to have SLA suspension, decently modern features, well-built, very economical, increasingly getting ruined by the stancelyfe crowd.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 14:59

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I like the new one, the type R is a bit much, but they at least have some styling now. Before they looked like a camry with an H badge in place of a T. Not sure if it will age as well though

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:08

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I’m surprised they sell so well here, because even though Americans are kind of stupid when it comes to cars, they can usually identify ugly. Then again, I felt the same way about the new Prius and those things are selling like hot cakes.

CalzoneGolem > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/04/2017 at 15:11

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It doesn’t matter what the Prius looks like as long as it looks like a Prius.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:14

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I saw one this morning. I actually like it. The Fit/Jazz is a fitting (no pun intended) replacement for the pre-EP Civics, while the Civic has gotten bigger. We just need an Si version.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:19

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Today I learned there was a 5 door version of the EP3 Civic. Makes sense, just weird since only the 3 door Si was sold in the US.

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > not for canada - australian in disguise 05/04/2017 at 15:19

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Yes, please. Factory K20'd (or I guess 1.5/1.6l Turbo now) Fit/Jazz. It would fall in line well with what Ford has done with FiST/FoST/RS (JazzSi/CivicSI/CivicR).

Textured Soy Protein > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:29

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Well, technically, this:

Also existed as this:

Cé hé sin > Textured Soy Protein 05/04/2017 at 15:36

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Albeit in small numbers. The five door was (at least where I am) much more popular.

LongbowMkII > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/04/2017 at 15:37

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I like the 4th gen Prius, but hating it makes total sense. The civic is incomprehensibly ugly.

Cé hé sin > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 05/04/2017 at 15:37

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Buying habits differ. The five door greatly outsold the three door here.

Leon711 > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:41

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The new civic hatch is a full 30cm longer than a golf.

and 100 more > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/04/2017 at 15:42

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People buy the Prius because it is a relatively practical hybrid.

Likewise, people are buying the Civic, mostly because they’re practical commuter cars.

Both come from companies with reputations for reliable products (rightly earned or not; you be the judge).

When you can start picking cars based on their looks as the top priority, you’re playing in a different league, and you’re likely not shopping for Civics or Prii (Priuses?).

So, whether us Americans have good taste in cars or not has little bearing on the current state of the Civic. They’re going to sell like hotcakes dispite being butt-ugly. We know it’s ugly. But we don’t have a lot of latitude in Honda boardroom in Nippon .

Cé hé sin > Leon711 05/04/2017 at 15:44

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It looks every mm of it - in fact it looks like a four door car. Without looking it up I suspect it’s as big as earlier Accords.

Textured Soy Protein > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:44

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In the U.S. the 3-door Si was the only Civic hatchback we got of that generation. The volume sellers were these:

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:45

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I would have expected it to, the 5 door was the “normal” practical Civic outside the US.

Still seeing quite a few new Civic hatchbacks around here ... just wish they weren’t so hideous.

Cé hé sin > Textured Soy Protein 05/04/2017 at 15:52

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We’ve had the coupé in the past, I think the generation before that. It was as I recall imported from America because of the lack of enough demand elsewhere to justify more than one production site. Four door Civics were generally sold as hybrids but they’ve gone away, as have Honda hybrids of any description. We used to have a Jazz (Fit) hybrid but it was made in Japan and exchange rate movements made it too expensive to be viable.

Leon711 > Cé hé sin 05/04/2017 at 15:59

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UK spec to UK Spec the 03-08 accord saloon is 4665mm long and 1760mm wide, new civic is 4518mm long and 1799mm wide. If I went back another gen it’s probably smaller than a civic

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > and 100 more 05/04/2017 at 16:01

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Well, it’s more that Americans usually seem to go for a combination of need and want, especially when you’re at this level. Pure need cars tend to be pretty sad, but these are not in the pure need category. That’s the realm of much cheaper cars.

The Civic is uglier than the current Toyota Corolla (with which it, ostensibly, competes), and they’re both hideous compared to the Mazda3 and numerous cheaper offerings from Hyundai & Kia. That is, you don’t even need to go domestic or European to get something better looking in this size range...

and 100 more > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/04/2017 at 16:47

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And please believe, we have plenty of Kias and Hyundais running around lately. Not only are they better looking (well, the Kias definitely are); they’re usually a better deal off the lot, when you consider standard/optional equipment.

But Toyota and Honda sell as well as they do based off momentum/reputation (and will likely continue to do so), something that the Koreans haven’t quite established yet.

Again, though, we don’t really get too much input on what gets sent over to us on the boat from Japan, especially from Honda. Speaking as an American, most of us are not exactly fond of the new Civic either...

SinusoidDelta > and 100 more 05/04/2017 at 23:29

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Believe it or not Honda R&D Americas was Development lead for the 16M Civic. Obviously there was heavy involvement from Honda Tochigi but many of the lead engineers are American.  

and 100 more > SinusoidDelta 05/04/2017 at 23:45

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Well, fuck me then.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Cé hé sin 05/05/2017 at 15:56

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I bet nobody will ever turn a current one into one of these. How do you shorten a 1st gen? Aren’t they short enough already???