2012 Honda Civic arrives at dealers

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I really can’t see the improvement over the previous model.
No matter how many pictures I see of the new one.

A blocky, cheaper looking version of the 2011 model is all I can see.

Maybe it just looks amazing in person. Who knows….

Conversation 29 comments

  1. I saw it in the flesh at my local dealer. Personally, I think the exterior looks much better in the flesh.

    The interior, though, is terrible IMO. Nothing but cheap, hard plastics…just like the Corolla. The interior fabric was severely cheapened as well & is now on par with that in the Fit. All sorts of cost cuts across the board ala the Jetta. No more lining on the roof of the trunk. Hinges are just medal & no longer covered in plastic.

    Exposed cupholders. Armrest no longer slides. The radio looks even worse in person. And, oddly, the climate control knobs have chrome bezels that don't match anything else in the car. Last, I noticed that the tan tint on the glove box / lower dash board didn't quite match the tint of the door panel. Very disapointing interior for sure….

  2. I was all up defending the car with all the whining and bitching about this car. I drove an EX Sedan. The car is so cheapened its sad. It's the 1st Honda by Toyota!

    I got back in my 2007 grinning ear to ear how I love my car.

    This car is DISGUSTING.

    Good luck Honda. Your heydays are OVER.

  3. Yea I went to my local Honda dealer here n spartanburg, sc and they have several…I'm sorry but I can't see anyone that has car sense n buying this espcially there is a ford dealer directly across the street with a beautiful red SEL hatch back '12 Focus sitting out front.

  4. Saw an EX and LX at a dealer over the weekend. Honda has struck out again. They have officailly screwed up their bread-and-butter sedan. The doors and dash area all hard plastics now. And the seating fabric is horrible…full of A-symetrical patterns. The styling is a horribly done caricature of the previous generation. Everything looks similar to the previous gen but looks either overdone/underdone or cheap. The '06-'11 Civic looks better inside and out and from any angle. The only thing I will give Honda credit for is the new display screen to the right of the steering wheel. And aparently, that is where they spent all of the development money. This car is a stunning disappointment.

  5. Okay.

    What's up with all this decontenting coming from Honda and VW? Look over at Hyundai/Kia and they're loading their cars up with all sorts of goodies like, I don't know, beautiful design, premium materials inside and out, fantastic reliability and warranties, outstanding fuel economy, reasonable prices…

  6. This was never true in the past, until now, being I looked at one of these Saturday:

    How do you spell AWFUL? C I V I C.

    Honda, you should be SOOO ashamed of yourselves!!

  7. April 18, 2011 8:07 PM
    April 18, 2011 8:08 PM
    April 18, 2011 8:23 PM

    These are all the same posters, and I have to say that the rest are suspicious as well.

    Vince, can't you prevent this from happening?

  8. Another bunted 'restyle'. Wrong time Honda, wrong time. Ten years ago this would go by unnoticed but most cars under 30k are 'pretty nice' now.

  9. yes I know, I was in one already, in a word…..YUK! what a piecy looking, disjointed, non functional car. Horrible placement of vents and controls, no flow, no ryme or reason. Compare this to the Versa interior above. Honda is very lost.

  10. Compared with the upcoming Nissan Versa interior photos above, this Civic's interior looks dated already!

  11. hey guys you can whinning and bitching about this car!!! IT WILL STILL SELL!!! PERIOD!!!! best selling vehicle as of march2011! honda for life!

  12. Okay.

    Quote: "hey guys you can whinning and bitching about this car!!! IT WILL STILL SELL!!! PERIOD!!!! best selling vehicle as of march2011! honda for life!"

    McDonald's has over a Billion served. That doesn't make them the paragon of fine dining.

    Fanboy…

  13. no matter if it sells. Its still an ugly duckling compared to what other car manufacturers are proposing.

  14. Okay.

    Quote: "hey guys you can whinning and bitching about this car!!! IT WILL STILL SELL!!! PERIOD!!!! best selling vehicle as of march2011! honda for life!"

    McDonald's has over a Billion served. That doesn't make them the paragon of fine dining.

    Fanboy… Provide me some figures with other manufactures with the same competition as civic that has sold over the years? Compare it?? Yes still nobody beats the civic! Thank you!

  15. Japan didn't learn from America.

    Hyundai is doing to Toyota and Honda what they used to do to GM, Ford and Chrysler. Now, US manufacturers are roaring back, but Honda and Toyota have clearly lost their way with very poor (ie: fugly) designs, cheap interiors and skrimping on the features. They won't be able to live off their reputation forever.

  16. I do believe Honda lost its way a while back when they entered the hybrid competition with Toyota and decided 1) sport didnt sell well enough 2) consumers could receive less in fundamental areas (such as braking, suspensions) and wouldnt know the difference precisely because Honda engineers are so good at minimizing those differences 3) discordant designs and higher end vehicles is where their future lies. It may sell, but Honda is no longer guaranteed a top spot with so many automakers coming on strong. And soon, its wont just be Hyundai but perhaps China too (with the help of partners) will narrow the gap. The problem was a shift in management and its just gone severely downhill since Ito took over. History will show him to be the one who decimated the Honda core values. At least theres Acura. It will be very telling to see what the sub-TSX model becomes (word is the target is of course a Toyota product – Lexus IS350 – its like they just cant help themselves).

  17. Vince, I drove one at the press event last week in MD and it honestly isn't as bad as everyone is saying. The interior is just fine, nothing wrong with it at all.

    I can't fully comment yet on how it drives though, but I'll say that it is dynamically better than the 8th generation and is still better than most of the competition.

    Anonymity is great!

  18. Remember when Honda used to blow our minds with excitement? Now we're supposed to get excited about 'its not that bad'.

  19. I drove a manual sedan last week. amazingly smooth quiet ride but steering was like my 83 Accord: zero feedback. likewise the clutch.. same as 83,way too soft. And the cloth seats are as exciting now as they were back then. And the 83 had a better dash. Oh well, should have kept the old Accord, CVCC and all.

  20. There is no new 6 speed automatic transmission or direct injection engine to be had in this sorry old school excuse for a 2012 modern car!

  21. eh! i am in hurry to go for a test drive with this car. Is it available for all Asian Country?

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