For years, us Americans have toiled under a separate paradigm. We got one Civic, while most parts of the world received another one. Today, that changes. This is the first global Civic, and it’s a bigger deal than you think. Oh, and we’ll be getting the Type-R, too.
And this doesn’t sound like an April Fools’ Joke, either. Otherwise Honda just dropped a lot of money on a very big presentation and the humor of a cruel monster.
Honda is calling it “the return of the sporty Civic.” The base line trims will come with a four cylinder plant that’s similar to what we’re used to, but for the first time (I think, feel free to check me on this) we’ll be getting a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine.
Civic. Turbo. VTEC.
(Insert your own Fast and Furious joke here.)
What you’re seeing here is supposed to be the coupe. And though on paper it’s bigger than the outgoing model, in person it feels smaller and sleeker. The sloping roof towards the rear feels tightened and less busy than the old coupe configuration, and is definitely a big improvement in terms of styling.
And classing it up a bit in the styling department as well comes LED lights in both the front and rear.
The new Civic will come with either a CVT or manual, and come in sedan, coupe, and Si trims. And one more: the five-door hatch. And another: THE FREAKING TYPE-R!
Let’s just repeat that one more time. We. Will. Be. Getting. The. Honda Civic Type-R.
And that’s huge. If we’re being honest among friends here, the last Honda Civic Si was never exactly going to set your pants on fire. With huge competition from the likes of the Ford Focus ST and a few others, it just never shined as brightly as it once did.
But the Type-R? That might bring Honda back to the top of the super-hatch game in the United States.
We don’t know anything about power yet in either the base Civics (probably adequate), the Si (hopefully punchy), or the Type-R (wishfully tremendous), but if Honda wants to keep its reputation for spry, light little cars, they won’t let us down.