It’s that magical time of the year when we get the blooming of a new Honda Civic, and it looks like the 11th-generation model is embracing its dicey past by going full-blown Honda Crosstour all over again.
The old Honda Crosstour was somewhat of a wagon, somewhat of a fastback four-door coupe thing, if you’re European maybe. Regardless, it was mocked in its time for trying to look like anything other than what it actually was: a pretty functional Accord wagon.
It wasn’t very popular, and clearly Honda wasn’t confident enough to just go full Accord-branding with it, but now it seems the concept is being reborn in a potentially smaller package with the next Civic.
These patent images registered under Honda through an Australian Government IP website (via CivicXI and Civic Forum) of what’s pretty clearly a Honda model show the hatchback body-style of the compact sedan will dramatically shift away from its very bold and dramatic current design language into something, well, like that old Crosstour. A smooth sedan-wagon desperately trying to avoid too close of a comparison to the infamous third-gen Ford Taurus wagon. But we’re getting close here.
Of course, it’s safe to assume sportier design interpretations are still to come, as this may not even be the Sport or Si trim model we’re looking at, but rather a trim to be aimed more around the LX, EX, or EX-L trims.
I do not hate the look yet, it’s way too early to make a bold proclamation from some computer renders in various shades of the grey emotions in my soul at the moment. But I will note that the decision to model the new visual identity of the Civic after the current tenth-generation Honda Accord is... a choice. It’s just inviting both a direct and a subliminal visual connection to the Crosstour. But maybe Honda views that as a good thing?
The website was later updated, via Civic Forum, with images of the sedan body style if you don’t like the hatchback’s roofline and rear-end at the moment. That new rear light treatment probably looks solid on a sportier sedan so we’ll see.
It’s not yet clear when Honda plans to actually debut the production Civic, if that is in fact what these renders are showing us. Regardless, it at least looks convincingly like a real Honda to me.
To see more photos, head over to Civic XI and Civic Forum.