Road Test : 2012 Honda Civic (VTi-L, Sport & Hybrid)

Review by Tristan Tancredi - 16 May 2012 (Updated 13 June)

I remember it well. The year was 2002 and I was bunnyhopping my way out of the school gates of my high school. The yellow L Plates brightly glistening in the windshield of my first ever car. A 1994 Honda Civic.

A family hand-me-down that had seen much better days, was my first ever car that I quite literally drove until its demise.  The 1994 Civic was durable, efficient and reliable. Hell, i could still be driving my 94 Civic today if I had looked after it.

So, you can understand my excitement at the 2012 Honda Civic. Not only has it drastically improved from the 5th Generation Civic (92-95), it has been appraised, improved and refined since the 8th Generation Civic (2006-2011). The designers have gone over every aspect of the Civic with a fine tooth comb and looked at ways to make it even better.

The result, a 9th Generation Honda Civic. A larger small car, with refined class. It should come as no surprise that over 200,000 Civics have been sold in Australia over Hondas 40 year history.

We take a closer look at the base model Civic VTi-L, the Sport and the Hybrid Civic.

Drive: 4/5

We started our 3 week "Civic Journey" with the Civic Sport.

The Sport packs a 5 speed Auto Transmission with paddle switch controls. The transmission offers a pleasant enough drive, however for a Sports addition, we felt that there wasn't enough grunt in the lower gears, it really was lacking genuine speed. The lack of a manual option is also quite dissapointing.

As you would expect with Honda, the car handles itself well on all road surfaces. Turns, straights, bumps, you name it, the car stacks up against the best of them.

Week 2 and we parted ways with the Civic Sport and got cracking with the Civic Hybrid. The differences were immediately apparent with a greater influence placed on fuel-economy rather than "Sportiness".

An Econ Button sits to the right of the steering wheel and, when activated, maximises fuel efficiency through altering the engine performance, tranmission, etc. Bars on either side of the speedo change colours depending on driving styles.

Blue is bad, Green is Good. I hate to admit it, but I saw blue quite a few too many times and I felt guilty doing so. Bloody Hybrid. Despite delivering less power with Econ mode on, the drive is still exceptional. More sound-proof insulation surrounding the civic then ever before makes it quiet enough for a quick snooze during the occasional lunch break.

Week 3 came around and we decided to compare the Sport and the Hybrid with the base model VTi-L. Our initial response to the VTi-L was one of notable difference to the Hybrid, yet the differences to the Sport range wasn't highly apparent.

The Sport, despite having slightly higher power and torque outputs wasn't massively convincing over the base model, in fact, the drive was all too similar. The VTi-L delivers a smooth, bumpless ride, with comparable speed to the Sport.

The Sport weighs in at 1760kg with a kerb weight of 1290kg, the Hybrid at 1740kg with a kerb weight of 1285kg and the VTi- L slightly leaner at 1690kg and a kerb weight of 1230kg.

Engine: 4.5/5

An Inline 4-cylinder SOHC i-VTEC engine sits beneath the hood of the Honda Civic VTI-L, the Honda Civic Sport and the Honda Civic Hybrid. The Hybrid engine comes with IMA (Integrated Motor Assist).

Integrated Motor Assist is basically Hondas Hybrid Car technology. A great fuel saving tool of IMA is the ability to shut off the engine when the car is stationary and restart when touching the accelerator. This takes a bit of getting used to, but over time becomes barely noticeable (Can be switched on and off).

The Civic Sport is available in only 5-Speed Automatic Transmission with Grade Logic Control. Despite delivering more power (114kW @ 6500rpm) and torque (190Nm @ 4300rpm) then the standard Civic VTi-L (power : 104kW @ 6500rpm and torque: 174Nm @ 4300rpm) the ultimate result is a car that doesn't outperform the standard VTi-L substantially.

The Hybrid utilises Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) which can provide better fuel economy by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient RPM for a range of vehicle speeds. (Max Power is 82kW @ 5500rpm and Max Torque at 172Nm @ 1000-3500rpm).

This translates to fuel consumption figures (even better with econ mode on) of only 4.4l per 100kms and CO2 emissions of 104 g/km. Compare that to the Sport at 7.5l per 100kms and 178g/km and the VTi-L at 6.7l per 100kms and 158g/km, and theres a bit of money to be saved with the Hybrid, albeit forfeiting a bit of grunt.

Exterior: 4/5

The Civic measures in at 4540mm long and 1755 mm wide. The Sport stands at 1435mm high, whilst the Hybrid is 5mm shorter.

The polished metal / grey and white civics I was lucky enough to drive held a strong on road presence. The exterior style lines that wrap around the vehicle create a balanced, flawless style. Every curve, crevice and line is symmetrical and backs up Hondas marketing catch phrase for the 2012 Civic, "Symphony in Motion". Everything looks and feels "right".

17" Alloys sit beneath the Sport, combine this with a sunroof and it puts the Sport ahead of the Hybrid and base model civic on exterior looks alone. The Hybrid has 15" Alloys and the VTi-L has 16 inchers and although having an on-road presence, it's simply not to the extent of the Sport.

An extra 89 litres of bootspace accompanies the Sport and VTi-L with a total of 440 litres. The Hybrid is limited to 351 litres.

Safety: 5/5

The 2012 Honda Civic holds a 5 star ANCAP safety rating. (Drastic improvement from the 2011 model which held a 4 Star ANCAP rating).

A host of airbags line the cabin including; Driver and Front Passenger Airbags, Driver and front passenger side airbags, Front passenger side airbags and Full length curtain airbags.

ABS, Brake Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control are standard with both the Sport and Hybrid.

A reversing camera is available for the Civic range and a temporary spare wheel sits in the boot of all cars.

Interior: 4/5

The interior set-up is pretty much the same across the board. Like all Civics of yesteryear, High quality plastics line the front dash and linings and are well balanced and simple.

The seating differs slightly across the range. The Sport offers fully reclinable front soft-leather seating, with a rear 60/40 fold down yet the Hybrid doesn't come with leather seating nor do the backseats fold down. The VTi-L comes with fabric seating and a 60/40 rear seat fold-down. However the Civic range still provides plenty of room for 4 adults to fit comfortably on generous journeys.

An intelligent-Multi Information Display (i-MID) sits in perfect symmetry behind the steering wheel and offers valuable information on Fuel Economy, Trip Meters, Time Travelled and all that jazz. An Eco guide feedback monitor and an IMA power flow monitor are available on the Hybrid models only.

Adding a personalised wallpaper is a nice touch to the i-MID. Nothing takes the stress out of city driving better the Victorias Secret Angels.

Improved visibility to the road ahead (and behind) is also a great addition to the 2012 range.

AUX input, CD and Bluetooth allow for all the standard media outlets and are easy to set up and easier to use due to simple, well designed buttons on the front console and steering wheel.

Just don't expect massive bass drops from your favourite Dub-Step song on the Civic Speaker system. They are good, but not that good.

Overall: 4/5

The 2012 Civic, whilst not a total overhaul of past models, has made neccessary updates and refinements to its collection. A few tweaks here and there to stay ahead of the competition is vital. That's what Honda has done here.

It has increased Fuel efficiency, improved driving dynamics and implemented Honda's ECO assist system to stay with, if not, get ahead of its competition. 

Choosing between the VTi-L, the Civic Sport and the Civic Hybrid is a tricky one. On one hand, the Sport has more grunt, has a few more physical pleasures, and is a few grand cheaper. Yet on the other hand, the Hybrid will see you send less CO2 into the atmosphere and will see you spend less time frequenting the bowsers. Either way, the Honda Civic is a brilliant car.

Happy 40th Birthday indeed Honda.

* Prices are manufacturer list prices only, for the drive away price please contact your local authorised Honda dealer.