2012 vs. 2009: Has the Honda Civic really regressed?

Since we first saw it in Canada as a concept car (January 2011 at the Montreal Auto Show), the new Honda Civic has faced some very harsh criticism. Basically, articles underscoring critics’ disappointment and dislike of the 2012 model abound.

These comments reached Honda’s upper management, who promptly promised changes for the 2013 model. For once, an automaker has listened and acted quickly. And for that, we salute them.

• Also: Honda Civic is Most Popular Vehicle in Canada 16 Years Running

Infidelity

But is this Civic really that bad? Not really. The Civic and I go way back. I bought my first Civic in 1982. That was followed by several years of wandering from Toyota (1985 Tercel, a rare lemon from Toyota), to VW (1987 and 1989 Fox, cars that I loved but that cost far too much to maintain) and finally to Suzuki (1993 Swift GL sedan that never failed me... until a clutch cable broke the same day I was starting a new job!). I came back to Honda and its Civics in 1996 to stay – sometimes by choice, sometimes by obligation. Currently, I have a 2009 Civic DX-G with a manual gearbox. My wife drives it, since my work requires me to constantly drive something else. Being the conscientious journalist that I am, I asked my better half – who makes three-quarters of our decisions – to test drive the new Civic and compare it our car. She proceeded without hesitation. In the meantime, I had to put up with the utter indignity – for an automobile journalist, that is – of driving my own car.

For this test drive, Honda entrusted us with an automatic EX sedan. Although my beloved was thoroughly unhappy with this gearbox (she prefers manual by far), she quickly noted the commonalities and differences between the two cars. For starters, the left rear-view mirror is further back on the previous generation, which means that you have to turn your head more. Secondly, the newcomer has better soundproofing than the older version (Editor’s note: it would have taken years of research and the best engineers in the world to come up with something worse than before). My wife, a huge music lover, also noted that the sound system on the 2012 was less harsh on her delicate ears and easier to adjust than the 2009.

Typically female priorities

My wife also found that the controls on the dashboard were well laid out and user-friendly, which she also says about the 2009 model. Personally, I find that the 2012 dashboard is singularly ugly, but that’s just my opinion. The seats were particularly comfortable, much like the 2009. On the other hand, she found that the seatback on the new generation was a little more curved, which could be uncomfortable on long trips. As for the rear bench, I find it just as hard as before. Improvements were made to the window defroster, but that’s not saying much, and the plastics aren’t much better. My wife liked that the interior is roomier than before.

As for the ride, nothing much has changed. The engine, a 1.8-litre four-cylinder producing 140 horses and 128 lbs.-ft. of torque, remains the same. What about performance? The wife found it easier to maintain a constant speed in the new Civic than with the older version, thanks no doubt to the now more powerful electronic accelerator. All of the 2012 Civics are now equipped with an “Econ” button that modifies the engine, transmission and accelerator settings and helps fuel economy. However, once the button is activated, performance suffers. The Iron Lady didn’t even notice this button! Fuel consumption is a near stalemate, with 7.9 for 2009 and 8.0 for 2012, but the cars were driven on different roads and in a very different way. During this weeklong test drive, I went on three very long rides, while my wife made five short trips. Additionally, while I travelled about 800 km with the 2009 model, she quite cover 350 km with the 2012, which implies that this car’s engine barely had the time to reach the ideal operating temperature at this insanely cold time of year, thus increasing fuel consumption.

When I asked my beloved if the suspension seemed more comfortable than before, her response was both detailed and technical: “I don’t know, I didn’t notice.” I must admit that the difference between the two isn’t very noticeable, even though I found the 2012 version slightly smoother.

The 2012 was better in almost every way

At the close of this unusual test drive, my wife of 30 years concluded that she would gladly trade her 2009 for a 2012, as the new version is a little better in many areas. As for me, I’m not sure I like the style of the 2012 Civic, but that didn’t seem to bother my wife, even though she wasn’t blown away by its look.

The sport version, the Si, features far more inspired lines, but for the average person, the regular Civic does the job perfectly with respectable fuel consumption, very good comfort and especially, better reliability. Who doesn’t love peace of mind? I would be very curious to see what sort of welcome the new Civic would have received if only it had been more stylish. It may not have been hailed as pure genius, but it would have been compared a lot more to the Hyundai Elantra than to the Toyota Corolla, that’s for sure!