-J-P-L-

This is officially the worst redesign in automotive history. The current Civic has been one of my favorite designs out there since it came out, and now it's like blah, who cares. 2006 Civic = more modern than 2012 Civic = utter fail.

Also, Honda prided itself with the best economy car stance with little wheel gap on the current Civic. And now it is worse than Toyota economy car wheel gap. Now it's a Civic SUV.

And to remind people of the far superior interiors this thing must compete with...

Cruze



Elantra



Focus



And what adds to the embarrassment is that these are American and Korean cars that, until now, have always been much, much worse than Honda for interiors.

spwolf

but but but

:-)

it is quite horrible, granpas and granmas will like it

spwolf

p.s. JPL - all 3 of those interiors are horribly complicated. I bet Civic will easily outsell those cars.

-J-P-L-

Agreed that Honda wins on easy to use ergonomics but those three interiors are just far more modern and exciting and appear more upscale. Yes, a bit busy, but I'd still take them over the Civic.

STIG

Ford Focus is full of wins! I can't believe I just said that.

LexFather

Well shame on them. Not sure how those interiors are any more complicated then the 1960s star trek interior...

Which is old which is new?

MR_F1

Agreed. I'd use the adjective overwrought, but yeah... civic will still own all of them in sales, regardless of the fact...well my opinion, that the interior looks like a POS from 1996.

Speaking of Hyundai's exterior designs... they are rather hit or miss and all overly elaborated. Unnecessary lines everywhere... Really don't see why the internet is alight and in love with them. Regardless.. vanilla is still the most popular flavour of ice cream, and while I think that a more extensive change on the outside would have been good for the civic (like the last change of generation for the corolla) it will still do just fine.

-J-P-L-

I'm still shocked that neither generation shares barely any parts and yet both the exterior and interior look nearly unchanged.

LexFather

Horrible interiors. Sad went from some of the best around to just horrid.

TRDFantasy

Not sure what you're trying to get at here. Everyone has different opinions.

To me, this Civic has goofy proportions and chunky styling. It's not completely bland, but it is quite plain. Most of Honda's lineup to me has goofy proportions, along with massive overhangs, and some polarizing styling elements on new models. Toyota cars for me have better proportions, and the styling is less ungainly.

Hyundai styling is too garish and overstyled for me.

I find Toyota's lineup less "bland" and more attractive than Honda's lineup. Personal preference of course. Toyota's lineup has a nice balance of everything IMO. Not too bland, not too garish or overstyled, and just enough attractive and elegant styling cues.

GlobeCLK

iTrader: (5)

Speaking of Corollas, I just saw a new 2011 Corolla on the freeway today. The tacky taillights made it hard for me to believe that this is actually a new model.

The new Elantra and the Sonata (and OMG the new Kia Optima) make me worry A LOT about Toyota and Honda's blandness.

Fizzboy7

Horrible redesign! What a shocking thought that after 4-5 failed models, Honda STILL has no clue what they are doing. Who the hell is running this company and why is it taking ten years for them to shape up? This has got to stop. An entirely good company is being destroyed.

New Civic:

Worst exterior feature has got to be the extra sail window added above the sideview mirror. THIS IS A HUGE FAIL!!! Sail windows are from the 70's, look old-fashioned, nerdy, and clunky. There is nothing sporty or elegant with these windows. They were on most 70's and 80's pieces of junk.

Rear end style is extremely frumpy and dumpy. Sagging in the center looks like the car is weak and broken. Back end is also jacked up way to high, like the car just got rear ended. Again, who at Honda thought that was attractive? How is a crashed car sitting on the side of the highway a pretty sight? "Hello, Honda? I'd like to buy a car that looks like it just got rear-ended... do you have a model for me?" Yes son, come on down to our dealership. We have something for you. And while you are here, notice we went through the trouble of slapping 1980's stickers on the car too. So everyone in your high school knows we took another 5 years to not think up of anything else other than DOHC."

Interior: I think it's an improvement over the sectioned "pod" look of the current model. It's nothing special, but better than the current one. However, what still mares Civic interiors is the double section gauge layer. **This is absolutely unecessary!!!** There is no need to cut up the dashboard with another layer just to show the speedometer. All that could be neatly and cleanly integrated with the tach. The idea is "integration." Keep it easy on the eyes and mind. The new Hyundai and Focus/Fiesta also suffer from overly busy and overstyled dashes.

Mechanically, I am reading absolutely NOTHING new or ground-breaking. They had 5 years to come up with this? Again, FAIL. NOT EVEN MANUMATIC SHIFTING for the auto trans!!! That is rediculous for 2012! Those in charge at Honda have no right being where they are at- ruinning a once fine company. Very very sad this is happening. It's like having a peach tree in the back yard that produces the sweetest and juiciest peaches- for decades. Then one year the crop is weak, and the next year weaker. Eventually, the tree starts drying out and dies. Honda is that peach tree.

WAES300

What's going on, Honda!????

I have to admit Honda was one of my favorite brands when I was growing up. When I got closer to driving, they introduced the 06 Civic. Weird, but I've grown to it; having driven it a few times its a fun little piece. I like the 03+ Accord, I thought it looked great. Then the Ridgeline came out. I guess they decided that is going to be the inspiration for every Honda onwards. The 09+ Accord. The TL...which depresses me the most. All Acura's.This so called 'all new' Civic. Can't forget the Element...and the Odyssey. Now they have the CR-V to mess up. Oh and the Insight?!

I sooooo looked forward to owning a 'cool' Honda, but they are very unimpressive these days.. As much as I dislike Hyundai's overly complicated styling (no it does not look good) at least it can look good from some angles. That said...

Ford Focus please!!!

LexBob2

When you work up a score sheet, please let me know.

All three of these cars will do just fine. They'll find their niche and the competition will be good for consumers.

After all 3 have their new models on the market, my guess is the 1 2 3 sales rankings will be the same as they are now.

CleanSC

Yes, they blew the refresh on the Corolla. The 2009-2010 Corolla was a damn nice little car in S or XRS trim. Perfectly styled while still maintaining space, visibility, and a balance of vanilla with some excitement sprinkled on.

The refresh killed all that. The tail lights and the front grille simply blow.

This being said, the Corolla's refresh looks like more of a change than the Civic's complete redesign.

And that's very sad.

At least the Corolla will change in 2 years or so. This Civic will be shoved down our throats for years to come. A design we are already tired of looking at.