Honda moving up mid-cycle refresh of Civic amidst criticism

Automotive News reports that Honda is itching to release a mid-cycle refresh for the company's 2012 Civic. In response to a harsh criticism from reviewers and the model's first failure to earn a coveted Recommended rating from Consumer Reports in recent memory, the automaker has apparently decided to pull ahead the model's refresh to 2013 instead of 2014. The report quotes John Mendel, American Honda Executive Vice President, as saying that his company is "appropriately energized" by feedback from critics and customers alike. At the same time, the executive stressed that he wasn't sure exactly how much the manufacturer could do or how quickly it could be accomplished.

Critics have specifically found issue with the vehicle's overly soft handling and muddled, plastic-laden dash design, especially as competition in the segment has matured and grown even more compelling. While the 2012 Honda Civic initially saw a spike in consumer interest, shoppers may have trickled off; something that analysts say is highly unusual for any Honda model, let alone this onetime leader of the compact segment.

What will the refresh bring? We can only imagine that Honda will work to cure the ails that Consumer Reports has specifically called out by improving the interior and rolling in additional content.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/31/h...dst-criticism/

 

It would be nice if Honda did this for the rest of their lineup too lol

 

Hopefully it will be SOON. My sister is currently looking to replace the 2ES hand-me-down that I gave her and we went car shopping on Saturday. Looked and test drove the facelifted Corolla, in which the most memorable thing was that the salesman got stuck getting out of the back seat. We also looked at the Kia Forte 4dr, in which my sister loved inside and out (I loved how it was so roomy among other things).

Then we drove to the Honda dealership, took one look at the Civic, then decided it was too ugly to test drive. We spent more time looking at a used 2IS in Starfire Pearl than actually at Honda's...

 

Having reviewed a new Civic myself, I agree that the cheapened interior has too much hard plastic, and the sheet-metal is now somewhat thinner and more light-weight. But the Civic is not alone in over-doing the interior and sheet-metal cost-cutting in its latest version......a number of newer vehicles, especially in the compact/sub-compact class, have done pretty much the same thing.

I don't agree, though, that its handling is "overly soft". Too many people in the auto-press, IMO, seem to think that there is something wrong if a sedan does not ride or handle like a hard-edged sports-car.

 

Pretty much sums up what i was going to say and my opinion on the ride quality as well. I don't get why reviewers and the general public are complaining about the ride when the regular Civic is an economy daily driver car. It's not a sports car in anyway and that's why it doesn't handle or ride like one.

 

Honda couldn't be more boring if they tried.
I got a CU2 Honda accord euro (TSX) as a daily, it's a great car, but boring! They are only getting worse...

 

This reminds me of the rushed emergency Pontiac Aztek refresh. Within one and a half model years, the thing was changed. For Honda to have to stoop to this is absolutely embarassing and shameful. Looking back over the last ten years, the changes this company has gone through is truly sad.

The article doesn't say much, but if they moved the refresh to 2013, that would mean only one model year of the current design? That's unheard of, and probably not going to happen. Even if it came in model year 2014, that's still only two model years of a new design.

How many mistakes can this company make before they lose their core ,"I don't care, it's a Honda and I am buying it" customer?

 

I think the Civic was always the benchmark and standard of the economy cars. It was the economy car that didn't feel like one as much as the others.

Now - to save money they've brought the car down to the level of the others - and people have noticed (and complained).

The cheapness plus the safe, boring design equals a car no one really cares for.

 

At this point I rather have them put focus into the next generation. Unless they roll out with some new engines, this gen Civic is a no-name to me.

 

They should just bring back the 2006 model. That would be a huge improvement.

 

To be honest, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon...if at all. Even though Hondas aren't quite the value they were 5-10-years ago, they still have a LOT of core-customers. And old habits die hard.

Let's face it......Hondas satisfied a lot of people over the years, and satisfied customers often come back.

 

Looks-wise, not really......there really isn't that much difference between the two. Quality of materials, though....there, you've got more of a point.

 

And I'm actually referring more to styling. But yeah, everything else seems lower grade too.

I've mentioned this before that Honda somehow managed to keep the Civic too similar from the last gen to the new one yet somehow made the new one look much worse. They messed up all the little details that made the 8th gen work so well. Now, it looks bloated and boringly plain when the last one looked lean, sporty, and stylized. I don't know how they did it.

 

Wow, refresh after one year for new gen? Unheard of from Honda!

 

Honda should fire their designers for even thinking they could release something like the new Civic in the new competitive industry. I personally don't mind the new Civic and it looks even alright to me, but to go from the industry-leading previous generation Civic to something that REGRESSES from that design-wise? There needs to be a corporate-wide enema of designers, executives, etc. in order for them to recover.