2017 Honda Civic Sedan - interior Exterior and Drive (Great Coupe)

Car Review: 2017 Honda Civic

While the entry-level Civic is competitively priced, you may want to look at the higher trim levels for luxury features such as heated rear seats

A snappy little sedan that’s the best Civic yet
Pros Good handling, nice engine, lots of features at the top end
Cons Some cabin fixtures could use improvement
Value for money Excellent
What would I change? My kingdom for a volume dial
How I would spec it? The second-from-the-top EX-T at $25,190

When you’ve been on top for a while, you can become complacent. And for a while, Honda fell into that trap with its perennially best-selling Civic. While competitors improved dramatically, an “all-new” 2012 Civic looked and felt so close to the old one that I could barely tell them apart.

Finally, Honda woke up and delivered a truly made-over sedan for 2016. It continues into 2017 virtually unchanged, alongside a new-for-2017 hatchback variation. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 158 horsepower is used in the DX, LX and EX trims, starting at $16,390, while a turbocharged, 174-horsepower 1.5-litre four-cylinder motivates the EX-T at $25,190, as well as my top-of-the-line tester, the Touring, at $27,390. The turbocharged engine comes only with an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT), while the 2.0-litre uses either the CVT or a six-speed manual.

With 162 lb.-ft. of torque, my Touring’s engine was pretty punchy and with virtually no turbo lag, just linear acceleration. Regular 87-octane gas is all that’s required. CVT units are primarily about fuel economy rather than driving performance, but they’ve come a long way from their rubbery-feel early days, and this one works well with the turbocharged engine. It’s noisier and not quite as impressive when bolted to the lesser-powered 2.0-litre.

Steering and handling are impressive as well, and while it’s no corner-carving sports sedan, it’s snappy and fun. The electric-assist power steering is dialled in nicely to give it road feel, and braking is smooth and linear.
This Civic is longer and wider than the last-generation model. Despite the sloping roofline, rear headroom stays the same, but tall people need to duck down even more when getting in to avoid hitting the door frame.

All trim levels come with such features as heated mirrors, rearview camera, Bluetooth and USB connector, and the next-up-from-base LX adds heated seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus 60/40 split-folding rear seats instead of the single fold-down unit on the base trim. Higher trim levels include automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming rearview mirror, wireless device charging, leather upholstery and heated rear seats.

But the base DX trim at $16,390 doesn’t include air conditioning, and you’ll have to move up to the LX ($19,290) to get it. That’s not unusual in the compact segment, and rivals such as the Chevrolet Cruze, Mazda3, Toyota Corolla and Kia Forte also leave off the air in favour of advertising the lowest possible price; the Ford Focus is one of the few with A/C all through the line, starting at $16,898. Not many people opt for the rock-bottom model, but compare apples-to-apples when you’re shopping.
Read More http://driving.ca/honda/civic/reviews/road-test/car-review-2017-honda-civic-sedan

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