Beauty with a kick


Barry De Klerk - Honda is known for making beautiful and powerful vehicles and this is once again evident in the new Honda Civic.

The beast roars from under the bonnet but on the outside, it is pure beauty. The Civic once more gives drivers the opportunity to brag about their vehicles look and speed. Its slick design makes it an attractive buy for a family or an individual owner.

Honda once again went the extra mile to make changes to the Civic’s predecessors. The first thing that catches the eye are the new wheels. The manufacturer also redesigned the front grill and gave a chrome finish the car’s backside. All these upgrade will make all prospective buyers interested.The car’s outside might attract people, but the inside will win them over.

Honda has always focused on ride quality and they once more nailed it. Comfort is important in the 21st century and the designers took note of that. Apart from the comfortable seats and legroom, the dashboard is brilliantly designed. It looks like something out of science fiction story, but user friendly.

The infotainment system offers the driver and passenger with a touchscreen display. The system comes standard with Bluetooth capability, HDMI, iPod and USB ports; the multifunction steering wheel makes everything easily accessible. It has enough speakers to host a small car party!

The car comes in various models. The one we’re focusing on comes with 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine. It is like an untamed animal waiting to be released. Honda once again chose to retain the CVT gearbox; which, we found, may not always be the easiest to handle.

The Civic offers 127 kW or 220 Nm. It can do 0 to 100km/h in just a little over 8 seconds. The vehicle has good fuel economy and Honda claimed a fuel consumption figure of 5.9 litres per 100km.

When looking for a family car safety is at the top of most people’s list. Honda made use of this knowledge and installed a stability control system on all models. It has hill-start assistance and all of this this is complemented with ABS anti-lock brakes and electronic brake force distribution (EBD).

The car is fitted with dual front, side and curtain airbags. Rear parking sensors and a reverse camera is all models, except the base models.