Honda Civic sedan test drive since 2012 sedan

Civic once, Civic two ...

The world's debut of Civic at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show turned out to be unforgettable. I remember how the heads of concerns went to the Honda stand, as if to the sounds of a magic flute. Like everyone, they fascinated them, the unusually bold and stylistically verified design of the new, eighth in a row of generation of the model. It was a real breakthrough that proved (and proves) the market. In Russia (and not only in Russia), the hatchback line stretched for six months. The English factory Honda, where the model is produced, does not have time to cope with orders. In order to fully understand the phenomenon of the model, and at the same time determine how convenient and beneficial are these cars in everyday use, the editorial office for a month got two Civic 5-door hatchback and hot Type R.
Aging agent
It was Civic No. 8 that became the mixture that made it possible to almost instantly rejuvenate the consumer audience. Indeed, by the time of the appearance of the cosmic version of the model, the average age of its acquirers came close to fifty. Not rainbow, as we understand, a picture for any manufacturer. Therefore, designers and designers decided on a revolutionary step, and created something special in the Hi-Tech style for the NEXT generation. Of course, I exaggerate, the car is not devoid of grace and is able to captivate people of any age. However, the effect of rejuvenation is obvious.
The fighting front with a chandelier of the head of the head -to -vehicle, the triangular loopholes of the fog and exhaust pipes, the rounded Civic body breaks forward to the future. And this is still an ordinary 5-door hatchback. Type R is, in addition, a real vessel of adrenaline. A hot version is offered exclusively in a 3-door body. It is wider than 15 mm, although the wheelbase is the same. Add to this the bumpers painted in the color of the body, the original aerodynamic body kit, spoilers, 18-inch discs, and you get in a word, you see it in the pictures, it is red.
Form and content
The driver seems to fall into the control zone clearly separated from the rest of the cabin, to the ergonomics of which there are practically no complaints. The seats have developed lateral support, a small -small storm in diameter is adjusted both in height and in departure, and the dominant element of the two -level instrument panel is a large round tachometer. On his sides, the indicators of the fuel level and the temperature of the power unit, but the speedometer is digital, it is in the upper tier. If in the usual Civic dominant color is blue, then in Type R red.
And the Type R seat is very reminiscent of a racing bucket. This is not just Recaro with developed sidewalls, these are Type R native chairs that hold the body tightly and entirely. Moreover, there are already ready -made slots for sports belts in the back, and only the relative softness of the upholstery recalls that you are inside a car suitable for operation on public roads. I'm not talking about a tachometer with a red range of 8000 9000 rpm, about special inscriptions and nameplates of Type R.
A tangle of 6-speed mechanics, like pedal overlays, from cold metal. The sportswear of decoration does not interfere, however, practicality, in this regard, both Civic deserve praise. Inside there is a lot of space for small things, and in the back seat it is quite spacious. Plus, a spacious luggage compartment with a volume of 485 liters, in which I liked the two -level floor most. Naturally, the backs of the rear seats can be folded by increasing the space for the load to 1352 liters. True, the shape of the trunk lid limits the picture in the rear view mirror, and the dirt on our roads quickly reduces the view almost to zero janitor on the rear window. On the other hand, it is better to watch Civic only forward and on the sides.
Continuous provocation
While most machine manufacturers of this class are betting on turbocharges, Honda successfully promotes atmospheric gasoline motors. Of course, this somewhat limits the possibilities for subsequent tuning, and in terms of power Type R is inferior to some competitors. But a 4-cylinder 2.0-liter gasoline engine can still be recognized as one of the masterpieces of motor construction. Indeed, with a fairly modest volume, he develops 201 hp, which is 4 hp. More than the previous generation of Type R. The flywheel was replaced in the motor, conjured over injection, inlet and release, which gave an increase. Honda representatives claim that the main efforts of engineers were aimed at making the engine as much as possible to work as an accelerator pedal. And this task, I can confirm, was solved by them brilliantly.
 
The car reacts so sensitively to the driver’s actions that you are driving a real delight. Of course, you get the greatest pleasure after the tachometer arrow passes 5000 rpm. At this moment, the salon is filled with an aggressive, almost formal sound of a strikingly quickly promoting motor. Moreover, after 7000 rpm, another rush is ensured! If possible, I would like to unscrew the engine to the red zone in order to enjoy its sound and power again and again.
It is not difficult to get the engine to work in high speed mode to the 6-speed manual transmission, they are brought closer to the limit, switch quickly and clearly, with a barely noticeable metal TsOC. You can disrupt the front drive wheels into slipping not only on the first, but also on the second, as well as on the third stage. And at the same time, the steering wheel does not dance from the side to the side, as it happens, but simply informs the driver about what is happening with the front wheels. At the same time, the steering is very sharp. From the edge to the edge of only 2.29 turns, which is the best suited to the character Type R.
Naturally, such a dynamic car has an excellent brake system, which, even after several sharp slowdown, retains its tenacity. Needless to say, the pedal force is dosed intuitively, and the system of distribution of brake forces and ABS allow you to feel confidently on almost any coating. Although Type R is still quite demanding on the driver. There is a VSC stabilization system, but it fully allows certain liberties, and still personally I immediately wanted to turn it off.
Yes, the clearance as a result of the installation of new springs and shock absorbers decreased by 15 mm, and on our roads, even with unhurried movement, it shakes mercilessly. But from Type R you do not expect. After all, it is precisely these settings that endow the machine with excellent controllability, I would say, one of the best in the classroom. And therefore, once having read a comparative test drive of three hot hatchbacks in one hitherto respondent edition, among which was Type R, I was even upset. Outsider for running qualities?! Well, I do not! I rolled at all the mentioned competitors (more powerful, by the way), and I cannot agree with this. And now, what they write (quote): in the turn of the Civic Type R, it immediately begins to slide the face out of the turn. Natural nonsense! I can only assume that the reason for the wrong conclusion was that the extremely sensitive accelerator pedal and the responsive Type R motor quickly tear off the front drive wheels in the slip. If, turning the steering wheel, click on the gas and in fact the demolition of the front axle will begin, any other front -wheel drive car will behave like itself. And taking into account the fact that we are talking about the moment in 193 Nm, everything happens quickly, which is why, I believe, it was said about boring, clearly insufficient rotation. What is a untrue.
In fact, Type R has habits of a truly sports car requiring appropriate driving skills. Example: In the final phase of braking before entering the turn, turn the steering wheel and get the skid of the rear axle. Immediately release the brake pedal, and somewhere on the rotation apex smoothly add the gas, the skid will go out, and you effectively go through the turn. That is the whole charm of Type R settings, and a simple Civic.
The civilian version of the model has a modest 1.8-liter motor in volume, which, nevertheless, issues 140 forces. Therefore, the acceleration is confident, and the proprietary system of changes in the phase of gas distribution provides a good pickup in almost the entire speed range. Although, for more enthusiasm, it is better to dwell on the version with a manual gearbox. The modification with a semiautomatic device I-SHIFT is somewhat thoughtful, and when switching from one step to another, especially at high engine speeds, a pretty failure and jerk are observed. You can smooth it out only by imitating the clutch accelerator, or by switching manually pushing the KP lever or using the steering wheel petals. On the other hand, with a measured ride with jerks, you can come to terms with a fee for the opportunity not to bother yourself with the work of the clutch pedal in traffic jams.
In general, the 5-door Civic is noticeably more comfortable than Type R. The suspensions are significantly softer, and at the same time the rolls of the body in vihi are small. Yes, and the steering is equally acute, which is why a sports mood is formed in this car.
Civic in numbers
The tables shows how much the ownership of the Honda Civic model and its charged modification Type R. Comments, I think, are not required. So it remains to say only about prices. A 5-door hatchback will cost at least 658 thousand rubles, with I-SHIFT in 734,000. Type R is significantly more than 964,000 rubles, but the standard equipment includes almost everything you need.

 
Andrey Osipov
Photo by the author

 

Source: Magazine Automobile Izvestia [February 2008]