Honda Civic FL1

The Civic, the car that became the icon of Honda and highly coveted by speedo boys worldwide, is now in its 11th generation and it promises to be the best Civic ever made even though it's offered in just one body style, unlike its predecessors.

2022 Honda Civic

Priced at 3,190,000 Japanese, which is more expensive than its predecessor, the 11th-generation Honda Civic is now offered exclusively as a hatchback because most of the customers of the previous generation went for the imported hatchback rather than the Japanese-made sedan. It's the main reason why they will not bring the sedan to this latest generation. Anyway, unlike the previous Civic Hatchback that was imported from Great Britain until the end of its operations due to restructuring, the 11th-generation Honda Civic hatchback is now made in Japan, the way the Honda Civic should be made.

2022 Honda Civic

Beginning with the design, the new model is surprisingly well-balanced compared to the previous model. Although it's no longer a sharp-looking hatchback, its geometrical styling made it look clean to look at, regardless of location. In terms of dimensions, the new model is lower and longer compared to the previous model while keeping the width friendly for Japanese and European roads because of its narrow spaces. It's common sense.

2022 Honda Civic interior

The interior is now more spacious than the previous model due to its longer wheelbase, making it the ideal car for all walks of life, be it a family car or a road trip buddy for up to five people on board. On the driver's side, it's all back to basics as the sat-nav and the air-con have been repositioned with the former on top and the latter below. Weirdly, the new sat-nav screen is somewhat tiny compared to the previous model. 

The instrumental panel is now back to basics and it now bears a tachometer on the left and a speedo on the right that reads up to 180kph of top speed. That's very Japanese, of course.

On the passenger side, meanwhile, because of its longer wheelbase, it's easy for the rear passengers to get accommodated and because it's a hatchback, the rear seats can be folded down for your additional spacing needs.

Whether for work or fun, the new Civic does it all.

2022 Honda Civic

The 11th-generation Honda Civic retains the same 1.5L VTEC TURBO engine as the previous model. It produces 182PS of power and 240Nm of torque. It can be mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox (the speedo boy favorite) or an improved CVT with a more robust electric hydraulic pump, ball-bearing secondary shaft, and revised Step-Shift programming, not to mention the idling stop system and the new catalytic converter design. Whichever transmission you go for, the new Civic has a fuel economy of 16.3km/L based on WLTC standards.

As for dynamics, Honda promises that the new Civic is more fun to drive than the competition and they almost stick to their word because it's a Honda. With the front McPherson struts, rear multilink suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, front ventilated disc brakes, and rear disc brakes, it's no wonder the new model has the behavior of a European hatchback that fits well everywhere and you can really spend a lot of time toying around with it as much as you want.

The new Civic comes standard with the new Honda Sensing suite of driver aids featuring a new single-camera system that provides a longer, wider field of view than the previous model. It even comes with Traffic Jam Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assist System, and many others.

Made in Japan, fit for worldwide use, the 11th-generation Civic is the hatchback that delivers the same Civic pledge coveted by its massive fanbase, including speedo boys. It was a surprisingly close call for Honda to keep building the Civic in Japan now that it's offered exclusively as a hatchback but in the end, it's all common sense.

Available colors: Platinum White Pearl, Sonic Gray Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, Premium Crystal Red Metallic, and Premium Crystal Blue Metallic.

Photo: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.