Detroit 2011: Civic Coupe and Sedan Concepts

Honda's Civic is a stalwart in the compact market. It's always been a favorite of people who like to drive, as well as people who just need a car that won't break.  But Honda's been following the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra for too long, and it's safe to say the competition has really caught up at this point.  The Chevy Cruze, new Ford Focus, new Elantra, and the new Mazda3 have all got various advantages over the Civic - whether in technology, comfort, price, power, or economy.  So the Civic is getting a redesign for 2012... and from the outside, it seems like more of the same.

Honda actually debuted two concept Civics at NAIAS this year, a Coupe Si Concept and a Sedan Concept.  Let's take a look at the Coupe first, because of the two it's got the most exterior changes.  The front keeps the slanted, angry headlights but gets a new grille design.  To me, it's a mixture of Euro Civic on top, and miniature Nissan GT-R on the bottom.  Sort of strange, but it's more interesting to look at than the current one, so that's nice.  What I'm curious about is why Honda still thinks darkly tinted headlights are cool - this is not 1990, and we're not modifying a Fox Mustang on the cheap.

From the side, the glass profile has been designed to mimic the larger Accord Coupe.  It's an improvement from the doorstop roofline of the current one, and I especially like the character line that fades from soft to hard as it goes from the front fender backwards to define the rear fender.  The scalloped sides remove some of the visual weight, too.  This is easily the slickest looking 2dr Civic ever - save for that strange front window.  Can't say I'm a fan of the wheels, but again I wouldn't expect these to show up on the production version.

Around back... Oh my.  Umm.  Let's hope the production version doesn't have this awkward-looking center exit exhaust/diffuser combo, because it's just plain weird.  The lower fascia sort of juts out like an underbite - a little awkward to my eyes.  The taillights are another Accord Coupe styling cue that's migrated to the Civic, and the way the spoiler flows into the lines of the tail lights is neat.  This particular paint color is absolutely gorgeous, too - I would love to see a production Si in this color.

The sedan is a lot more convention, and less changed from the current one.  It keeps the same headlights but gets a redesigned front bumper.  Virtually indistinguishable from the previous model from the side, too - which I don't have a problem with; I've always thought the side profile of the current Civic Sedan was attractive.  Not a fan of those wheels on this one, either - but it's just concept-car fluff.  The biggest changes are to the rear end, though.

It seems at the rear, they've changed from mimicking the B7 Audi A4 to mimicking the current-generation Mercedes C-Class.  Imitation is the sincerest form of laziness.  Still, it's a good looking car from the back end, and the changes actually provide some differentiation from this angle.

There aren't any interior shots, which is a bummer, because the interior is the most polarizing thing about the current-generation Civic Coupe and sedan.  The split-level instruments seem to either incite admiration and rage in people.  It'll be interesting to see what Honda does with the interior of the new model.  The quality was always there, but perhaps we'll get a single-tier dashboard to silence the critics.  Anyway, we won't have to wait long to find out - the production version of the new Civic should be appearing this spring, so keep your eyes peeled.  And chances are, if you liked the old Civic, you'll like this one slightly better.  And if you didn't, you probably still won't.

Mum's the word on powertrains, as well.  I wouldn't expect the Civic to get a new engine - the last generation introduced the brand new i-VTec R18 SOHC motor.  What I'm curious about is if the Si will continue with the high-winding low-torque K20 engine, as it's been outpaced by everything in the market save the Sentra SE-R.  Perhaps Honda will finally port over the direct-injection, turbocharged K23 from the Acura RDX to a car that deserves it?  We'll just have to wait and see.