Reuters: Honda Tries to Regain Its Stride with Upgraded Civic

[Dragos]

Im not really sure what all the fuss is about. I didnt buy a Honda civic for an abundant amount of features. I think I'm safe to say that most Americans who buy them arent either. And the sales numbers dont lie. The 2012 Honda Civic is the 5th best selling vehicle in the U.S. with November YTD sales numbers topping 284,000. That same number for the 2011 model was just over 200,000. There are only two cars that are selling more, one is the Honda Accord and the other is the Toyota Camry. When making the choice to buy my civic, comfort, mpg's, reliability, and resale were the deciding factors that led to the purchase over its competitors. In the end I bought a car for under $20000. If I wanted crappy little cheap from the factory features like touch screens, chrome accents, and backup cameras I wouldve bought the Chevy Cruze I test drove. And wait.. Did I just say back up camera?! Who needs a backup camera on a compact car? At the end of the day Its a Honda Civic. Ill drive it forever, it will rarely let me down, and Ill sell it for way more than most of its competitors will be going for 5 years down the road. Dont believe me? Hit up craigslist and do some price checking on some older models. The 2012 Honda civic offers a clean slate (as any civic should) that is begging for a plethora of aftermarket goodies that await me on the internets.

Well said, I do not think Honda ever was the all bells and whistles brand. We also got a pretty sweet deal on the Si models, almost the same price as 2011 but a 2.4 engine that is a big improvement in my opinion. I saw a lot of media complaining that the 8th gens are nicer and so on. I test drove the 8th gens, did not redline them though and was not convinced. 9th gen sold me right away. And I as I said before the simpler no fuss looks was a big plus for me.

Was there a wave of unhappy people that got the 2011 with the smaller engine? I did not see it but did not look for it either.

For me the Si was the best deal for a practical reliable sporty car.

 

[Ron Flood]

New iPod connection.

It will probably change again next year. Lol.

its about time... i was tired of that huge iPod plug in for how many years.... lol i dont think its so much about change, its about civic being a benchmark, and then civic coming in last place out of 12 cars.... i feel that was the catalyst.... bring those 12 cars back in 10 years, same miles on them under the same conditions, then we'll see whos in first place.... nope you are not thinking what im thinking... corollas will be... then civics.... hahaha

 

[Ron Flood]

Im not really sure what all the fuss is about. I didnt buy a Honda civic for an abundant amount of features. I think I'm safe to say that most Americans who buy them arent either. And the sales numbers dont lie. The 2012 Honda Civic is the 5th best selling vehicle in the U.S. with November YTD sales numbers topping 284,000. That same number for the 2011 model was just over 200,000. There are only two cars that are selling more, one is the Honda Accord and the other is the Toyota Camry. When making the choice to buy my civic, comfort, mpg's, reliability, and resale were the deciding factors that led to the purchase over its competitors. In the end I bought a car for under $20000. If I wanted crappy little cheap from the factory features like touch screens, chrome accents, and backup cameras I wouldve bought the Chevy Cruze I test drove. And wait.. Did I just say back up camera?! Who needs a backup camera on a compact car? At the end of the day Its a Honda Civic. Ill drive it forever, it will rarely let me down, and Ill sell it for way more than most of its competitors will be going for 5 years down the road. Dont believe me? Hit up craigslist and do some price checking on some older models. The 2012 Honda civic offers a clean slate (as any civic should) that is begging for a plethora of aftermarket goodies that await me on the internets.

hahaha well said bro, i did the dual din NAVI on my 2012 for $360(funny thing is it looks more factory than the factory NAVI), since all the asian market civics have same same dash(north american 2013 is totally different) and most of them drive on the right hand side of the road just like we do, unlike japan and the UK... i must say i do love my backup camera, until it rains or snows(which is most of the time where i live)... lol bells and whistles? for an accord or camry with the same bells and whistles as my civic EX sedan with a manual 5speed is another $8K(minimum) here in canada....

 

[Stigmacher]

I'm calling the 2012 Si the Supa Lito!
If it were a Porsche, Lamborghini, or Ferrari we'd pay extra for the lighter glass and the removal of sound deadening material to save weight.

I drove an 08 Si sedan for 140k miles.
Traded it in on a 2012 Si sedan this month, the dealer called, we talked a few times, I test drove a few times, and he made a deal I couldn't refuse.
I knew the update was coming, read what they were doing, and felt with the deal I'd be better off. As an Engineer, trust me, there is nothing wrong with the 2012 that can't be tweaked inexpensively if you don't like it. So far I love it and think it's better than the last gen in every way, minus the cup holders.

Eibach suspension kits are inexpensive. The plastic intake manifold doesn't conduct heat. The move in the torque curve (down low) works well for turbo charging, it's easier to boost top end with a turbo versus supercharging for low end - This will mean larger peak gains and less stress on the engine.

2012 Civic Si Supa Lito / Super Legerra / Scuderia!

 

[Darkk]

Valid points. The iPod thing was a poor choice of comparison. While ipods (tech toys) are essentially updated yearly, cars aren't. From hondas history, a normal "mid cycle refresh" wouldn't even see this many changes. Usually, it would be a bumper/grill tweak, trunk bling, and some updated wheels. The 2013 goes WAY beyond that.

Yep. When I was shopping for the car in November I was thinking just that. I was going to hold out for the 2013 to see what changes they make to it but didn't want to lose out on the model 2012 car I wanted and with additional discount of $3k since Hybrids with Navi around here is almost hard to come by so had to act now. I still don't regret that decision. With the $3k saved and financing at 0.9% really can't complain.

There are couple of things I wish they kept in this car is the sliding armrest which is what I had in my 2006 Civic (bought it new at the time) and optional fog lights. New stuff like back up camera would be nice but not necessary.