Honda Malaysia offered the first look at the Honda
Civic facelift at its “Road to 900k Grand Finale” event at Bukit Jalil over the
weekend. The public viewing was limited to showcasing the refreshed
tenth-generation FC’s exterior, as the display car at the event was cordoned
off and had its windows blacked-out.
As shown by the display example,
exterior styling revisions for the facelift are minor – the Civic’s front end
now features a piano black “wing” on the grille in place of the chrome seen
previously, and the lower section of the front bumper now integrates the black
trim into a single piece running across the width of the unit. At the back,
there’s a new rear bumper garnish piece, and a boot spoiler also makes its way
on.
A new 18-inch alloy wheel also goes on, but that’s
only for the 1.5 TC-P variant, which sits on top of a three model range, the
other two being the mid-spec 1.5 TC and base 1.8 S. No change in output with
the two powertrains that are on offer – the L15B7 1.5 litre VTEC Turbo
four-cylinder engine continues on with 173 PS and 220 Nm of torque, while the
normally-aspirated 1.8 litre SOHC four-pot soldiers on with 141 PS and 174 Nm.
Both engine options continue to be paired with an
Earth Dreams continuously variable transmission (CVT), which directs drive to
the front wheels. The big news is the inclusion of Honda Sensing, and the Civic
becomes the third locally-assembled (CKD) Honda model to come with the
automaker’s suite of safety and driver assistance systems after the CR-V and
Accord. Components available in the system are Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
with Low Speed Follow (LSF), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Collision
Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure
Mitigation (RDM) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW).
There’s also an Auto High-Beam (AHB) feature and a
LaneWatch camera side-camera system, and other safety equipment includes six
airbags, front parking sensors, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), ABS, EBD, brake
assist, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Hill Start Assist (HSA) and a reverse
camera.
New equipment being introduced with the facelift
include front parking sensors, automatic wipers and 60:40 split-folding rear
seats (previously, a fixed bench). The 1.5 TC will now come equipped with LED
headlamps and fog lamps (previously, halogen units) as well as LaneWatch. As
for the 1.5 TC-P, aside from Sensing and the 18-inch alloys, it’ll be the only
variant to feature the black grille and boot spoiler as standard.
