As part of expanding its premium portfolio, Honda Cars India revealed the new CR-V and Civic at the 2018 Auto Expo. As promised the CR-V went on sale in October 2018 while the returning Civic will officially enter the domestic market on March 7. Pre-bookings have begun across Honda’s authorised chain of sales outlets for Rs. 31,000 from yesterday.
The Civic left India in 2012 after a six-year run with huge success in the D-segment. Having faltered due to the lack of diesel engine in its eight generation avatar, Honda does not want to repeat the same mistake again even when the anti-diesel sentiments are on an all-time high currently. For the first time, the Japanese manufacturer is indeed offering a diesel powertrain in the Civic.
The 1.6-litre i-DTEC EarthDreams DOHC four-cylinder mill that debuted in the CR-V produces 120 PS and 300 Nm while the 1.8-litre i-VTEC SOHC petrol produces 141 PS and 174 Nm. The former is mated to a six-speed manual to help return class-best 26.8 kmpl claimed mileage and the latter is coupled with a CVT automatic with paddle shifters.
The Civic competes against segment-leading Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Elantra and in order to have the competitive advantage over rivals, Honda will be offering a suite of segment first features and technologies. You can have a comprehensive dose of the 2019 Honda Civic in our linked road test review as well as on our Youtube channel.
Among the first-in-class features, the Electronic Parking Brake with Brake Hold comes handy during stop-and-go traffic and it can be activated via pull of a switch easily. The Agile Handling Assist helps in maintaining stability especially during cornering by actively braking the inside wheels. When you distance yourself away from the Civic by 2.5 metres with the keys in hand, the Walk Away Locking feature automatically locks the sedan immediately.
The Lane Watch system supplements the left side mirror by feeding the real-time video automatically onto the seven-inch touchscreen via a camera attached on the mirror. It aids in safer switching between lanes mainly on the highways. Other notable segment-first features in the 2019 Honda Civic are side marker lamps and remote engine starter in the petrol variant.