Thailand gets the facelifted Honda Civic

ABU DHABI: A few months after the global première of its FC-generation model, Honda has officially launched the facelifted Civic in four variants in Thailand. In addition to the design improvements, the new model also gets Honda Sensing, the top of the shelf safety suite.

The Civic facelift model has been made available in 4 trims - 1.8E, 1.8EL, 1.5 Turbo and 1.5 Turbo RS. The 1.8-series models get a petrol-powered 1.8-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated i-VTEC engine which produces 143 PS of max power at 6500 rpm and 174 Nm of peak torque at 4300 rpm. The 1.5-series variants, on the other hand, get a 1.5-litre four-cylinder VTEC Turbo, which makes a maximum power of 176 PS at 5500 rpm and a peak torque of 220 Nm between 1700 rpm - 5500 rpm. Transmission duties on Civic have been assigned to a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) unit.

Depending on the model, the “wing” on the grille and the furnish near the fog lamps come finished in either chrome or piano black. The lower apron now has a one-piece look instead of three due to the changes in the front bumper. The major addition in the equipment onboard is the debut of the Honda Sensing suite, which, however, is exclusive to the 1.5 Turbo RS. It includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Road Departure Mitigation System, Lane Keep Assist, and Auto High Beam etc.

All the variants get Anti-Lock Braking System, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Vehicle Stability Assist, Emergency Stop Signal, 4 airbags and a rear-view camera as standard. The 1.5 Turbo RS and 1.8 EL, however, get two additional airbags. All the models are equipped with an infotainment system featuring a seven-inch touchscreen, except the entry-level 1.8E variant, which gets a 5-inch unit. The new Honda Civic is available in five colours options - Modern Steel Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Sporty Blue Metallic, and Platinum White Pearl. Depending on the exterior colour, the cabin can be had in either beige or black finish. The facelifted Honda Civic has been given a price tag of 874,000 baht for the base model and the price goes all the way up to 1,219,000 baht for the top of the line 1.5 Turbo RS variant.