Although most Civics are manufactured at plants in North America and only 20 percent of their parts are sourced from Japan (the rest are purchased locally), the company found itself with assembly lines full of partially assembled vehicles that should have already been on dealer lots. Thankfully, things have been steadily improving and Honda tells us that production has returned to near normal levels so if you want a Civic you should be able to find the trim level, body style and color you want at your local dealer.
As if that wasn’t enough, for some reason many in the automotive media decided that Honda’s misfortune was the perfect opportunity to begin relentless and rather misguided attacks on the Civic which has dominated American compact sedan buyer’s hearts for decades. So what, exactly, is wrong with the 2012 Honda Civic? Has Honda, as so many headlines have proclaimed, lost its way with the Civic?
Before we look into that we’ll just make one thing very clear. To paraphrase a sentiment uttered by the similarly iconic author Mark Twain, “rumors of the Honda Civic’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
2012 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan: ExteriorThe 2012 Honda Civic EX-L four door sedan we tested came in a very handsome shade of maroon and it really helped give the simple and clean styling an expensive vibe befitting its top trim level status. The looks of the current sedan, however, has been raked over the coals by many reviewers simply because it lacks the admittedly eye catching yet somewhat alien visual appeal of the 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Now, the 2012 Focus may look sexy as a five door hatch but in its transformation to a four door sedan it took on the look of a frumpy librarian with her slip tucked into her skirt. The proportions are just all wrong.
In all of the years Honda has been building Civics as a four door sedan, the most successfully stylish iteration was probably the last generation model and the 2012 version is simply an evolution of that same shape. It may be conservative but so are models like the Chevy Cruze which never get criticized for looking like what they are—compact family sedans. If you expect one of these practical sedans to make you sexier, maybe you should buy something used and get some plastic surgery. Or work on your self-esteem.
If you look back on the history of the Civic in this country all the way back to the first 1976 hatchback, you can see a pattern in how Honda times their redesigns of this model. From the very beginning Honda has always alternated between a “revolutionary redesign” and an “evolutionary redesign.” The last generation Honda Civic which introduced a new engine and gave Americans the odd looking yet unfailingly ergonomic two tier dashboard was a “revolutionary redesign.”
So the 2012 version is obviously an “evolutionary” move whose timing was unfortunate only because Ford, Chevy and Hyundai finally figured out how to build models on a par with the Civic this year. Honda felt their product was strong enough to only need smaller changes. If you took a time machine to a year ago when the Civic battled it out with the last generation Focus, Cobalt and Elantra you could easily see that all three were, to be charitable, highly mediocre. If we were being brutally honest, all three of those vehicles defined the term “econobox” and while their redesigns are all very impressive they really, really needed to be improved upon in pretty much every way.
2012 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan: InteriorOur fully loaded 2012 Honda Civic EX-L stickered for a very reasonable $23,455 and included an excellent in-dash navigation system which stands out in the compact class because of its eye level i-MiD screen which displays turn prompts and other instructions to the driver without ever making them take their eyes off of the road. Most in-dash navigation screens require you to glance down to the center of the dash to look at the screen and it’s moments like these when the traffic in front of you on the freeway screeches to a halt. And simple as that, your insurance rates go up.
The i-MiD system is standard on all Civics from the LX on up and and is controlled via an easy to use circular controller on the steering wheel which allows you to scroll through the Bluetooth functions, iPod, XM, CD and radio presets via the aforementioned eye level screen. Interior trim quality is improved over the last generation Civic with chrome ringed dials that control the climate control system and the elegant inner door handles adding a touch of upscale class to the cabin.
The Civic EX-L comes standard with leather seats, Bluetooth, USB/iPod integration, XM satellite radio, power everything, a power moonroof, 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlamps and an impressive 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with six speakers that easily passed the challenging “Alejandro” sound quality test. What, you may ask, is the “Alejandro” sound quality test?
Well, we have found that a great way to test the strength and clarity of an audio system is to play Lady GaGa’s “Alejandro” at the highest volume possible which is something we enjoy doing anyway. But due to the unique sonic resonance and beat changes that occur during the song, any subpar audio system will exhibit signs of bass feedback or will simply start emitting a buzzing noise through the speakers.
Many cars in this price range fail this test and even if you don’t like Lady GaGa, we promise that if you do this test it means that your stereo will be able to handle any classical, country, rock, pop or polka music you throw at it. Another test that the EX-L definitely didn’t fail was our leather seat softness, durability and comfort test. The best leather seats in this segment are found in the Civic and the 2011 Chevy Cruze whereas the 2011 Elantra Limited’s leather feels like it’s made from recycled tires (yet are much nicer than the ones in the Sonata) and the 2011 Jetta uses a vinyl substitute to cover its seats that isn’t very convincing.
The 2012 Civic bucked recent automotive convention and actually got smaller in size overall but the packaging wizards at Honda somehow managed to add room to the interior mainly in the back seat which is very comfortable for two adults on long trips. Trunk space measures out to 12.5 cubic feet and we were able to cram three months of supplies from a trip to Costco in there with no problem. We also found that the 2012 Honda Civic has such brilliantly designed cupholders that they could hold two Double Gulp cups filled with Diet Coke at the same time or two of the tiniest red bull cans depending on your preferred method of caffeine delivery.
One feature that the Civic EX-L doesn’t offer that the 2011 Elantra Limited does is a back-up camera but if you actually need a back-up camera in a car this small then you either should be looking at something the size of a FIAT 500 or saving us all from danger by purchasing a bus pass. The rear overhang of the 2012 Civic is so short that if you turn around you can see everything a back-up camera would show you. But maybe that’s too much exercise for you.
2012 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan: Performance, Safety and Fuel EconomyThe 2012 Honda Civic got a lot of flak for carrying over the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder that was introduced in the last generation model with 140 horsepower and 128 horsepower. VW launched the Jetta with all carryover engines in 2011 and no one said anything whereas the Cruze, Elantra and Focus all launched with new engines because the units they were using last year were utterly unrefined and out of date compared to the Civic’s enchantingly sporty sounding VTEC four-cylinder engine.
By far, the most damning decision that Honda made, according to those who think such things matter, was to stick with a five-speed automatic when other competitors now have six-speed units. Honda’s reasoning was that they felt they could get the same real world fuel economy with some fine tuning of their proven five speed unit and it would allow them to hold the line on pricing.
At the Civic press launch, a rather honest Honda executive said that engineering a new six-speed automatic transmission would have served only to make journalists happy as consumers don’t care about the number of gears they have because they buy cars like the Civic based on price, features, how fun it is to drive and how economical it is for them to own. In reality, having an extra gear is no guarantee of better fuel economy as the numbers you get depend on the geographical aspects of where you live, how you drive, how you maintain your vehicle and other driver-based factors.
As this was a press launch, of course there had to be a little bit of drama. After hearing that explanation, one enraged - or possibly deranged journalist - stood up and demanded to know how Honda could claim their 2012 Civic was fuel efficient when its EPA fuel economy estimates were 28 mpg city/39 mpg highway and the 2011 Hyundai Elantra boasted an EPA rating of 29 mpg city/40 mpg highway. The response was essentially that a one mpg difference on the EPA scale usually amounts to a mathematical anomaly in the real world so technically both the Elantra and Civic should get about the same fuel economy.
Despite this explanation, many auto journalists who clearly don’t do their own fuel economy testing decided that the Elantra’s EPA victory was proof that the Hyundai was the David to the Civic’s Goliath and that a one-time compact car giant had been slain. This angle is somewhat poetic as everyone loves an underdog but is it in any way accurate? And why isn’t the Cruze ever pulled into this bizarre rivalry? Ignoring all of the hysteria, despite the fact that the 2011 Hyundai Elantra is a very impressive car its existence does not render the Civic irrelevant. Quite the contrary.
As a result of all the fuel economy controversy and our experience with EPA estimates that are rarely accurate, we road tested an Elantra Limited two weeks before the Civic EX-L and were very surprised to discover that despite driving them both nearly identical distances and on an identical road trip to San Diego the averages for the two cars were nowhere near the same. Over the course of a week the Civic returned 30.4 miles per gallon to the Elantra’s 20.7 mpg average. Yes, you read that right. The Elantra returned nearly ten miles per gallon less than the Civic even though the Elantra had the advantage of its magical six-speed automatic.
In other recent tests of Civic competitors that we’ve done, the 2011 Chevy Cruze 2LT returned a fuel economy average of 31 mpg over a week and we found its 6-speed automatic to be much smoother and less prone to jerky full throttle shifts than the Elantra’s unit. A 2011 VW Jetta SEL with a five-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic returned 27.2 miles per gallon over the course of a week which was higher than we expected given its more powerful engine.
Now that we have dealt with all of the criticisms of the 2012 Honda Civic, what did we think of the driving experience? Despite the fact that the Civic is slower in a straight line than the Elantra, the Civic’s steering feel is crisp and communicative and the ride/handling compromise delicately balances comfort with go-cart like cornering reflexes. The five-speed automatic always shifted smoothly, is geared to give the Civic a lot of zip right off the line and always kept the engine quiet on long freeway drives. So why does the 2012 Honda Civic need a 6-speed automatic, exactly?
Much like Civics throughout the decades, the 2012 edition is an agile and peppy vehicle that has a precision feel to the driving experience that few competitors come close to matching. And even if your Civic doesn’t prove agile enough to keep you out of an accident, then you can take comfort knowing it is an IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) “Top Safety Pick.”
2012 Honda Civic EX-L Sedan: ConclusionAmerica’s media loves nothing more than to criticize and tear down celebrities and institutions that it once placed on a pedestal. Apparently since Britney Spears has gotten her act together it was time for an automotive icon to become the target of relentless attacks. Consumer Reports even went so far as to take away the Civic’s “recommended” status which is something they usually only do if a car does badly in their annual quality survey (which didn’t happen as the car is brand new) or if there is an SUV that likes to roll over at the slightest hint of a crosswind.
We can understand if your personal preferences dictate that you don’t like the way the Civic looks but the 2012 Honda Civic EX-L is a solidly built, fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient, roomy, well-equipped and competitively priced small car. The i-MiD system is easier to use than the MyFord Touch system in the Focus and is the only system designed to cut down on driver distraction when you are using the audio, Bluetooth and in-dash navigation. The 2012 Honda Civic EX-L is enough car for any small family and thanks to a proven reliability record and resale value dominance, it is still a wise investment
The Civic is more than just a car as it is practically a brand upon itself. In addition the EX-L model tested here, Honda sells an Si model for enthusiasts that is one of the few cars available only with a six-speed manual. For the eco-minded there is also the latest Honda Civic Hybrid which uses advanced lithium-ion batteries, a tweaked HF sedan for “hypermilers” and even a natural gas powered sedan that will debut later in the year. Funny, for a car line that has “lost its way” the 2012 Honda Civic looks like it currently offers compact car shopper more choice, efficiency and advanced technology than any of the competition.
