FIRST DRIVE
2014 Honda Civic
Coupe:
Reinvigorated to take on all competition
by
David Miller
Orlando, FL – In the middle of the winter, we were sent out
to sunny Orlando, Florida to test out the brightest light in the
Honda roster—the Honda Civic. The focus was not on the fourdoor sedan, as that’s been out for a while, but the two-door
Civic Coupe was the draw with many enhancements to keep it
on pace with the constant barrage of competition.
If you’ve been living under a rock or are really not in
tune with the Canadian automotive industry—you might be
interested to know that the Honda Civic has been named the
top-selling passenger vehicle for its incredible sixteenth year in
a row. The Civic’s great run hasn’t been by fluke—they’ve been
leaders in safety, reliability and loyalty with having to deal with
the ever-changing modern world of technology and features.
With competition in the compact car segment coming
from the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and many
others—there’s no time for Honda to rest on their laurels.
And trust me, after a few slips in 2012 which saw an unheard
of immediate refresh in the Civic the following year—Honda
understands the work and effort they need to put into the
Civic in order to keep the loyalty and respect from their
current and new customers.
The Civic Coupe takes on most of the new styles of the
sedan version, but in a sportier package. It all starts with a
more aggressive grille, front fascia, headlight treatment and
wheel design. When you walk to the back, you will be happy to
see a new bumper layout and new taillights that give it a more
aggressive look and stance. It won’t be as flashy as other cars,
but that’s not what the Civic’s about—unless you go for the
upper trim in the Si.
A lot of talk in the presentation surrounded the enhanced
interior, especially in the all-touch seven-inch display screen. I
found the display to be very organized where the categories
are easily identifiable, but they lack any excitement which I feel
modern vehicles filled with new technology are supposed to
have. Aesthetically it looked basic and the hard to manoeuvre
volume adjuster on the left side of the display screen doesn’t
do it any favours.
I shouldn’t trash the display screen completely, as it does
have some cool features that go along with it. You can
4
THE DRIVER
download apps, as well as flip or expand the screen similar to
an iPad through the use of HondaLinkTM, an application-based
platform that links your iPhone or other smartphone with the
car. This means that you can have a similar set-up display in
your car as your phone.
One of the most appealing things I heard in the presentation
was the fact that you can purchase a navigation app, for only
$59.99 and utilize that instead of paying some $5K more
moving up to the EX-L if navigation is your main reason for
that. Lastly, if the navigation idea wasn’t cool enough, you can
install Siri from your iPhone and tell her what adjustments you
like while driving.
The Honda Civic is one of those rare vehicles that
consumers might not be so interested in how it drives. By now
most of their current or potential customers somewhat know
what to expect from it.
After driving the new Civic Coupe around Orlando, I would
suggest you don’t skip over this part. Honda has developed
a new CVT transmission that doesn’t feel or sound like your
average CVT. ]