2012 Honda Civic Not Worth Waiting For

Are you waiting for the new 2012 Honda Civic to make it's way to Thailand? The outgoing Civic is a nice car, and you'd be forgiven for expecting the 2012 model to be a substantial step forward. But, according to Consumer Reports, the new Civic could well be a disappointment.

Given the popularity of the current Honda Civic, there is already a lot of interest surrounding the 2012 model. The good news for Thailand is that this car is already on the road in the US, and since the Thai model will be very similar, this gives us a early look at what we can look forward to with the new 2012 model.

When the new Civic was unveiled back in February we took a quick look at it, and even then it looked uninspiring. In fact, I concluded that article by saying that if you are waiting you might as well not bother waiting, and just go for the current Civic.

The new Civic looks very conservative, and although Honda has stuck with the funky dual-tier instrument layout (albeit restyled), for some reason it just doesn't seem to work as smoothly this time around.

Check out this video from Consumer Reports:

I suppose it could be summed up by simply saying that the 2012 Honda Civic is a disappointment.

The reviewer is critical of the Civic in terms of:

• Ride quality
• Road noise (although he says it is an improvement over previous model)
• Braking distances, especially in the wet
• Numb steering feel, with lack of feedback
• Interior quality with hard plastics and poor fitting
• No lining in the boot lid - which he puts down to "another sign of cost cutting"

There seems to be very little positive to say after this. Perhaps the whiny reviewer was having a bad day, or perhaps he is not a Honda fan, but it seems that many of his criticisms are there to be seen in the video, and this does not bode well for the 2012 Civic.

Perhaps this car has been the victim of the "global economic meltdown". Perhaps Honda were too busy bean counting, and the result is a car that makes the competition look good. With Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, and Mazda all having introduced next generation models in Thailand with the Cruze, Lancer EX, and 3, respectively, and with the 2012 Ford Focus on the way, the Civic is going to face much stronger opposition this time around.

With the competition stepping things up, the 2012 Civic looks like a step backwards. In many ways this is a shame.

To be fair, I should point out that this review is of the US version, and the Thai version may be different in terms of specification and trim. But, it is highly unlikely that Thailand will receive a superior product. On the contrary, Thai models are usually subject to their own round of cost cutting measures relative to European or American versions.

Does it seem to anyone else that Honda has turned the Civic into a big City, when what we really wanted was a small Accord?

So, are you still waiting for the 2012 Honda Civic? Perhaps it's time to look elsewhere.

Related : 2012 Honda Civic - North American Version