Honda India has launched the Civic sedan for the Indian market. The Honda Civic is one of the most exciting and highly anticipated car launches for 2019 in India. First introduced for the Indian market in 2003 the Civic took the Indian market by storm! The low ride height, a design which was futuristic and years ahead of the cars in the Indian market coupled with a great petrol engine and superb driving dynamics made the Civic one of the most popular Honda cars of the time. Honda’s decision to bring back the Civic after a gap of 6 years (Honda discontinued the Civic for the Indian market in 2013) brings a lot of excitement in the market particularly the executive sedan segment. Honda has certainly lost ground in this segment due to the absence of a product in the executive sedan and hope that the latest generation Civic will perform well to gain all-important market-share, customers.
The Honda Civic now in its 10th generation has not only skipped 2 generations (the 8th generation Civic was the only one sold in India previously) but it has also evolved greatly both in terms of design, function and technology. The Civic, when launched in 2003, was a true head turner…one the best-designed cars in the Indian market at the time. With a coupe-like design, aggressive stance, sharp character lines & cuts give the Civic a sporty look. The design is sophisticated yet, beautiful. The new Civic will turn heads wherever you take it! The interior of the previous generation Civic for India was by far the best and sportiest in its class. The latest gen Civic shares the same with a dash of added practicality. One of the biggest issues faced with driving the Civic was that it was not an easy car to drive due to the dashboard causing interference with the view outside. Honda has solved this issue by creating a more uniform and practical layout at the same time increasing the viewing area, the added increase in ride height helps a great deal too. With Indian being a major chauffeur-driven market, the backseat space is very crucial. Honda has done a good job with the backseat, providing comfortable seats and good legroom. However, taller passengers will be faced with a headroom issue. The sloping roofline of the car intrudes into the headspace and taller passengers will probably find their head against the roof of the car. The window line on the Civic is quite high…this reduces the viewing angle outside and gives you a feeling of being hemmed in. The Civic comes loaded with features such as rain-sensing wipers, touchscreen infotainment along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, electric sunroof etc. A very good feature is the fact that Honda has added a lane changing system which allows the driver to see the cars around with the help of cameras while changing lanes safely. The Civic is offered with 2 engines a 1.6 L turbocharged diesel and a 1.8 L petrol unit producing 120 bhp and 141 bhp respectively. The petrol engine is mated to a 7-speed CVT automatic gearbox while the diesel only gets a manual transmission and misses out on an automatic.
Honda has reintroduced the Civic at an opportune time. Rivals such as the Hyundai Elantra & Toyota Corolla Altis are not performing at their peak. Though this may be a great time for the Civic to stamp its authority on the segment, it faces a lot of competition from SUVs the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass as the current trend in the market shows a lot of customers switching over to SUVs. With prices starting at Rs.17.69 lakh the market performance of the new Honda Civic remains to be seen…
No comments:
Post a Comment