By Derek Price
Automotive Writer
In fact, many of today’s family sedans have copied what Honda popularized in the 1990s. Simple, aerodynamic styling, sporty handling, variable valve timing and fresh in-cabin electronics have gone from innovative to ordinary in modern cars.
Well, this year I’m sensing that Honda is getting some of its ‘90s swagger back. It started a few months ago when I drove the redesigned Accord Hybrid, and it’s reinforced even more after spending this week in the newly updated Civic.
The Civic has always been a car people buy because they expect it to last forever. Three or four years ago, though, I noticed it seemed to take a dip in quality — nothing major, just a cabin that felt a little flimsier than before.
This year’s Civic fixes that. It finally feels Honda-ish again, with a new cabin that is Swiss-watch precise and covered with soft materials so tightly attached that they could survive a strike by Mr. Putin’s nuclear arsenal.
It’s exactly how a Honda should feel.
And that means the Civic is once again a car without any weaknesses. It’s hard to find anything exceptional about it from the driver’s seat, but it’s also hard to find anything it does poorly, from handling to braking to overall comfort over the road.
The Honda Civic, long known as a reliable car, gets an upgraded cabin and new features for 2014, including a side-view video camera.
Gas mileage of 39 mpg on the highway is good — and even better if you opt for the HF model that hits 41 mpg or the hybrid that achieves 47. The fact that Honda makes so many different flavors of the Civic, including the sporty Si and a model powered by natural gas, makes me think they’ve got a car that could make any driver happy.
Honda keeps the Civic very competitively priced, starting at $18,390, which seems like a bargain when you factor in this car’s legendary resale value.
My loaded test car was priced at $25,030 with leather seats, a navigation system and lots of electronic doodads. That price is on the steep end for a compact car but not bad for all the features included with it, giving it the accoutrements of a luxury car at a price most people can afford.
The best feature of all on these upmarket Hondas is something called LaneWatch: a camera mounted on the right-side mirror that monitors the driver’s blind spot. Any time you use the right turn signal or press a little button on the turn stalk, the view from that camera shows up on a big LCD screen in the center of the dash, making it easier to change lanes in traffic.
The Civic’s cabin is improved this year to make it feel more solid and upscale than before. Extensive use of soft-touch materials keep it a top competitor among compact cars.
Every car in the world ought to have that feature. It seems like a trivial thing until you get in another car that doesn’t have it and wonder, “Where’s my lane-change camera?”
Some day, all cars might have one. And when they do, I’ll probably find myself pining for the innovative Hondas they made back in the good ol’ days of 2014.
At a Glance
What was tested?
2014 Honda Civic 4-Door EX-L Navi ($24,240). Options: None. Price as tested (including $790 destination charge): $25,030
Wheelbase: 105.1 in.
Length: 179.4 in.
Width: 69 in.
Height: 56.5 in.
Engine: 1.8-liter four-cylinder (143 horsepower, 129 lbs.-ft.)
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Estimated Mileage: 39 highway, 30 city
RATINGS
Style: 8
Performance: 9
Price: 9
Handling: 9
Ride: 9
Comfort: 9
Quality: 10
Overall: 9
Video Review:
2014 Honda Civic
http://bit.ly/2014civic
Why buy it?
It has one of the best long-term reputations of any car for sale today. It’s legendary for reliability and resale value, and a new cabin and added features keep it a top contender in 2014.