Driving Honda’s first turbocharged Civic

 

Photos by Alvin Uy

WHEN a friend of mine posted a photo of his circa 1999 Honda Civic SiR last week, it drew a lot of accolades on social media from fellow car enthusiasts.

Three generations ago, the Civic had mojo. Now, the new generation RS Turbo seems to have gotten its mojo back.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc., Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, unveiled its much anticipated all-new Civic last April.

The 10th generation Civic comes with a completely redesigned exterior and very modern and sleek cockpit that’s packaged with a host of new and advanced technologies, and is also Honda’s first locally available VTEC Turbo engine.

Honda’s “Civic Reborn” tagline is an appropriate slogan with a very aggressive styling inspired by its “Revolutionary Silhouette Advanced Neo Sedan” exterior design concept.

The low and wide stance, and sleek and swept-back body-lines give it a coupe-like vibe that promises an athletic persona.

This writer recently test drove its top-of-the-line variant, the Civic RS Turbo that has all the bells and whistles, and gets a sportier treatment with an RS design 17-inch alloy wheels, gloss black front grille, a wing trunk spoiler and LED fog lights, and is distinguished with the RS Emblem.

Featuring a DOHC VTEC Turbo engine, it has a maximum torque of 22.0 kilogram-meters at 1,700–5,500 revolutions per minute, and a maximum power output of 173 horsepower at 5,500 rpm.

All that power on the tap doesn’t mean it is always thirsty. The new Honda engines offer power and performance but with uncompromised fuel efficiency.

Mated to a continuously variable transmission developed under Earth Dreams Technology, fuel efficiency can be achieved with some amount of muscular discipline on the right foot.

The RS Turbo is also equipped with paddle shifters for a sportier driving performance.

Recently, Honda participated in the first Euro 4 Fuel Economy Run conducted by the Department of Energy with the Civic and other participating Honda vehicles getting remarkable results.

Specifically, the Civic RS Turbo got a fuel consumption of 27.56 km to a liter.

Inside, one is welcomed with a sleek and stylishly modern interior and a cockpit to match bigger and more premium sedans.

The interior refinement is considered one of the best in class and its wide cockpit design comes with warmer soft-touch materials.

Of course, the topline RS Turbo also gets the leather treatment including its seats, steering wheel and shift knob.

Its full color TFT instrument cluster includes a multi-information display that allows quick browsing of vehicle speed, and other vehicle-related information.

Like other more premium sedans, this is easily operated through its electrostatic steering wheel controls with a light and soft swipe.

The RS Turbo comes with an excellent audio system and its new 7-inch infotainment screen gets an incorporated navigation system as well.

Another interesting feature is the Smart Key Entry System. It also has a walk-away auto lock feature, which automatically engages if it senses the Smart Key is removed within a radius of approximately 2.5 meters.

On the highway, the RS Turbo is sure-footed and has power on the tap to easily overtake with ease. Noise, harshness and vibration is very minimal and driving it along the highway or in the city for that matter is very comfortable.

For a previous Civic owner like me, the all-new Civic has indeed come a long way. If there’s anything to be noticed on this car, I would probably say its sticker price of P1.398 million, already within striking distance in terms of pricing with entry level midsized SUVs which seem to be all the rave these days.

But for someone who wants a compact executive express with lots of power on tap that’s good for urban traffic and equally good for quick weekend getaways and road trips, I would really give the RS Turbo a serious look.