2016-Honda-Civic-LX-front-interior-seats

The Civic Touring comes with modern safety tech (forward collision warning, road departure mitigation, etc. ), thicker anti-roll bars, and chrome outside door handles, but the new parking brake could be the item of most interest. An electronic switch is standard, and we'll predict the hand lever's removal will become one of the topics virtuous Civic owners discuss at length, alongside two-tier dashboards, plummeting redlines, and the abolition of front control-arm suspension. The sloping roofline affects passenger entry into the rear, and it's visually hard to believe there's more back-seat space as the official specs attest. You do seem to sit deeper into the rear bench, so friend and family ride-alongs should be fine as long as they're not terribly tall and won't bump their heads getting in and out.

During the ninth generation's early days, it looked like Honda might be content to let the Civic scrape by on nameplate equity. But this latest effort—longer, wider, lower, and with wilder, more distinctive styling—goes a long way toward reasserting Honda cares about the always-popular Civic. The competition might have been thrilled with the thought of Honda apathy, but it's quite clear now the Civic won't concede its four decades of sales dominance without a fight.

2016 Honda Civic Touring
BASE PRICE	$27,335
PRICE AS TESTED	$27,335
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan
ENGINE	1.5L/174-hp/162-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	Cont. variable auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	2,925 lb (61/39%)
WHEELBASE	106.3 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	182.3 x 70.8 x 55.7 in
0-60 MPH	7.2 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.5 sec @ 92.4 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	123 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.83 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.5 sec @ 0.62 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	31/42/35 mpg (est)
ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY	109/80 kW-hrs/100 miles (est)
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.55 lb/mile (est)