Test Drive: 2013 Honda Civic EX Touring

By Kevin Harrison

In 2004, the Calgary Flames were good enough to make it to the Stanley Cup finals. A big reason why is because of their then goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff. Kiprusoff set an NHL record of lowest goals against average that year with 1.69. Even though the Flames did not win the Cup that year, fans held high hopes for the next year and a big reason why was because Kiprusoff was seen as the team’s savior.

The team did fairly well years later, and they were labeled as a playoff contender year after year until 2007 when Kiprisoff fell off his game. Suddenly he wasn’t the go-to guy for guaranteed wins anymore. He had stumbled and stumbled hard. As a result, critics absolutely panned him with local media declaring that he had to go. They wanted him traded for just about anyone else.

A similar situation happened with Honda and their bread and butter go-to sedan, the Civic. The name alone is synonymous with reliability and just plain being a smart choice. It was the benchmark for being an all-around good car and it was Honda’s superstar in the lineup for decades. It was a car that blurred the lines in terms of appeal. A grandmother would have base model Civic in beige in her driveway and right next to it would be a hotted up Civic Si’s when her grandson came over to visit. It appealed to almost everyone.

Then 2012 happened.

That was the year when the Civic – a guaranteed sales superstar, fell off its game. It was panned by automotive critics and anchored discussions of “what’s happening to Honda?”

The 2012 Civic was concluded to be worse than the model he replaced. It was less refined, had poorer quality, a waftier ride, had worse exterior styling and was no more innovative. It seemed as though Honda was resting a little too much on their laurels and the Civic’s reputation in general. Suddenly it was not the go-to car to recommend to everyone.

Just one year later in an unprecedented move, Honda actually paid attention to their critics and ordered an ’emergency refresh’ of the Civic to try to regain confidence in the automotive media and consumers alike.

Is it enough to regain the Civic’s accolades?

One of the bigger criticisms towards the 2012 Civic was that the exterior looks were duller than Ben Stein. It seemed like there was very little thought put into the design and, in Honda’s defense, they may have had the mantra of “don’t mess too much with a good thing”, however it’s clear that there was little effort put in to try to make the Civic stick out. In order to rectify that, Honda added some chrome to the front to go with the slightly redesigned front fascia and new grille. For the first time ever, top level Civic’s gets fog lights installed by the manufacturer. Previously if you wanted fog lights on your Civic, you’d have to get them dealer installed as an accessory. My tester’s EX Touring trim level came with eye-catching wheels. These wheels are exclusive to the Canadian market and if you look closely, you’ll notice that they are the same rims used on the old Civic Si, only there are some black inlays. Out back, attractive redesigned tail lights complete the look with a chrome strip on the trunk lid. Overall the look is much improved and is much more eye-catching.

One major criticism of the outgoing 2012 Civic was that the interior was a blatant step down in terms of premium feel. I am happy to report that the “Honda feel” is back in the 2013 Civic. Everything feels high quality with soft touch material where it matters and some chrome accents. My tester’s all-black colour scheme actually worked well and the premium feeling leather seats helped the Civic feel upscale. The layout, while a bit overwhelming at first with the two tiered dash, is logically laid out and the 5-inch touchscreen in the centre responds to commands quite well. My only gripe is the font choice is a bit unfortunate. It looks like it’s from the 90’s. A back up camera is standard on all trim levels. While the Civic is small enough with decent maneuverability to not really need a back-up camera, having one all the same provides a little extra peace of mind. Kudos to Honda for not limiting its availability to higher trim levels. Rear seat legroom is adequate as is trunk space.

So, the interior and exterior have been improved but the engine has stayed the same. It gets the same 1.8 litre i-VTEC 4 cylinder producing 140 horsepower. This unit’s reputation speaks for itself which is probably why Honda chose to keep it for 2013. 0-100 takes 10.1 seconds so you won’t be winning any drag races, however this engine is more than adequate for every day driving and I must say, the Civic feels quicker than the 0-100 time suggests. I would imagine that more could be had out of the engine when equipped with a manual transmission. My tester’s 5-speed automatic is standard on the Touring trim line. While a 6-speed automatic would be more with the times, I’m just glad that Honda is sticking with a traditional automatic rather than hopping aboard the CVT train like most of its competitors. With that said, a CVT is likely down the line for the Civic because the recently redesigned Accord now has a CVT. The Civic also has an ‘econ’ mode which is activated at the push of a button. This supposedly limits throttle input, keeping the revs lower and thus saving fuel. Other models equipped with an ‘eco’ mode are usually quite annoying and intrusive when activated but I didn’t find Honda’s eco mode to be too limiting which is a good thing.

Fuel consumption numbers for the 2012 Civic are 7.2 L 10 kms city and 5.0 L/100 kms highway. There are no offical EPA numbers for the 2013 Civic however it’s fairly safe to say that they will be similar, if not exactly the same as the 2012 model since it uses the same engine. I returned 9.4 L/100 kms in mixed driving and mixed driving in and out of ‘Econ’ mode. That figure is a bit disappointing however in the Civic’s defense, the entire week I had it, we had a fairly big cold snap which likely affected fuel consumption. Regardless, the official numbers are spot on when comparing to the Civic’s competition, making the Civic fairly competitive for fuel efficiency.

So, no changes to the engine, but that’s probably a good thing. What Honda decided to do instead was make changes to the chasis, suspension and steering –what the Civic used to be known for before the 2012 model came around and ruined it. I’m happy to report that the Civic’s handling abilities are back up to snuff. There is noticeably less body roll and the car feels much tighter and stable overall. The Civic has a fully independent MacPherson strut front suspension and rear multi-link suspension. That matched with low profile 17-inch Michelin Pilot all-seasons, generates a fairly planted feel in theory. I say in theory because for some reason Honda decided not to fit my tester with winter tires…in the middle of winter. While winter tires generally take away grip from most cars, by nature they are sticker in than summer tires in colder weather so Honda would have been well advised to equip the press car with winter tires. If they had, I would imagine that the handling abilities would be even better. Anyway, the steering feedback is decent thanks to the electric variable-assist technology and turn ins are fairly direct as a result. This is only true at higher speeds, however. At lower speeds, the feedback to the driver is less, which is likely agreeable to most drivers, but I found this inconsistency to be a bit annoying.

In 2012, Kiprusoff proved himself to be a new man as he easily reached an accolade of 300 career wins. Critics are less harsh on him as the results speak for themselves. The same thing can be said for Honda with this new Civic. In other words, the Civic is back amongst the top players in the ever crowded and stupidly competitive compact sedan segment.

Price As Tested: $24,840

Pros