What you see before is the all-new 2012 Honda Civic. Sure, it looks the same, but there’s a whole lot of new here, from the 41 mpg HF model from a torquey new 2.4 liter for the sporty Si model.
Honda joins a growing list of car makers offering an extra fuel efficient model. Called the HF, this model gets the same aerodynamic body kit as the Civic Hybrid and a 1.8 liter engine, which Honda says should net an EPA estimated 41 mpg. That’s what the old Civic Hybrid used to get, but that model has gotten its own changes to boost its fuel economy rating to 45 mpg. That’s not at all far from the Toyota Prius, which hasn’t seen its mpg ratings move much at all in the past few years.
Honda doesn’t detail want changes they made to get an extra 4 mpg, but its obvious the engineers spent most of their time improving how the Civic works, rather than how it looks. I still like how it looks, especially the Si model, which now has a 170 ft-lbs of torque and 200 horsepower on tap from a naturally aspirated four-cylinder. That ain’t bad, and it still gets a 31 mpg rating. Then of course there’s the natural-gas powered Honda Civic GX, the “greenest” car in the world. I hear there might be a sportier version of the CR-Z Hybrid out there too. How many Honda faithful we got out there?
Source: Honda
Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMI’s. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.