North American-Bound Civics to be More Conservatively Designed |
| No one could have expected Honda to take such a bold position with one of its highest volume vehicles. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
When Honda released the European-destined Civic concept car during last year's Geneva motor show, representatives said that the compact hatchback was a 90 percent accurate example of the production model. The world collectively gasped when the tarp was pulled off, and for what seemed a single moment, paused.
What was Honda coming to? While we've seen some pretty radical looking stuff from Japanese automakers for their domestic clientele, no one could have expected Honda to take such a bold position with one of its highest volume vehicles.
The main question that everyone was asking, for the remainder of the Swiss show and for months after, was, would the orange, egg-on-wheels actually be the next Civic? Well, we've finally got an answer and Honda's officials weren't lying; this is the European model year 2006 Honda Civic hatchback.
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| Honda's main aim with the new Civic was to make it appear sporty and athletic. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
Eager to ditch any association of being synonymous with elderly, and terminally uninteresting, the European-market Honda Civic takes to the streets with a completely new look, unlike anything ever seen from Honda before. Its aggressive styling escapes the realm of inoffensiveness, much the same way in which the Renault Megane's bold, pointy rump broke the mould of the conventional hatchback. Honda's main aim with the new Civic was to make it appear sporty and athletic, two terms that are key to success in the European C-Segment (Civic-sized) marketplace - two terms that recent generation Civics could never be described as. But after seeing photos of this Civic five-door hatchback, it's safe to say that Honda's design team has easily mastered the head-turning art of looking cool.
