By AZLAN RAMLI
LESS than three weeks after taking us on a fun outing in still-tourist-less Pulau Langkawi in the new Honda City Hatchback RS e:HEV, Honda Malaysia recently organised another overnight media outing. This time, it was in Penang – just four days before “Hurry Raya”!
The event was for us to experience the all-new Honda Civic RS, the first such variant in the Civic line-up, introduced during the 11th-generation all-new Civic Malaysian launch on January 13.
Back then, Honda Malaysia stated that the new Civic was expected to “make waves in the market and maintain No. 1 position in the C-segment with its stylish exterior design, premium interior offerings and best-in-class performance”.
The company’s then-managing director and chief executive officer Madoka Chujo had said that in developing the 11th-generation Civic, Honda’s research and development team had put in a lot of thought and effort in designing the exterior, interior and overall package of the car.
“This model is a modern interpretation of the classic and timeless human-centred Honda values, with a new design concept that exudes a New Age Identity sedan. Packed to the brim with advanced features while keeping true to the Civic DNA styling, handling and powerful performance – the 11th-generation all-new Civic is truly built and powered by passion, inspired by a strong legacy and built for the future.”
With the base design’s already-sporty and bold looks, Honda enhanced it further with the RS variant, introduced into the Civic line-up for the first time.
The RS exclusive exterior features include black painted parts – side mirrors, shark fin antenna, exterior door handles and boot spoiler, complementing twin tailpipes with chrome finishers and 18-inch matte black alloy rims.
The Civic RS also features newly-designed LED headlamps with LED daytime running lights, while the new rear LED combi lights reflecting the “Civic’s DNA and emphasises the Honda identity”.
In 2016, Honda was the first Japanese mass manufacturer to introduce the VTEC turbocharged engine in the 10th-generation Civic. The acceptance of that engine in the market was overwhelming and since then, 60% of Civic sales were contributed by the turbocharged variants.
Therefore, the Civic RS (as well as the other two variants E and V) is powered by the same enhanced 1.5-litre VTEC turbocharged engine, which performance has been raised to a maximum power output of 179.5hp and segment-leading 240Nm of torque – more powerful than a 2.4-litre (normally-aspirated) engine’s performance.
There are new drive mode options: ECON, Normal and Sport modes which can be switched easily with the drive mode switch. The Sport mode provides powerful torque sensation and high acceleration responsiveness, which Honda says reflects on the performance-driven DNA of a Civic.
With three media representatives in each Civic RS, we took turns driving the most popular (four-wheeled) Honda through the highways and backroads of Selangor, Perak and Penang, as well as the busy city roads of George Town.
Spacious, premium feel inside
The Civic’s interior design concept focuses on exceptional visibility with an open feeling of spaciousness, achieved through an expanded glass area. A key highlight is the honeycomb mesh panel that exudes a premium feel and touch to the overall dashboard layout.
There is a new and improved seat design and the Civic RS comes with a combi leather* seats with red stitching in addition to red-stitched leather* steering wheel, black headlining, sport pedals and foot lamps.
The car is equipped with nine-inch advanced display audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto** connectivity and two front USB ports.
Seven-inch interactive thin film transistor meter, two rear USB ports and smart clear wipers are some standard features; the pair of wipers is a unique feature introduced in a Honda Malaysia’s model line-up for the first time.
Throughout the drive, including the very fast drive back to our starting point in Shah Alam, we could feel the much-improved chassis – for better handling and ride comfort, the new Civic’s chassis has 8% more torsional rigidity and 13% more bending rigidity, compared to the 10th-generation Civic’s. This means the new model has (better) high-rigidity frame for collision safety and improved handling.
In enhancing the Civic’s quietness and ride comfort, Honda had vastly reduced noise, vibration and harshness with the application of insulators, floor undercover and spray foam application in its chassis areas.
Sensibly safe
Equipped with a full suite of enhanced Honda Sensing – advanced safety technologies that are intuitive and intelligent, the Civic RS has the most complete set of safety features in the C-segment, consisting of:
- Lead car departure notification system. The Civic RS is the first car in Honda Malaysia’s model line-up to be equipped with it. During idle times such as when waiting at a traffic light, the system will alert driver about the departure of the preceding car.
- Adaptive cruise control
- Low-speed follow
- Collision mitigation braking system
- Forward collision warning
- Lane keep assist system
- Road departure mitigation
- Lane departure warning
- Auto high beam.
The adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow will slowly decelerate the car by detecting the brake and indicator lamps of the vehicle ahead and slowly accelerate the Civic RS by controlling acceleration linked with driver operation.
The lane keep assist system enables a natural and smooth steering operation during turn-in and out as well as corrective steering assist in environments such as cross winds and wind pressure beside larger vehicles.
Other safety features in the Civic RS are Honda LaneWatch***, six airbags, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist, emergency stop signal, anti-lock braking system, electronic brake distribution and auto brake hold.
Rear seat belt reminder and driver attention monitor are two other new safety features for the Civic (RS, E and V variants), plus walk-away auto lock and remote engine start.
The new Honda Civic is the third Honda Malaysia model and the first Civic to feature Honda’s latest innovative and advanced Honda Connect technology.
Applying smart telematics technology, the vehicle allows owners/users to connect with it with a touch of their fingertips via a smartphone application.
Key functions of the telematics technology in Honda Connect include vehicle diagnostics, remote applications, security applications, vehicle tracking and support services, which are all targeted to provide peace-of-mind and ease accessibility to the vehicle’s information.
The new Honda Civic RS sells for RM144,350.09*** and comes with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and five-time free labour for servicing.
Ignite Red Metallic and Meteoroid Gray Metallic are two new colours offered.
Other colour options are Platinum White Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl.
*Combination leather.
**Android Auto will be available upon its official launch of the service in Malaysia.
***On-the-road price without insurance, with sales tax exemption, which will end on June 30. Terms and conditions apply.
