Current Car Honda Civic Generation

In 2002 Honda Civic, all Honda Civic's came with 14-inch wheels, Honda Civic DX models got full wheel covers, the LX sedan received air conditioning and, strangely, EX coupes with manual transmissions no longer had the option of antilock brakes.

The current Honda Civic Si, which was introduced for the 2006 model year, is available in two body styles: coupe and four-door sedan. Both styles share four trim levels: a base honda civic DX, EX, LX and Honda Civic Si. The Honda Civic DX,EX and LX are powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which makes 140 hp. A five-speed manual
transmission is standard, and a five-speed automatic is optional. All trims get a broad range of safety features, such as antilock brakes, front-seat side airbags and full-length side-curtain airbags.

Those accustomed to the Honda Civic's conservative tradition will be surprised to find a dramatic-looking interior that features a new two-tier dashboard layout. A digital speedometer sits on top of the dash,while the tachometer is the lone instrument gauge behind the steering wheel. In terms of premium features, the honda civic DX is pretty limited, and you'll have to jump up to the EX and LX trims to get air-conditioning and powered accessories. The EX and LX also add upgraded stereo systems and sportier 16-inch aluminum wheels.

The biggest news is the availability of a Hybrid Honda Civic sedan, which has a more powerful gas/electric powerplant system than in Honda's car groundbreaking Insight. This environmentally friendly vehicle offers the room and comfort of a Honda Civic sedan with mileage estimates of 46 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway. Although Toyota car brought out its four-door Prius hybrid a few years prior to this Honda Civic's debut, Honda loyalists now have a practical hybrid they can call their own.

There are now three car body styles to choose from: Honda Civic coupe, Honda Civic sedan and Honda Civic hatchback. Conservative styling for the Honda Civic sedan and a slightly more aggressive approach for the Honda Civic coupe help to differentiate these two body styles, while the Honda Civic hatchback presents a snub-nosed, city-car look. The hatch is only available as the sporty 160-horsepower Honda Civic Si, while the others car are available in familiar Honda Civic DX, Honda Civic HX (coupe only), Honda Civic LX and Honda Civci EX trim levels.

A more spacious cabin car features Honda's trademark large, simple controls but greater use of hard plastic trim seems to indicate that the company may be resting on its laurels a bit.

The newest car Honda Civics ride on a stiffer platform that decreases chassis flex and thus provides better handling and increased crash protection. But to the chagrin of hard-core enthusiasts, Honda replaced the front double-wishbone suspension setup with a more space-efficient McPherson-strut setup, which isn't as easy to "slam" (lower) as the double-wishbone design. Steering now boasts a quicker ratio along with variable power assist, which makes parking easier while allowing more road feel and response during spirited driving.

Under the hood, the car engine's size has been increased slightly (from 1.6 to 1.7 liters) to provide more torque, and transmissions were tweaked for improved shifter feel and greater efficiency.

Generation Honda Civic Car 1996-2000

A New models honda Civic's lineup debuted for 1996 . The new body featured larger light clusters fore and aft, a grille (chrome-accented on sedans) and a crisp character line that ran the length of the car. Honda Civic Hatchback now had the 103.2-inch wheelbase of the coupes and sedans, and overall length was up around 2 to 4 inches, depending on body style.

A revamped Honda Civic lineup debuted for 1996. The new body featured larger light clusters fore and aft, a grille (chrome-accented on Honda Civic sedans) and a crisp car character line that ran the length of the car. Honda Civic Hatchbacks now had the 103.2-inch wheelbase of the Honda Civic coupes and Honda Civic sedans, and overall length was up around 2 to 4 inches, depending on car body style.

Honda Civic Sedans were again offered in Honda Civic DX, Honda Civic LX and Honda Civic EX trim levels. A new Honda Civic coupe, the Honda Civic HX, joined the Honda Civic DX and Honda Civic EX coupes. The Honda Civic HX coupe essentially replaced the Honda Civic VX hatchback, offering high mileage figures from a fairly powerful car engine. The revised Honda Civic VTEC-E engine (now at 1.6 liters) in the Honda Civic HX put out 23 more horsepower (for a total of 115 ponies) than the previous version but now "only" scored mileage figures of 39 in the city and 45 on the highway. A gearless continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that promised seamless performance and manual-transmission fuel economy car was introduced later in the year as an option for the Honda Civic HX. The Honda Civic hatchback lineup was trimmed down to two models, the Honda Civic CX and Honda Civic DX. A new 1.6-liter 106-horsepower engine that earned Low Car Emission Vehicle (LEV) certification powered the Honda Civic CX, Honda Civic DX and Honda Civic LX, and a slightly more powerful 127-horsepower VTEC-assisted version was found in the Honda Civic EX models.

Excluded from the redesign car, the Honda Civic del Sol was now in its fourth year and got a host of tweaks to keep it current. The base model Honda Civic (S) got the new 1.6-liter 106-horse engine fitted to the new Honda Civic, Honda Civic Si models got the beefier suspension of the VTEC car, and all versions got a freshened front fascia.

In 1997, all Honda Civics car came with 14-inch wheels, Honda Civic DX models got full car wheel covers, the Honda Civic LX sedan received air conditioning and, strangely, Honda Civic EX coupes with manual transmissions no longer had the option of antilock brakes. As this would be the last year for the Honda Civic del Sol, Honda made no changes.

Not much happened in 1998, save for new car wheel covers, an exterior handle for Honda Civic hatchbacks and the addition of map lights.

A slightly revised front fascia and taillights, along with redesigned climate controls updated the Honda Civic for 1999. A "Value Package" car for the Honda Civic DX sedan debuted that included features that most buyers wanted, such as air conditioning, a CD player, power door locks, automatic transmission and keyless entry, at a substantial savings when compared to the separate option prices.

Midway through the year to the joy of pocket-rocket enthusiasts everywhere, the Honda Civic Si returned, now in the car coupe body style and sporting a potent 160 horsepower from its 1.6-liter VTEC engine. A firmer suspension, front strut tower brace, 15-inch alloy wheels wearing 195/55R15 rubber and four-wheel disc brakes completed the hardware upgrades for the Honda Civic Si. A front spoiler car, side sills and subtle bodyside graphics set the Honda Civic Si apart from the other Honda Civic coupes, and the standard equipment was generous and similar to that of the Honda Civic EX.

Other than the shuffling of car paint choices, the Honda Civic stood pat for the year 2000.