Honda Civic Coupe 1.5T CVT

2016 Honda Civic Coupe 1.5T CVT

An engaging coupe from the one-time maker of engaging coupes.

The old Civic coupe is a minivan. Not literally. But after driving the new one, last year’s model feels—there’s no nice way to put this—like a gigantic Cheerio depository.
Gone are the thick and distant A-pillars, and the busy two-tier instrument panel is also out, replaced by a big tachometer front and center with a digital speedo inside. Honda moved the hip point—where your glutes hit the seat—way down. As you sit closer to the ground, the narrower A-pillars and the simple and elegant dashboard work to erase that old minivan feeling. The mom jeans are off; the Civic is back to being a car, a very good one.
Taut suspension tuning means body motions are quickly damped, and the steering is alive. There’s a Volkswagen GTI–like eagerness to the turn-in, complemented by excellent cornering stability. Skidpad grip is an unimpressive 0.83 g, mostly due to the all-season rubber, but every bit of that grip is accessible and easy to modulate. A firm brake pedal provides the right amount of initial bite, although the brakes did exhibit slight fade at the track. In testing, the sixth successive stop from 70 mph measured 10 feet more than the first stop, but the pedal pressure remained constant and secure.

A new structure lies under the new skin. Honda claims it’s 25 percent stiffer than before. The structure dispatches big jolts with the brief tuung! of a tightly tuned tom-tom. Its predecessor had a hollow and weedier structure that couldn’t adequately suppress the engine or the ­suspension. Tire noise is still intrusive on concrete freeways, but the engine seems farther away now, and there’s virtually no wind noise. You don’t hear much at 70 mph, just 67 decibels of tire and mechanical hum, a five-decibel improvement over the old coupe.
Honda claims that the coupe’s unibody is 76 pounds lighter than before, and it may be. But with all the pieces attached and a new turbocharged 1.5-liter four, this car weighs 2882 pounds, or 31 more than the last coupe we tested. That slight weight gain is more than offset by the engine, which makes 31 more horsepower and 33 more pound-feet of torque than the old 1.8-liter. Acceleration to 60 mph takes 6.6 seconds, a full two seconds quicker than before.
At this point, Honda’s CVT automatic is the sole transmission for the 1.5-liter turbo. A big serving of turbo torque starts below 2000 rpm and keeps the CVT from having to zing into the higher revs in normal driving. In drive or sport mode, the transmission “shifts” virtual gears and the changing revs eliminate the unrelenting high-rpm wail characteristic of CVTs. In low mode, the CVT does hold the engine near the redline from about 40 mph until the governor engages at 125 mph. We achieved the quickest acceleration times with the transmission in low. Stepping through the fake gears added a couple of tenths to zero-to-60 runs. And unlike the previous car’s CVT, there isn’t any way to select or hold “gears” if you wish to shift for yourself.
For now, manual enthusiasts have to settle for the naturally aspirated 158-hp 2.0-liter. Paired with the manual, the 2.0-liter has the rev-happy character of Honda engines past. But the easy torque and the extra horsepower of the turbo engine is seductive, so you may want to wait until later this year when Honda will offer a six-speed manual with the 1.5-liter turbo four.
In our hands, the EX-L with the 1.5-liter returned 29 mpg. EPA estimates are forthcoming, but we are told by Honda to expect an improvement: 31 city and 41 highway.

A Civic coupe with a sensible instrument-panel layout, engaging dynamics, and attractive styling? Welcome back, Honda.

In addition to the old alien-spacecraft console, designers wisely threw out every other aspect of the previous ­generation. Material quality is hugely improved and the electric parking brake allows for a cavernous center console, but we’d still like to have a volume knob instead of having to swipe the border of the touchscreen. The seat cushions are Porsche firm, but some riders might find the lumbar support excessive.
Much of the exterior seems to have been designed to highlight the Civic’s 1.8-inch-wider body. A chrome nose ring sits just above knee height, and the rear fenders flare out below the pinched-in rear window. The wheelbase has grown by 3.1 inches to 106.3, but the overall length is down an inch. Along with the added width, the longer wheelbase shortens overhangs and yields an assertive stance. The rear end is perhaps the oddest part of the styling, bulging outward in a way that may conjure up images of a robot with a full diaper.
The Civic coupe is a return to form for Honda. But as good as the Civic is, we would wait for the turbo to hook up with the manual before signing any forms.