Car and Driver: 2016 Honda Civic Coupe 1.5T CVT

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

• By TONY QUIROGA
• Photography By SEAN C. RICE

Instrumented Test

From the May 2016 issue

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.  (US numbers).

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.

Source (with more pictures);
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-honda-civic-ex-l-coupe-test-review

Forbes: 2016 Honda Civic Coupe: Another Winner In Honda's Parade Of New Product

by Karl Brauer of www.forbes.com

Honda is in the midst of an aggressive product launch, with five all-new models and two substantially revised vehicles hitting showrooms in less than 2 years. Many of these vehicles are also top sellers in their respective categories, suggesting the automaker’s efforts are working to grow Honda’s visibility and reach in today’s highly-competitive new-car market. And while Honda’s overall sales were up modestly (2.6 percent) in 2015, at Kelley Blue Book we tracked the brand’s transaction price growth at 2.7 percent. That’s higher than Chevrolet , Kia, Subaru or Toyota (and essentially tied with Mazda’s 2.8 percent price growth), suggesting the appeal of these new products is creating strong demand.

Don’t expect the product parade to slow down. Beyond the upcoming Ridgeline truck and Odyssey minivan makeovers there’s the small matter of Honda’s small car, the Civic. This model has generated big sales numbers for decades, and the latest version, all-new for 2016, will come in more forms than any Civic before it. We’ve already discussed the sedan version, which hit showrooms last fall and is now leading the compact car segment in sales. The 2016 Civic sedan is a massive leap forward, essentially redefining the small car with regard to quality, refinement and advanced technology. In fact it was good enough to win 2016 North American Car of Year. Now comes the 2016 Honda Civic Coupe, featuring all the same goodness in a sportier package.

Honda’s representatives told us the Civic Coupe is the style and design lead for the Civic line. Compared to the sedan the coupe appeals to a younger, more active and more educated demographic. It’s also more likely to feed into larger Honda models by generating higher brand loyalty. The expressive exterior design language is clear at first glance, with the Civic Coupe having a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase, 1.2-inch shorter front overhang and 5.4-inch shorter rear overhang versus the new sedan. The roof is also 0.8 inches lower, and with the standard 16-inch alloy wheels on a base LX trim (17-inch wheels are standard on EX and Touring trims) the Civic Coupe imparts a low and wide stance.

Like the sedan the Civic Coupe features two engine and transmission choices. The base 2.0-liter, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder produces 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque while delivering 30 city mpg, 41 highway mpg and 34 combined mpg (US numbers). Those are class-leading fuel efficiency numbers, though horsepower and torque is lower than some competitors. Does this mean Civic Coupes with the base 2.0-liter feels underpowered? Not in the least. First, the normally-aspirated engine provides excellent low-end torque, and the power delivery through Honda’s continuously-variable transmission (CVT) is as good as any CVT on the market. Even better is the available (and highly engaging) 6-speed manual with this engine. Trust us, if you “settle” for a 2.0-liter version of the Civic Coupe you aren’t really settling.

But for Coupe buyers seeking maximum performance (at least until the Si and Type R versions arrive…) there’s Honda’s all-new 1.5-liter turbo engine offered in the EX and Touring trims. This four-cylinder offers slightly higher fuel efficiency than the 2.0-liter engine (31/41/35 mpg) while providing 174 peak horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Given all of these numbers are class leading one could argue Honda’s 1.5-liter turbo is the current state-of-the-art in small-car engines. Sadly, the turbo engine can’t be paired with the 6-speed manual, yet, though Honda says this option will appear soon.

Of course these engine specs are identical to the four-door version Civic. but the Coupe does feature a revised chassis with high-strength steel, 23 percent higher torsional rigidity and 75 percent higher body sealing versus the previous-gen coupe. The use of high-strength steel also resulted in a lighter chassis (76 pounds) with stronger suspension mounting points (28 percent stiffer in front, 35 percent stiffer in back). Honda expects the new Civic Coupe to achieve top safety scores from both NHTSA and IIHS.

The Coupe chassis’ increased strength is combined with more aggressive steering and suspension settings compared to the sedan. The variable ratio power steering has been adjusted to provide a more direct feel, and the McPherson strut front suspension and multilink rear suspension utilize stiffer dampers. All this is true even for the base Coupe LX compared to the sedan LX, and as shoppers move up trim levels to LX-P, EXT and Touring trims the springs and damper rates continue to rise. These changes manifested in reduced body roll, quicker steering and an overall bump in confidence when we drove the higher trim Civic Coupes along twisty roads.

One expects an improved exterior design and higher performance when switching from the sedan to the coupe version of a given model, but this switch usually means a substantial drop in practicality, too. We’re not about to claim the 2016 Civic Coupe is just as practical as its sedan brethren, but we were happily surprised by the level of interior space, particularly rear-seat space, Honda packed into its newest model. Rear headroom and cargo volume have both been improved compared to the previous-generation coupe, and while rear-seat access is never fun in a two-door vehicle my 6-foot frame found sufficient legroom, shoulder space and headroom once I was back there.

Other practical interior features, like the “Tech Center” console with an adjustable armrest and large, iPad-friendly storage bin make the Civic Coupe feel remarkably functional. The cabin’s interior looks and feels more upscale than the sedan, and premium features like remote engine start, an electronic parking brake, a 450-watt audio system, 3D navigation with real-time traffic, a power sunroof and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are available, depending on trim. Like the sedan, the Civic Coupe also offers the Honda Sensing suite of safety tech, including radar cruise control, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, forward collision warning and forward collision brake mitigation.

After several hours and a couple hundred miles with the 2016 Honda Civic Coupe we were as impressed with this version as we’d been last fall by the sedan. We do still wish Honda would provide dedicated knobs for volume and tuning control. Accessing these feature through the touch screen is just too cumbersome. And we’re anxiously awaiting the availability of the 6-speed manual paired with the 1.5-liter turbo engine. But these are minor sticking points on an otherwise world-class car. Honda has introduced yet another winner in a long line of winning product over the past year. The new 2016 Civic Coupe sets a high bar in the compact category. We’ll see how long it takes the competition to catch up.

Source;
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kbrauer/2016/02/22/2016-honda-civic-coupe-another-winner-in-hondas-parade-of-new-product/3/#d3f3865135c0