Honda Civic sets the bar high for buyers

An impressive array of features spells a return to form for the Civic, but its price makes one wonder why a hatchback, however good, should cost so much.

With online pricing, Honda Civic VTi-LX puts buyers firmly in the driver’s seat

Would you buy a car online? We buy so much off the internet these days - food, clothes, furniture - but is a car a step too far?

Honda hopes it isn’t, with the Japanese brand committed to a new way of selling its vehicles in Australia that effectively eliminates the dealer from the process and lets you deal directly with the manufacturer instead. No more oleaginous cliches men.

The idea is that this new way of doing business makes it an easier process with more transparent pricing for you, the consumer.

In principle it’s a great idea - unless you’re a car dealer who was good at getting customers to overpay for their cars - with buyers able to know exactly what the price is and not worrying that they’re getting the rough end of the deal.

But it does require some compromises: like less choice, for starters. In order to sell cars this way, Honda Australia has to control all of the new-car stock that’s in the country. To help do that, the company has streamlined its range, dropping underperforming models and limiting the number of optional choices on the cars it still offers.

Which brings us to the Civic VTi LX. It’s one of only three Honda Civic models still available in Australia, alongside the hybrid e:HEV LX and the sporty Type R. Which means that when it comes to picking a Civic, you’re really left with only two choices; what flavour do you want - normal, frugal or high-performance - and what colour?

Honda Civic VTi LX is all sophistication inside with a well-presented cabin

That’s all the choice you can make. If you opt for the VTi LX (which is available in four colours) you’ll pay $47,200 drive-away. That’s it, that’s what you’ll pay for the Civic VTi LX, no haggling, no negotiating and no special treatment - it’s the same price no matter who you are or where you live.

Honda even takes this new way of buying cars to the next level and advertises the price as a weekly cost, in the same way you pay for your phone or internet subscription. It’s a shrewd move that will likely appeal to a younger generation of buyers who are used to dealing with subscription-type services and breaking their costs down into weekly or monthly instalments.

So you can add a Honda Civic VTi LX to your budget for $241 per week, if you prefer.

But what are you getting for that money? In short, a very nice small car. By opting for a slimmed down line-up, Honda Australia has been able to focus on a higher level of standard equipment to produce a more polished small car.

Starting from the outside, this 11th generation of the nameplate features more simple and elegant lines than the Civic that came before. Inside, the sophistication continues with a well-presented cabin with a prominent infotainment touchscreen at the top of the dashboard, and a horizontal honeycomb mesh strip beneath it that runs the width of the dash and acts as a visual break between the two halves.

The seats are comfortable and supportive, both in front and rear, and are trimmed in suede. The suede is dark and highlighted by red contrasting trim, which adds to the premium look and feel of the cabin.

In terms of equipment, the VTi LX is well-appointed, with a Bose premium sound system, while the infotainment system features wireless Apple CarPlay as well as Android Auto. There’s also a comprehensive list of active safety features as part of the Honda Sensing suite, so you and your occupants are well-protected.

As for the mechanical side, this latest Civic is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine that makes a healthy 131kW of power. Fuel economy is rated at 6.3 litres per 100km, which is a good return for a car of this size; even if it’s notably behind the 4.2L/100km managed by the Civic hybrid.

The turbocharged engine endows the Civic with brisk performance and pairs nicely to a well-sorted chassis, so this latest model feels responsive and pleasant to drive - both in the urban setting and when you get out on the open road.

That’s a return to form for the Civic, which was once one of the most enjoyable small cars to drive, but did lose its way for a few generations (Type R notwithstanding).

But despite all of this it still brings us back to the question of price and Honda’s new way of doing business. As impressive a small car as it is, you simply cannot escape the fact that $47,200 is a lot of money for a hatchback. All car prices have risen since the pandemic, but the challenge for Honda is that there remain cheaper alternatives to the Civic that are appealing in their own way.

Or perhaps the lure of a simpler, more transparent sales process will be enough to tempt buyers to give Honda a chance and add a car to their list of online purchases.