Photos of US early-MMC Civic INTERIOR

In the U.S., the 9Gen Civic had a stormy introduction. While it managed to achieve best seller in its class, its interior, especially in the base models, had been criticized by many quarters, with the enthusiasts and Honda fans/owners being some of the loudest. While some have tried to defend the Civic, often by using the fact that it is a best-seller, the fact that AHM will launch an MMC for the 9Gen Civic this month proves that even Honda feels that some of the criticisms are at the very least, warranted. 

9Gen Civic MMC now available in US dealer's websites

The early MMC for the 9Gen Civic, known in the U.S. as the '2013 Civic' is almost on us. On some dealer's websites in the U.S., one can already 'build' (i.e. select options) the car one is interested in buying. And the '2013 Civic' is now already available for building. This also gives us an early 'sneak peek' at the new 2013 Civic, eventhough in CG form only. The photos below are captured by one TOV forumer from the 'Benson Honda' dealer website and offers us an almost complete look at the exterior of the MMC 2013 Civic. Of special mention are the new front grille and bumper design plus the new tail-lights.

Spy Photos of the USDM MMC 9Gen Civic

Spy photos of the MMC 9Gen Civic, for the USDM, is already surfacing around the internet. At the moment, Motor Trend is carrying photos of the MMC Civic, to be launched at the end of this month. The links to the Motor Trend website is below.

http://wot.motortrend.com/spied-2013-honda-civic-revealed-with-accord-like-front-styling-285789.html

One TOV forumer took two Motor Trend photos and photoshop'ed it to 'remove' the tapes and reveal what he thinks is the actual MMC design. These photos are below. (Lots of TOV forumers are very talented with Photoshop).

USDM 'revised' 9Gen Civic out on Nov 29th !!!

TOV has learned that the 'revised' or shall we say 'early MMC' for the 9Gen Civic for the U.S. market is scheduled to be released on the 29th of  next month (November). Word is there will be no mechanical or specification changes to the car but there will be significant changes or what is described/hoped to be improvements to the exterior and interior. There is even speculation that some of the exterior change, e.g. the rear taillight assembly will become like that of our, ASEAN/Asian Civic (the USDM Civic does not have the taillight extensions into the trunk/boot cover). For a little bit more details, go to our TOV news and rumours article at http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1105544.

New Civic variant and Civic Type-R for Europe

For this coming Paris motorshow which will be held on the 27th of this month, Honda has officially announced the debut of the new diesel variant of the 9Gen Civic. This variant will get a 1.6l i-DTEC diesel engine rated for a max power of 120ps/hp. Honda also announced that the CO2 emission will be only 94 g/km and that the Civic i-DTEC will deliver a combined consumption of 78.5mpg (according to Euro standards).

Prior to this Honda press release, the European motoring press has been widely announcing that a new 9Gen Civic Type-R  will be debuted this motor show. This new Euro-CTR was announced to be getting the 1.6 turbo-charged RSeries engine which Honda is using in the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) Civic which was just launched. However, it is clear that the motoring press are mistaken.

A suggestion from someone with contacts inside Honda is that the European motoring press has mistaken Honda's information, thinking that Honda is talking about the new Euro CTR whereas they had been talking about the WTCC Civic instead.

Nevertheless, the same person has informed TOV/TOVA that the Euro CTR is in fact real, and that Honda of Europe is still pushing to launch it in the time frame of the new few months. This new Euro CTR will come in the form of a 5-door hatch and will have a 2.0l K-Series engine with a 7,500rpm redline and a max power rating of 220ps/hp.

The British market is credited as the primary driver for the return of the Euro Civic Type-R and this car will be built in Honda's Swindon plant in England.

The photo above is the new Civic 1.6i-DTEC and is supplied by Honda of Europe.

Interior quality of the 9G Civic

There seems to be some disagreement amongst TOV/TOVA'ers about the interior quality of the 9Gen Civic, between the ASEAN and USDM versions, and even between the previous 8Gen and the new 9Gen units. While it is never possible to judge correctly, nevertheless I was very concious of this issue and I -did- take close up photos of the material of the cabin. 

In this first supplementary post, I have put up three photos of the inside of the 1.8l Civic below for readers who might want to, or are able to make more informed judgements. The first photo on the top is the driver's seat, the one in the middle, the driver's door and the third the top of the dashboard on the front passenger's side where the front airbag cover is. 

The NEW 9Gen Civic is coming !

The new 9Gen Civic will be launched by Honda Malaysia next week. In fact some publications have even published the exact date - July 12th 2012. Advertisements have already been placed in newspapers to attract attention to this new Civic. But at the end of the day, really, what does it hold for us, Honda fans ?

Update : A reader sent in a comment to say that the Honda Civic Hybrid is actually already in Singapore, which is of course RHD. So there should not be any problems with Honda Malaysia launching the HCH. Thanks to the reader. 

Which brings me to the intriguing 'coincidence' that 'Honda Global Amity', a Honda dealer located in the Bukit Jalil area sent me an invitation to their own launch of the HCH (at their showroom) next saturday, i.e. the weekend after the launch of the Civic. This suggests to me that on July 12th, Honda Malaysia will be launching the full line-up of variants for the new 9Gen Civic - both 1.8l and 2.0l -plus- the Civic Hybrid !