All-New 2016 Honda Civic Previewed - Epic Civic!

After lumbering along several years with an underwhelming ninth generation Civic, Honda has wow-ed the crowd at this morning's opening of the New York International Auto Show with this Civic Concept.

Ignore the coupe body style because this is clearly a thinly disguised concept car that previews the all-new 10th generation 2016 Honda Civic.

The outgoing ninth generation Civic was conceived at a very difficult juncture in Honda's history, at the peak of the global financial crisis. Now that Honda is back stronger than ever before, having introduced the tech-fest all-wheel drive NSX hybrid supercar, the all-new Civic is in the words of John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. Executive Vice President, an 'epic Civic.'

"In every way, this will be an epic Civic," said Mendel.

"But let me be very clear, we have never in our history embarked on such a comprehensive redesign of Civic. The all-new Civic lineup features not only a new styling direction, but a new platform and powertrain," he added.

As reported earlier, the all-new Civic will be powered by an all-new 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo engine, and the hallowed Type-R badge will also make its return.

"Now, there has been tremendous buzz from owners and the press about the Civic Type-R, especially about whether we would ever bring it to the US. As we have a large representative sample of the motor press here today, I'd ask for your vote on whether we should bring the Type R here.

"OK then, lets do it! We agree that the Civic line up is not complete without the Type-R, as a true race-bred compact car and the performance flag bearer for the Civic brand. So, with your strong support, stay tuned, as we'll have more information on this in the coming year," said Mendel.

It is not clear if this Civic Type-R will be the same as the European market hatchback Civic Type-R. In any case, now that Civic Type-R badge has moved beyond a European/Japanese market-only model, the Civic Type-R may finally become a global model that is available across all major markets in the region, further raising its chances of making a comeback in our local market. 

The VTEC Turbo engine will feature direct injection, and will be paired to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic. Honda also touted class-leading fuel economy, and fun-to-drive performance with near-luxury levels of cabin quietness and ride refinement as among the highlights of the all-new Civic.

Like the NSX, the Civic is developed not by Honda's R&D division in Japan, but by its North American R&D team.

More information will be revealed when we closer to production Civic's global debut in 2016.