2016 Honda Civic sedan unveiled

The tenth-generation 2016 Honda Civic sedan has just been unveiled in California, and it has a much bolder sense of style in an attempt to bring the carmaker back to its sporty roots.

According to John Mendel, executive vice president of Honda North America, “This tenth-generation Civic is quite simply the most ambitious remake of Civic we’ve ever done”.

Along with the sportier fastback-style design, the new Civic sedan is said to handle with a lot more vim and vigour than previously.

Honda says this is partially down to the 25mm lower hip point, but also the car’s redesigned front strut suspension and a new subframe-mounted multi-link rear end.

Under the skin, the more dramatically styled Civic sedan rides on an all new platform.

Twelve percent of the new body is made from ultra-high-strength steel, and this has helped to improve torsional rigidity by 25 percent, as well as reduce the body’s weight by around 30 kilograms.

Honda claims that the new Civic’s interior has around 105L of extra volume, 50mm of extra rear seat leg room, and almost 74 litres of additional boot space.

Much of the credit for this goes to the car’s 30mm longer wheelbase. The new sedan is also around 50mm wider than the current car, albeit with a roof that sits about 25mm closer to the ground

Forward vision has reportedly been improved thanks to thinner A-pillars. Triple sealed doors and a flush-mounted acoustic glass windscreen are said to have improved cabin quietness.

Available technology includes adaptive cruise control that works at low speeds, road departure mitigation, automated emergency braking and an electric parking brake.

There’s also full LED headlights, LED tail-lights, heated front and rear seats, heated wing mirrors, electric seat adjustment up front, and LED interior lighting.

A 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system is included, compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Some US models are also specified with variable ratio steering, thicker front and rear stabiliser bars, and brake torque vectoring.

In the US, the new Civic sedan will be offered with a choice of at least two engines.

For the base trim levels there’s a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder motor, which can be paried with either a six-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission.

Mid-level and top-spec trims can be powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged direct-inject engine paired exclusively to a CVT.

Fuel economy and aerodynamics are said to be aided by full-length underbody covers.

Car Advice understands that the new Civic will arrive in Australian showrooms from around the middle of next year.

In time, both sedan and hatchback bodies will be sold locally; a coupe variant is also currently under development and will go on sale in North America from early 2016.

Australia-bound base models are expected to continue with the current car’s 104kW/174Nm 1.8-litre engine.

High-specced variants will employ the company’s new 1.5-litre direct-injection turbo, which can generate as much as 150kW of power and 260Nm of torque.

Click here to see more photos of the new tenth-generation Honda Civic sedan.