[Civic X News]

Our friends in the media are just catching up to the Civic X interior patents that surfaced here 2 weeks ago and filed by Honda in April.

What we see is Honda abandoning the double decker dash the debuted back with the FD Civic (8th)in favor of a more conventional 3 bank layout. Also gone is the mechanical parking brake in favour of a new electronic brake down by the gear lever beside the ECON button. There's even a hole for push button starters between the console and steering column.

Overall the X's new interior seems conservative and contrasting to the current offer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Check out the spy shots while you wait...

 

[Zephbane]

Uninspiring.

 

[Civil]

THe double deck dash was over designed though. THey needed to simplify.

 

[Smartie]

Uninspiring.

What would inspire you? Flappy paddles, swathed in carbon fibre, 12 speaker BOSE system, iPad in the dash?

 

[5TAR]

Wasn't a big fan of the double decker dash and i'm happy to see they've gotten rid of it.
Interested in seeing how they configure that space to the right of where the instrument cluster would go.

 

[RobbJK88]

Based on the spy pictures its pretty safe to assume, just add in the 5 or 7 inch touch screen up top and the HVAC controls down below. The base model teased had single zone climate control. Assuming EX and above will have dual zone and possibly the HVAC controls (or similar to) the HRV touch controls. I'm really anticipating the gauge cluster. I really want to see something sporty. Something with depth and interesting graphic design. A mix of digital and analog gauges that keep the futuristic easy to read nature while also giving the sporty old school honda vibe. As long as its not flat and dull like the accord cluster

 

[Smartie]

I can see it taking a cue or two from the HR-V...

 

[Zephbane]

Something other than every other dash I've seen before. There's no consistency to the design. It looks like a design graduate fresh out of college was given a thousand bucks to design a dash. They're suppose to be reinventing the civic. And yet, the keep following the same bland and uninspiring designs that Honda, and every other car manufacture (save a select few).

 

[RobbJK88]

Something other than every other dash I've seen before. There's no consistency to the design. It looks like a design graduate fresh out of college was given a thousand bucks to design a dash. They're suppose to be reinventing the civic. And yet, the keep following the same bland and uninspiring designs that Honda, and every other car manufacture (save a select few).

I'm not entirely sure what you expect. There does come a point where new and different also becomes cumbersome and unusable. Make a design too different and its no longer ergonomic or user friendly. Honda is known for their simplistic layouts and ergonomics. Its what makes the cars easy to drive and live with on a daily basis. Get too out of the ordinary and you lose those traits. Also, what do you expect from a sub 20k class of cars? This isnt a luxury car or a super car, and if you look at the best cars on the market (in any price range) you'll note most of them have a pretty simple interior setup. Its not about flash and distractions on the interior. Its about driver centered, ergonomic, cost effective design. And its perfectly in line with the other 3 new hondas that have come out recently in terms of familial design.

The reinvention of the civic is more about the essence of the car. Sporty driving dynamics that bring a smile. Clean exterior design that gives a sporty presence. And an interior thats clean, simple, with better, more upscale materials and new and must have tech not seen in other cars in this class.

If you want radically different from the norm you need to increase the price point by about 30k or more. And if top gear taught me anything about those crazy super car interiors it was that they were confusing to operate and too niche' for the mainstream customers that the civic still needs to appeal to (as well as the enthusiast crowd)

 

[PatrickCiv16]

Well said, Robb!

 

[5TAR]

Looks like it will just be vents, which I got from looking up what the 2015 Fit interior looks like... since it follows a similar interior framework:

 

[Smartie]

Hey this is interesting, dashes that act like smart phones pose a safety risk... but I'm sure we all knew that. Its a brilliant bit of circumvention around driving on the phone laws. Now you don't have to use your phone while you drive, you drive the phone...sorry the smart phone...

But the increasingly elaborate screens have also sparked a broad debate about how much technology is appropriate in a car.

"I think they (the screens) raise serious public safety questions," said Joe Simitian, the former California lawmaker who spearheaded the state's laws on phone use while driving. "From a legislative standpoint, this is going to be something legislators struggle with for years to come."

"You can't be looking at a screen and be looking at the road at the same time," said David Strayer, a professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah, who has written several studies on distracted driving. The screens "are enabling activities that take your eyes off the road for longer than most safety advocates would say is safe."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/07/autos-displays-safety-idUSL1N0ZM1GJ20150707

 

[CanGuy]

This is why I am a fan of having most of the common controls as dials or buttons instead of part of the on screen menu. While driving you shouldn't be distracted by going through three menu screens to adjust whatever. A dial, knob or button is far simpler. Simplicity is key.

 

[Smartie]

This is why I am a fan of having most of the common controls as dials or buttons instead of part of the on screen menu. While driving you shouldn't be distracted by going through three menu screens to adjust whatever. A dial, knob or button is far simpler. Simplicity is key.

agreed and the haptic feedback allows you to 'feel' your way around without ever taking your eyes off the road...

 

[Zephbane]

I'm not entirely sure what you expect. There does come a point where new and different also becomes cumbersome and unusable. Make a design too different and its no longer ergonomic or user friendly. Honda is known for their simplistic layouts and ergonomics. Its what makes the cars easy to drive and live with on a daily basis. Get too out of the ordinary and you lose those traits. Also, what do you expect from a sub 20k class of cars? This isnt a luxury car or a super car, and if you look at the best cars on the market (in any price range) you'll note most of them have a pretty simple interior setup. Its not about flash and distractions on the interior. Its about driver centered, ergonomic, cost effective design. And its perfectly in line with the other 3 new hondas that have come out recently in terms of familial design.

The reinvention of the civic is more about the essence of the car. Sporty driving dynamics that bring a smile. Clean exterior design that gives a sporty presence. And an interior thats clean, simple, with better, more upscale materials and new and must have tech not seen in other cars in this class.

If you want radically different from the norm you need to increase the price point by about 30k or more. And if top gear taught me anything about those crazy super car interiors it was that they were confusing to operate and too niche' for the mainstream customers that the civic still needs to appeal to (as well as the enthusiast crowd)

I'm sure you'd like to think you're right. And maybe to some extent you are. But there's plenty of reference out there of advice for breaking the mold. They're redesigning the civic from the ground up to be competitive and to stand apart from others. That dash doesn't achieve it.

 

[RobbJK88]

I'm sure you'd like to think you're right. And maybe to some extent you are. But there's plenty of reference out there of advice for breaking the mold. They're redesigning the civic from the ground up to be competitive and to stand apart from others. That dash doesn't achieve it.

There's also something to be said about not pandering to trends in design that will age quickly in appearance and instead creating something classic and simple that ages well over time and 10 years down the road still looks nice.
6 years of advertising and marketing experience, graphic design experience, interior design experience tells me Honda went the right route with this interior, even if it does fall slightly short of our overly enthusiastic/optimistic dreams.

What examples of cars in this class at this price point would you suggest achieve this goal you speak of?

 

[Smartie]

I'm sure you'd like to think you're right. And maybe to some extent you are. But there's plenty of reference out there of advice for breaking the mold. They're redesigning the civic from the ground up to be competitive and to stand apart from others. That dash doesn't achieve it.

Well I'm sure that they could of broke the mold and presented us a concept with square wheels, but alas there are certain aspects that are firmly entrenched in design...

Why don't you tell us what they should of done, superlatives like engaging and exciting have no merit. Do you have a tangible suggestion as to 'what they SHOULD of done'. Please elucidate how Honda should of gone about breaking the mold...

Breaking the rules are all well and good, but you can't break the rules without knowing which rules are ok to be broken because at the end of the day certain 'rules' are rules for a reason...

 

[Smith]

There's also something to be said about not pandering to trends in design that will age quickly in appearance and instead creating something classic and simple that ages well over time and 10 years down the road still looks nice.
6 years of advertising and marketing experience, graphic design experience, interior design experience tells me Honda went the right route with this interior, even if it does fall slightly short of our overly enthusiastic/optimistic dreams.

What examples of cars in this class at this price point would you suggest achieve this goal you speak of?

Finding that medium of the fault we're seeing here and having them move with the market, not being 'left behind' in the process is key. Not sure if we'll see that but ultimately it should position them well if executed.

 

[RobbJK88]

Finding that medium of the fault we're seeing here and having them move with the market, not being 'left behind' in the process is key. Not sure if we'll see that but ultimately it should position them well if executed.

I think even with the simplistic design language i think the real draw will be the use of higher grade materials, more fit and finish as well as standard tech. Lots of soft touch surfaces, glossy trim pieces on higher trim levels, etc.

Looking at the huge jump in the interior of the Fit over the previous model is a good indicator. The 2nd gen fit interior was... sparse... hard... cheap... the new one is so much nicer. Easily up to civic standards for the most part. And the HRV interior is very nice as well. It feels premium (for honda). So i think we could leaps more expected of an Accord in the new civics.

I've had 5 civics in my time driving so far. And i can honestly say that i've never disliked any of them. (the 2012 is something i pretend never happened) from my 95 to my current 2014 the interiors have all been nice places to be. Comfortable. Functional. With class standard materials. There was alot of gripe about the 8th gen interiors being prone to scratches and such (it was) and my 9th gen definitely doesn't have that issue. As long as the new interior is a step up from the current and holds up well overtime it's really just up to honda to make it content rich and bang for your buck value and they'll easily have a winner.

 

[Civil]

Sure its always nice to see something new that you haven't seen before, but often times the best designs are the ones that do less. Eliminating unneeded things should be seen as an improvement, not just a more boring and safe design decision.