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We Drove a 2016 Civic EX 2.0!

15157 Views 17 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Smartie, 
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6

Riley Coleman with a 2016 Lunar Silver Metallic Civic EX

Today we were fortunate to drive one of the first 2016 Civic Sedans to roll off the trucks in Toronto.

We met with Riley Coleman at Honda Downtown, who was just as eager as we were to get out in the new 2016. The first FC2 Civic Honda Downtown received was a Lunar Silver Metallic EX.



When we wheeled it outside and sat in the drivers seat and hit play for the first time, one thing was abundantly clear, this guy's a Honda (go figure). The 2.0 sounds eerily similar to the outgoing 1.8, perhaps a touch quieter due to the Civics new construction.

Looking out from the cockpit the most noticeable thing to us was presence. The Civic now has presence on the road and you can tell from behind the wheel. You can see the fender arches peeking up just over the dash line, the lower seating gives you a sense of sportiness compared to the mini-van sight lines on the '15s.



Pressing the 2.0 go pedal was just as familiar. No one is home until you find 2,500 RPM, then the party starts. You still get the magnificent sound and fury of VTEC opening up and from a roll on it will poke you to 100 kph with relative ease.

Highway merging will not be an event by any stretch.



The chassis was extremely compliant and solid. We chucked it into a medium downhill right hander at 80 kph with minimal roll. The lower CG is not just marketing magic, you can actually feel it as the car keeps itself relatively level. Granted that's also a function of the stiffened suspension. But stiff isn't even a good word for it, because yes it's stiffer then last year, but its not an overtly stiff suspension.

The electric steering was somewhat light for our preferences, but that's not to say there's no feel to it. We found steering inputs required more emphasis, not effort, emphasis than the Mazda 3.



We enjoyed the Civic most in sport mode, it's quite lovely how it keeps the revs on boil for a few seconds longer. Downshifts are slightly more noticeable in Sport mode, but nothing that you would really notice if you're not looking for it. Overall the transmission is smooth. Honda has done excellent work dialling out most of the negativity associated with CVT's. Again it's the type of thing you only notice because you're looking for it.

Overall we were big fans of the 2.0, except after driving the CVT we couldn't help but wonder how much more enjoyable the 6 shooter could be, but that's just personal preference.

We will be driving the FC1 Turbo and FC2 with the 6MT as soon as Riley lets us know they've hit the lot! If you're in the Toronto area drop by Honda Downtown at 47 Eastern Ave. or give Riley a call at 416-799-3092.
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HondaGeek
Nice write up!

Something I noticed when driving the 2.0 EX the first time, when you put it in Sport mode, the steering gets heavier. It feels almost perfect. I agree in regular drive is a bit light, yet in Sport mode its close to what an Si feels like.
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4
Are you going to drive exclusively in sport mode?
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RobbJK88
4Tires said:
Are you going to drive exclusively in sport mode?
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That sucks down the gas... unless they changed sport mode on the new cars, in my 9th i means cruising speed is around 3000rpms or more. Not to mention it makes the car drone really badly. I use sport mode only for when i'm trying to get on the freeway or pass someone in a hurry.
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High Mileage
I took a test ride in the EX 2.0 on 11/12, just rolled off the truck the night before. Very impressed with the smooth ride and peppy acceleration compared to my old 2006 Civic Coupe. Very roomy inside too.
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S
LED fogs?

In the first picture the white touring behind seems to have different fogs!
Any ideas!
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RobbJK88
smithyuk said:
In the first picture the white touring behind seems to have different fogs!
Any ideas!
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That's because that is a 2016 accord sedan.
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S
Cheers for that info,they look like the day running lights on my 9th euro!
Do you think we may get the 10th sedan as no Accord here anymore?
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RobbJK88
smithyuk said:
Cheers for that info,they look like the day running lights on my 9th euro!
Do you think we may get the 10th sedan as no Accord here anymore?
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I suppose it's a possibility... not really sure though. I doubt they'd spend the money to import them to the UK from here, so maybe if the Swindon plant has the capacity to handle hatches AND sedans being built perhaps. Honda might just figure that they know the hatch will sell while the sedan is a toss up since the accord was such a flop.
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Nessuno
RobbJK88 said:
I suppose it's a possibility... not really sure though. I doubt they'd spend the money to import them to the UK from here, so maybe if the Swindon plant has the capacity to handle hatches AND sedans being built perhaps. Honda might just figure that they know the hatch will sell while the sedan is a toss up since the accord was such a flop.
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but was the accord a flop because it was a sedan, or was it because of available kit perhaps, or maybe the Civic killed any value the euro accord had?
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RobbJK88
Nessuno said:
but was the accord a flop because it was a sedan, or was it because of available kit perhaps, or maybe the Civic killed any value the euro accord had?
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According to what i read online... the issue with the accord was that it was competing with luxury sedans in terms of pricing and the features and quality just didn't match up to what they were competing with in comparison.

Granted, the civic is a fair bit cheaper, but honda's overall don't do nearly as well in UK because they're often cross shopped with only slightly more expensive german cars. So the sedan might do alright there, it's just whether or not honda is willing to take the chance on it.

I agree the new civic sedan would be a good car to take the accords place in the UK. Just not sure if Honda will see it that way when compact cars in the UK are almost always best sellers in hatch form.
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Smartie
RobbJK88 said:
According to what i read online... the issue with the accord was that it was competing with luxury sedans in terms of pricing and the features and quality just didn't match up to what they were competing with in comparison.

Granted, the civic is a fair bit cheaper, but honda's overall don't do nearly as well in UK because they're often cross shopped with only slightly more expensive german cars. So the sedan might do alright there, it's just whether or not honda is willing to take the chance on it.

I agree the new civic sedan would be a good car to take the accords place in the UK. Just not sure if Honda will see it that way when compact cars in the UK are almost always best sellers in hatch form.
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and we wondered why they benchmarked the A3... ;)
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4
Well we hare getting a hatch later so Honda will still be able to get to the UK market.
Side note, sucks to see a license plate drilled into a nice bumper.
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RobbJK88
4Tires said:
Well we hare getting a hatch later so Honda will still be able to get to the UK market.
Side note, sucks to see a license plate drilled into a nice bumper.
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Tell me about it. Living in ohio where front license plates are required sucks... we even had a motion some time ago to strike it from law and it failed, so we're stuck with them. And often times the holes and plate frame are already drilled on when you go to the dealerships, so not even an option to NOT have it there unless you tell them before they take delivery.
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S
RobbJK88 said:
Tell me about it. Living in ohio where front license plates are required sucks... we even had a motion some time ago to strike it from law and it failed, so we're stuck with them. And often times the holes and plate frame are already drilled on when you go to the dealerships, so not even an option to NOT have it there unless you tell them before they take delivery.
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I live in PA and bought my 2012 Civic in Ohio, and it already had the front license plate bracket on it. It was the Honda OEM one, so there was no need to use 1.5" screws to "attach" the license plate to the frame. When I got home, I removed the frame as I don't need a front plate. I was pretty pissed to find out they drilled into the bumper.
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Smartie
meh... If you live where you need a front plate I don't really think it matters...
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5
Just be thankful we don't have a front license plate holder like this:
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Smartie
5TAR said:
Just be thankful we don't have a front license plate holder like this:
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yea but thats not stock...
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