New Car: 2014 Honda Civic

When the redesigned-for-2012 Civic received a so-so reception from critics, Honda decided to make a most unconventional move: Attempt to address the criticisms head-on with a hurried refresh, the results of which you can see above. The car pictured here is the updated 2013 Civic sedan, which Honda is previewing ahead of its debut at the upcoming L.A. auto show. We’ve already seen covered-up prototypes of the sedan running around, but this is our first look at the production version.

Honda is saving most of the refreshed Civic’s details until its big debut in Los Angeles, but the company did announce the new sedan is going on sale November 29. For now, let’s assess these exterior shots of the 2013 Civic. We’re pretty impressed with the cosmetic transformation Honda was able to pull off on such a short timetable. The 2013 Civic clearly uses the same body shell as the 2012, but a new hood, headlights, taillights, and more-aggressive front and rear fascias add quite a bit of visual flair. Overall, the look is very Accord-like, which isn’t such a bad thing these days. The 2012 Civic was panned for having a subpar interior and drab exterior styling; Honda hasn’t shown any photos of the updated interior, but we expect it to be even more worked over than the exterior. In fact, peeking through the windshield, it’s clear there’s an all-new dashboard with fewer cutlines criss-crossing the top of it. This also is a good sign.

Given that the 2013 Civic shares its platform with the 2012 car, we suspect not much is changed under the hood—look for the same 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder and choice of five-speed manual and automatic transmissions to carry over. The sporty Si version, too, should keep its 201-hp 2.4-liter four and six-speed manual. Look for more details to emerge closer to the start of the 2012 L.A. auto show at the end of this month.

Thanks to: Car and Driver