I can still vividly recall when Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) has brought in the tenth-generation Honda Civic back in 2016. I was young and ecstatic about the automotive industry at that time, so each and every vehicle launch was memorable.
Most importantly, it’s the Honda Civic we’re talking about – a venerable and popular nameplate in the Philippines; a car I practically grew up in, thanks to friends, relatives, and yes, an old flame.
Five years on, here we are with a bit of a scoop about the car that’s replacing the Civic X – eleventh-generation Civic, which debuted globally in April 2021, then in Thailand just a few months back.
Unsurprisingly, HCPI isn’t wasting precious months to introduce the newest version of the compact sedan here. According to my source, who wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, the all-new Honda Civic is already on our shores and is now posing for the camera for its marketing materials. My trusty informant didn’t disclose any exact launch date just yet but one thing’s definite – the eleventh-generation Honda Civic will arrive in November 2021.
Another info I got from my source was the availability of Honda Sensing in the new Civic, presumably in the top-spec trim. Honda Sensing, which is already available in the local-spec Accord and CR-V, is a suite of safety features that include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keep assistance.
As to which engine is arriving, my source didn’t have any info about it, but we can take a peek at our neighboring countries to speculate the upcoming engine choice.
Of note, Honda Cars Thailand offers the Civic solely with a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline mill coded L15BG. This familiar DOHC engine is a reworked version of the one found in the outgoing Civic RS turbo. In the Thai-spec model, it produces 176 hp (up by 5 horses) and 240Nm torque (up by 20Nm). I won’t be surprised if this will be the same power plant to be on offer here.
Whether the naturally-aspirated engine choice will be dropped in the lineup is still a question at this point, but you should know that Honda has stopped offering the 1.8-liter mill in the eleventh-generation model globally, so there’s that.
With this info at hand, I asked HCPI for any statement about the incoming all-new Civic. I got the standard “No information yet” response, which is actually expected since I’m asking about a product that isn’t officially announced at the time of this writing.
I suspect Honda will usher an announcement in the following few weeks, so stay on your toes for any recent update, especially if you’re like us who are excited about the next Civic update.