M here, and for 1 week I got to drive the new 2016 Honda Civic Touring. This is the best Civic made ever!
Exterior
This is the best looking Civic sedan ever made. I’m still partial to the Hatchback Si-Rs of old, but for the first time I think the Civic looks a tad better than it’s Acura counterparts.
My favourite part of the exterior is definitely the back headlights. It feels futuristic without being too corny. I felt like a mid 30s, suave man, driving this thing around, which is harder to imagine while driving Civic’s previous models.
LED Headlights feel like a necessity for all modern cars after driving the Civic Touring. Anything else feels like a car from the 80s-90s.
Interior
The mature, sophisticated, luxury sedan feel from the exterior continues on inside. The leather trimmings and shiny dark (what I assume plastic) wood, is a great accent.
The speedometer and accelerometer are both fully digitally realized in a LCD display. They’ve taken the dual screens from previous Civic models and combined them all into one screen behind the steering wheel. I remember Audi touting this feature for their new A8s and seeing this here was awesome! You can customize what you see in the bottom center of the display, such as audio, gas consumption, etc.
The GPS display is finally button free, instead going for touch screen buttons. The best thing about the GPS is the integration of Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
A specific smart phone USB slot is provided to sync seamlessly with your device.
I love Apple Car Play, something I don’t think I can ever drive without. Honda’s new GPS software is snappy and great looking, but Apple Car Play let’s you use Apple Maps (Not as great as Google Maps, but a step above car GPS).
Not only that, you essentially have iTunes in your car, letting you access your music playlists, Apple Music, Spotify, and Apple Radio. Podcast and Audiobook listeners can rejoice having their own buttons and menus, you never have to look down on your phone in your car ever again. You can call and check text messages from your phone straight from the screen as well.
The inclusion of an Electronic parking break is a great touch in accentuating the luxury in luxury sedan.
The blind spot and rear camera display is great for those who have problems merging right and reverse parking.
However, there’s a severe lack of simple blind spot indicators for both sides, which is a head-scratcher omission.
There is nothing special going on in the trunk either.
Filling the Civic Touring with gas was confusing as I couldn’t find the fuel door button, but the new Civics have a simple push mechanism on the fuel door. It opens up to a cap-less fuel tank. I never knew these existed, but now I have another “must-have standard feature” to add to my list.
The steering wheel buttons were a major step down from previous models. These plastic-y clicky buttons felt cheap and out of place in an otherwise luxurious interior. The volume control on the steering wheel was especially atrocious, having you glide your finger across a ridged plastic tab.
Drive
The handling and drive feel of the Civic has now been honed to perfection. When I was test-driving my Honda Civic 2012, I knew I couldn’t switch over to the better equipped, better looking Hyundai’s at that time.
The turbocharged Civic Touring engine was a joy to rev! Although there’s no explicit Sport Mode button, you can shift the Automatic gearbox to S mode, which basically does the same thing.
Econ mode is still relevant here, helping keep the revs low in high traffic conditions. The Civic Touring felt like it could both be a responsible daily driver, saving gas at 7L/100KM, but can change to a monster whenever you felt like it. If you haven’t driven a Civic yet, run to a dealership to find out what you’re missing.
Final Thoughts
Driving the 2016 Honda Civic Touring was immensely satisfying. I thought I was driving a mid $30k car, but in reality, this car costs $27k. That to me was a huge shock and it’s definitely a steal. I can forgive the omissions of a power trunk and forward facing camera at that price, but I still would’ve liked to see a simple blind spot indicator for both sides. The right side merging camera is definitely helpful, but I also merge left! The digital screens in the car steal the show for sure. My actual car is a Honda Civic 2012 highest trim and it’s amazing how far mid $20k-$30k sedans have come along.
