Street Racing Cars For Sale

• Remember all the trim level mumble jumble lately from the Canadian Civics? From DX-AC to DX-G to SE to Sport to EX-L, now Honda is returning to a simplified lineup similar to the US. DX, LX, EX, EX-L and Si will be the trim levels for the Coupe and Sedan. 
• DX and LX models receive 15" steel wheels and one piece folding seatback
• EX-L and Si models receive XM Satellite Radio
• Bluetooth and Bluetooth Streaming on all models except DX
• Honda's new i-MID, multi-information display on all models except DX, this i-MID will show the radio information, Bluetooth, odomoter, wallpaper, average MPG, distance to empty, exterior temperature gauge, clock, customizable settings, ECON mode availability and warning messages
• Si models receive standard navigation
• Centre armrests are fixed and do not move on all 2012 Civics 

"According to that link posted to the Civic launch info page, training at my local dealership (Borman Automotive of Las Cruces) is today, so I swung on by, and what do you know, right on the showfloor was Silver 2012 Civic Ex, with beige interior.

When I pulled out my phone, I realized how Honda is keeping this thing under wraps, they're zapping any phones or cameras that come near it! (Ok, maybe it was because I forgot to charge it last night...) Sorry guys, I dropped the ball on this one, no pics

But I did look it over pretty closely, and gathered some initial impressions. First, it looks good. We all know the design isn't revolutionary or a huge departure, but I think it builds on the looks of the 8th gen Civic and modernizes it well and makes it look sharp. It's not striking, like the 8th was when it was released, but I think the design looks good and should stand the test of time well.

The interior also looks good. It doesn't look any cheaper than the current interior, and the design has less of that hokey spaceship look of the 8th gen. Controls are well placed, in true Honda fashion, and visibility is definitely improved. It's also roomier, which the salesman confirmed. He mentioned how much larger it is, but I forgot what he said.

The salesman and I tried to find the key so I could confirm what the MID does, but it wasn't around. He thought that maybe the trainer had it on her, and she was currently teaching a class. Evidently she's been driving it around the country. Considering, it looks surprisingly pristine. So, the MID is still a mystery. It does show the Honda logo in color when you first get in, and that looked nice, but I couldn't confirm any of its functionality. He did mention you can display photos on it, which is the first I've heard of that. Don't much see the point of that though.

As for the actual feel of the interior, I would say that's where the problems start. The seats don't feel bad, they're pretty comfortable, but lack the bolstering and support of my 8th coupe. They are better than the Fit though. I would say they're one step above the Fit, but two steps below the 8th coupe.

The fabric is not good at all. It reminds me a lot of the fabric in the Fit, maybe a little better. It's soft, but doesn't seem very durable. Again, I would say one better than the Fit, two worse than the 8th coupe.

The armrests are quite bad. Very small. The center console does NOT slide, and is too small to be of any real benefit as an armrest. The door armrest is also quite small, but positioned better than the center console. The padding on both is very thin, and they feel hard and uncomfortable. Definitely a disappointment.

And some details I picked up while looking it over:

The sun visors are the one-piece wrapped-foam design, instead of the plastic units the 8th uses. They look a little down-market, but shouldn't split like nearly all the 8th's have. That's a win.

The taillights have two red bulbs right next to each other on the bottom, with no bulbs around the top. Kind of weird.

The center console holds the USB connector chord and a second power port. Good design choice (although nothing new).

The steering wheel and the buttons on it are nicely placed, and feel pretty good, with maybe the exception of the bluetooth buttons, which are placed a little awkwardly. They push in from the side, which took me a second to figure out. There are three bluetooth buttons: answer, hang up, and voice command.

The wheels, for some reason, looked better and more substantial in person. And of course, the rears are disc brakes.

The interior has a nice mix of hard and soft plastics. Nothing to complain about there.

It looks like the keyhole on the wheel is lit, but I didn't actually see it light so I can't confirm.

The exhaust is of the dinky little downturned variety... boo...

Same driver's side height and tilt adjustment as the 8th gen.

Hand brake location is natural, and I would call it an improvement.

The tach looks nice and bright, and should be easy to read.

The brightness / trip computer knobs are located on the upper sides of the tach. They both push in and turn, and feel nice. Using them while driving might be a little awkward, but not as bad as the reach-through-the-wheel design of the Fit.

The release date is April 20th.

I'll post more info in this thread if I remember it. And feel free to ask questions, but I can't say what the car does when its actually on, unfortunately.

Overall, my impression is that the new Civic will be a better city car than the 8th. Its improved visibility should help in the city, and overall it feels a bit like a cross between the 8th and the Fit. However, I think it will be more uncomfortable on long-distance drives. Unfortunately, this is causing me to look a little more closely at some of the "competition", including the Sonata, Optima (both of which are in a different class, I know) and the Focus."