Highly-anticipated and wanted by many, a build that cocoons technology and radiates power, the all-new Honda Civic.

Designated FE, it is a 2023 11th-generation C-segment model, replacing the 2016 10th-generation Civic, codenamed FC.

Four variants for the locally-assembled (CKD) fastback. Petrol (E - MYR 131,900, V - MYR 144,900, RS - MYR 151,900) and hybrid (e:HEV RS - MYR 167,900) powertrains.

Prices (OTR, w/o insurance) include a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty, five-year/100,000 KM free (five times) labour service, and an eight-year, unlimited mileage hybrid battery warranty (e:HEV RS).

Exterior colours. Lunar Silver Metallic (E, V, RS), Platinum White Pearl, Meteoroid Grey Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, and Ignite Red Metallic.

Weighing in at 1,338 KG (E), 1,349 KG (V), 1,362 KG (RS) and 1,445 KG (e:HEV RS), the 2023 Civic stands at 4,678 MM long, 1,802 MM wide, 1,415 MM tall, and with a wheelbase spanning 2,735 MM.

Sportily striking, its exterior parades a long, low and wide stance, packaged in a four-door fastback body style.

An aggressive presence, the front-end sees a mildly-sculpted hood and an aerodynamically-sculpted bumper. 

Featured on the latter is an all-black (E, V, RS) and a chrome (e:HEV RS) grille, and an enormous lower centre intake.

Detailing the layout is the RS treatment (RS - black trims, e:HEV RS - black/chrome trims), and Honda (Blue H - e:HEV RS) and e:HEV (e:HEV RS) emblems.

Slightly protruding, it furthers the commandingly sporty appeal, complementing the front with angularly-rounded lines.

Sharp and smooth, the rear-end gets a hatchback-style roofline, and a smoothly-sculpted bumper.

Equipped is a shark fin antenna (E, V - body colour, RS, e:HEV RS - black), boot-lid spoiler (RS, e:HEV RS), and chrome exhausts (twin - RS, single - e:HEV RS).

Detailing the layout is the RS treatment (RS - black trims, e:HEV RS - black/chrome trims), and Honda (Blue H - e:HEV RS) and e:HEV (e:HEV RS) emblems.

Framed aerodynamically sharp, the head lamps project a very focused and determined outlook.

Installed are LED units with LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), and automatic On/Off and high beam functions. 

Paired to the standard (E, V), smoked-out (RS) and chromed-out (e:HEV RS) sets are LED fog lamps (V, RS, e:HEV RS).

Wrapped-around and angularly sleek, the trapezoidal tail lamps add abundance to the overall outlook. Installed are LED combination units.

Fitted are ventilated (front) and solid (rear) brake discs. Aiding the drive is an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold system.

Mounted is a set of 16-inch (E), 17-Inch (V) and 18-Inch (RS), five-twin-spoke black alloy rims, wrapped in 215/50 R17 (E, V) and 235/40 R18 (RS) tyres.

Variant e:HEV RS upgrades to a set of 18-Inch, 10-spoke two-tone (black-silver) alloy rims, wrapped in 235/40 R18 tyres.

New, dashboard of the 2023 Civic is horizontally- and cleanly-aligned, decked in black hard-touch panels with aluminium trims as a detailing finish.

Filling the layout is a centre-mounted touchscreen, and a full-width honeycomb-mesh panel, concealing the air-conditioning vents.

Linked underneath are alloy sport pedals (RS, e:HEV RS), and in the centre a fingerprint-resistant centre console.

Overall, every accessibility is well laid out, arranged non-cluttered with easy reachability, and exudes a high-quality of fit and finish.

Installed is a 7.0-Inch with an analogue speedometer (E, V, RS) and a 10.2-Inch fully digital TFT instrument cluster.

Interior of the five-seater sees an upscale sporty treatment, featuring upholsteries in fabric (E), leather (V) and leather/suede with red stitching (RS, e:HEV RS).

Up front, variant E features manual adjustable seats, and variants V, RS and e:HEV RS get power (driver) and manual (passenger) adjustable seats. 

The rear, standard for all variants is a bench seat with a retractable centre armrest and a 60:40 split-fold configuration.

Completing the space is a front roof ambient lighting system (RS, e:HEV RS include front doors), and a black headliner (RS, e:HEV RS).

Cabin space is sufficient and borderline generous. It offers plenty of head, shoulder and leg rooms, thus front and rear occupants get ample mobility.

The sedan’s overall build is slightly larger compared to its predecessor (+30 MM length, +3 MM width, +35 MM wheelbase).  

Plenty of storage compartments. E.g., a decent-sized glove box, medium-sized seat back and side door pockets, and centre console partitioned and caverned spaces.

Standard, mounted is a three-spoke steering wheel, wrapped in black leather with red stitching (RS, e:HEV RS).

Features are multi-switches (media, vehicle settings), column adjustments (tilt, telescopic), paddle shifters (V, RS), and an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system.

Provided are several outlets. One 12 V socket, three (E) and four (V, RS, e:HEV RS) USB ports and a wireless charger (e:HEV RS). 

Accessing its powered-tailgate (operation - remote control/key fob), opens up to a load capacity of 497-Litres.

The 2023 Civic gets the following suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Incorporated is the Honda Sensing suite, featuring Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Low Speed Follow (LSF), Auto High Beam (AHB), and Lead Car Departure Notification (LCDN).

Others include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Agile Handle Assist (AHA), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Auto Brake Hold (ABH), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Honda LaneWatch Camera (LWC) (V, RS, e:HEV RS) and Honda Connect telematic system (safety, security, convenience) (V, RS, e:HEV RS).

Passive safety includes six airbags (driver-passenger, front side, front-rear curtain), seat belts (anchors, reminders, pre-tensioners), ISOFIX (two - outer-rear), parking cameras (360-degree, reverse - multi-angle), parking sensors (four - front, rear), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, driver attention monitor, and security alarm with immobiliser.

Three drive modes (V, RS, e:HEV RS) at the driver’s disposal. Normal, Econ, and Sport.

The Honda Sensing suite will make driving on the highway and in the city a much more relaxing task. 

Plus, accompanied by the other systems, manoeuvring the sedan day-in and day-out will be a breeze. 

Equipped is Honda’s OEM Advanced Display Audio infotainment system, featuring a 7.0-Inch (E) and a 9.0-Inch (V, RS, e:HEV RS) touchscreens.

The system supports Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto connectivity, USB, Bluetooth and Hands-Free Telephone (HFT).

Variant E features a four-speaker setup, while variants V, RS and e:HEV RS get an eight-speaker with four tweeter setup.

The 2023 Civic harbours two different powertrain setups (petrol, hybrid).

Variants E, V, and RS get the petrol engine (1.5-Litre four-cylinder 16-valve DOHC VTEC Turbo - 180 HP/134 KW at 6,000 RPM, 240 NM at 1,700 to 4,500 RPM).

Whereas, variant e:HEV RS incorporates the hybrid setup (Honda Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) system).

The latter features a 2.0-Litre four-cylinder 16-valve DOHC Atkinson Cycle engine (141 HP/105 KW at 6,000 RPM, 189 NM at 4,500 RPM), mated to an electric motor (181 HP/135 KW at 5,000 to 6,000 RPM, 315 NM at 0 to 2,000 RPM).

Variants E, V and RS feature a Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT - seven-speed automatic).

Meanwhile, variant e:HEV RS is equipped with an Electric Continuous Variable Transmission (e-CVT).

Included are paddle shifters (V, RS).

Power is sent to the front wheels, Front-Wheel Drive (FWD).

Acceleration from 0 to 100 KM/H is done in 8.3 seconds (E), 8.4 seconds (V), 8.5 seconds (RS) and 7.9 seconds (e:HEV RS), and top speed is 200 KM/H (E, V, RS) and 180 KM/H (e:HEV RS).

Fuel tank is at a 47-Litre capacity, and the fuel consumption reads at 6.0 L/100 KM (E, V), 6.3 L/100 KM/H (RS) and 4.0 L/100 KM/H (e:HEV RS). 

The e-motor is juiced-up by a 1.1 KWH Lithium-Ion battery (72-Cell).

The 2023 Civic is equipped with Smart Entry (keyless entry, engine Start/Stop button), key card (e:HEV RS), walk-away auto-lock, remote engine start (key fob - ignition button), powered-tailgate (operation - remote control/key fob), dual-zone automatic air-conditioning (e:HEV RS), rear air-conditioning vents, steering wheel (column adjustments, multi-switches, paddle shifters (V, RS), EPS), Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto, powered driver seat (V, RS, e:HEV RS), parking cameras (reverse - multiangle), parking sensors (four - front, rear), auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror (V, RS, e:HEV RS), blind-spot monitors (V, RS, e:HEV RS), Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, armrests (front, rear), auto door lock, interior lighting system (dome, reading, foot), ambient lighting system (front - door, roof), wireless charger (e:HEV RS), automatic wipers (RS, e:HEV RS), and automatic headlamps (On/Off, high beam).

The driving is agile and responsive, offering a sturdy handling. Interior-wise, it is purpose-built with comfortably cocooning seats and other amenities.

Propping its rebuild chassis (stiffer, more absorbent) are MacPherson strut (front) and multi-link (rear) suspensions, aided by an Agile Handling Assist (AHA) system.

Sound insulation is adequate with the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) factored in. The cabin is acoustically-designed and able to suppress wind, road and tyre noises well, making them barely noticeable.

Incorporated is Active Noise Control with Active Sound Control (e:HEV RS).