2019 Honda Civic arriving in the Philippines?

MANILA: Honda, the Japanese automaker seems to have a different theory than what we were taught in the elementary school. The sun rises in the east and then sets in the west, right? But Honda for all unknown reasons delights the western customers first and then brings the newer and updated vehicles to the eastern countries. This time around, it has done the same with the 2019 Civic.

Already available in the US market, Honda recently launched the 2019 Civic in Thailand at 2018 Bangkok Motor Expo. The sedan now gets more curves, which by all means is a treat. You know what we mean. The body shape, however, hasn’t reformed too much but the front end is now a little outspread and boasts a curvy appearance. Both the E and the RS variants get similar wheels, with no special privileges on the later in this department. Move to the back of the car and you will find a chrome strip running through the bottom of the bumper. There are vertically stacked reflectors with dedicated housings on either end of the rear bumper.

Available in either beige or black finish, which depends on the exterior color you choose, the interior gets slight yet significant updates. The infotainment system a completely new unit altogether which now comes with an updated firmware, a new volume knob, and also features a revised user interface. On the RS variant, we also get to see the contrasting red stitching. Another minor yet delicate update is the wood-like grains on the dashboard. Other than these changes, the interior remains more or less the same.

Under the much curvier hood, we get nothing new. The 1.8-litre i-VTEC motor which produces 141 PS continues to feature on the Civic 1.8E. The 1.5 RS, gets the top of the line mill which is a 1.5-litre i-VTEC Turbo capable of throwing out 172 PS. For people who would have liked to feel that connection with the Civic, there is no manual transmission on offer. All we get is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) unit on each and every variant of the 2019 Honda Civic. Lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, automatic high beam, and road departure mitigation system equipped with lane departure warning, are all part of the Honda Sensing package that has been offered on the top trims of the 2019 Honda Civic. Pretty much the changes we expected, right?

Better late than never, Thai people will finally get to experience the 2019 Honda Civic. The launch in the nearby country has definitely got our hopes high for getting the new Civic soon.