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2016 Honda Civic First Drive [w/video]

Before diving deep into the presentation for the 2016 Civic Sedan, Honda reps reminded us that the last generation of the car sold very well, thank you. Launched for the 2012 model year, and conspicuously updated for '13, the ninth-generation of Honda's Everyman Sedan was dinged in the media for its lack of innovative powertrains, a drop in refinement relative to the newest competitors, and generally staying the course instead of blazing a trail. That Civic still sold hundreds of thousands of copies. But at the presser for this new car, the sense of relief in moving forward, and excitement about the future, was palpable. Striking up the band and fawning over a new car is the job of Honda's staff, of course, but after driving the '16 Civic for myself, it was clear why the gushing seemed so genuine. This is a new machine, soup to nuts, built to draw crosshairs on the best compact cars in the world. To do that, Honda prioritized overall refinement, the steering experience, a quiet cabin, and high-speed stability as areas in which the tenth-gen car must excel. Those are new areas; the company accepts that things like excellent fuel economy and safety are elemental parts of any Civic by now. Having driven the current version of most every competitor, I set out to see if Honda could make good on that lofty and diverse set of goals. View 40 Photos Honda prioritized excellence in overall refinement, the steering experience, a quiet cabin, and high-speed stability. The new Civic powertrain lineup gives the model an immediate leg up. For 2016, Honda is bringing two new four-cylinder engines to the game: a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter, and a turbocharged 1.5-liter. I got a small sample of the 2.0L engine – it's generally up to the task of carrying Civic sales in bulk – but I spent most of my day with the more exciting 1.5T. (That's mostly what Honda brought along; the engineers are clearly proud of this motor.) The top three trim levels will include the 174-horsepower, 162-pound-feet turbo engine, connected to a continuously variable transmission. The added power makes sense for the more expensive versions of this car, as the easy acceleration it offers is a real luxury. Most drivers will appreciate that there's less "turbo-y" feeling to this engine than just about any I've ever experienced. Full torque output starts at 1,800 rpm – and sticks there right up to the 5,500-rpm horsepower peak – but there's no drama around the power coming on.

Honda Civic will show its hatchback in Geneva

Honda is bringing a conceptual look at the new Civic Hatchback to next week's Geneva Motor Show. But we think it'll be that in name only – Honda has a history of showing very production-looking 'concepts'. Given these recent spy shots, showing a very well-developed, five-door Civic, the production model should arrive before we know it. The new Civic is a seriously pretty car, and from some angles the four-door sedan already has a hatch-like appearance. We love the look of this cobbled-together prototype; the rounded-off rump in no way ruins the Honda's lines. There's even a center-mounted exhaust, which makes us super happy, though that might just be reserved for more powerful Si or Type R models. Standard five-door Civics will probably use the same engine lineup as the rest of the range – a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter inline-four on the base end, and a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four in higher trims. Honda's also working on a turbo/manual pairing, which will likely be our powertrain du jour. We'll get a sort-of-conceptual look at the Civic Hatchback next week. Until then, scroll through the gallery of spy shots up top to see this little cutie from all angles. Related Video:

Honda: We won't be able to sell ICE cars in China by 2025

China's push to clean up the country's woeful air pollution levels could mean the end of the traditional internal combustion engine there. In an interview with WardsAuto, Keiji Ohtsu, Honda's chief technology strategy officer at the company's automobile R&D center, predicts a lineup only of models with electric assistance in the country within a decade. He also discusses the Japanese automaker's green car goals worldwide. Ohtsu foresees China adopting some of the strictest fuel economy standards in the world in the coming years. "In 2025, we don't expect to be able to sell conventional internal-combustion engines [there], meaning we will be selling mostly hybrids including plug-in types," he said to WardsAuto. China's push to clean up its air comes as major cities continue to struggle with massive levels of pollution. For example, Beijing recently banned half of the cars from the road due to dire levels of smog. To fight back, the government has pushed automakers to launch more plug-ins, and the strategy has shown some success. China's BYD has already become the world's largest producer of plug-in vehicles in 2015. Even outside of China, Honda intends to become a far greener automaker in the coming years. In the near term, the company expects 20 percent of its global volume could be hybrids by 2020. According to Ohtsu, as much as 80 percent of Japanese deliveries could have some form or electrification by that time, but the US would be closer to 20 percent. However, the company sees hybrids more as a stepping stone than as the future of motoring, and the mass adoption of hydrogen is the real goal. "We think that fuel-cell vehicles will come into the mainstream in 2030, along with battery-powered electric cars. We also feel that going forward hydrogen will be the best fuel alternative," Ohtsu said to WardsAuto. Honda's experimental FCEV (pictured above) already hints at the brand's future direction.