T he Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC might just be the Honda diesel you've been waiting years and years for. With 120PS under its belt, it's got a bit about it, but will return 78.5mpg and 94g/km – better than the company's Insight hybrid, in other words.
Background
Wouldn't it be great if Honda built a diesel engine? I mean, really built a diesel engine? Until now, it feels as if the Japanese company has just been paying lip service to diesel. Prior to 2002, Honda didn't have a diesel engine on its books.
It had believed that the VTEC variable valve timing technology it used on its petrol engines was a better solution and that the public would eventually come round to that view given a bit of time. In 2002, it introduced a 1.7-litre Isuzu-GM engine that was so bad it seemed as if they'd chosen it merely to make their petrol engines look good.
This situation wasn't to last and, in 2004, we saw the Honda N-engine introduced. This is the 2.2-litre diesel you're probably familiar with. It had an aluminium block to keep weight down, common-rail direct injection and a variable geometry turbocharger. In 2004, it was a very good engine. In 2011, it was state-of-the-ark. Time for a rethink. What we have instead is a new generation of Honda diesels and this time it feels as if the Japanese brand has given the designs its full attention.
Here we take a look at the 1.6 i-DTEC unit in the ninth-generation Civic.
Driving experience
Just as the 2.2-litre engine has been thoroughly revised, this 1.6-litre diesel requires some fresh perspectives. It's been designed to offer high performance and low emissions and goes about its job in a very Honda way. For a start, it's extremely small and light for a diesel lump, weighing in at fully 47kg less than the 2.2-litre engine. It makes 120PS at 4000rpm, which is impressive enough, but perhaps more interesting is the 300Nm of torque it can develop at just 2,000rpm. That's only 50Nm down on its (much) bigger brother.
The engine's built in Swindon and designed for the European market, where one will roll off a specially-developed line every 138 seconds. This ninth-gen Civic features a mix of new and carry-over tech from the last car. The rear end is suspended by a simple yet space-efficient torsion beam, Honda reasoning that if it could make the feisty Type-R work, and work well, with a torsion beam rear, then there was clearly nothing wrong with the fundamental layout.
It uses clever fluid-filled compliance bushes to improve overall ride and handling. A lot of resource has been poured into improving ride and refinement on this car, with particular emphasis placed on reducing wind noise and improving the cabin noise insulation, something that is key with a small but high-power diesel engine. A six-speed manual gearbox is the default transmission pick.
Design and build
The designers of this ninth-generation Civic wanted to keep the sporty and advanced elements of the car's character but tweak them to express a more dynamic feel. The car is 20mm lower and 10mm wider than its predecessor, giving it a squatter, more purposeful stance. This "blended body" features smarter aerodynamics, including a rear light cluster that works as an aerodynamic spoiler, managing air flow over the top and sides of the car.
The interior is focused around the driver and, like the eighth-generation car, features a split-level instrument binnacle. One area where clear strides could be made was in the perceived quality of the cabin. The old car featured quite a lot of scratchy hard plastics but this ninth-generation model alters its approach to meet a far more demanding European customer base. Class-leading boot space and versatile seating boost its credentials for family buyers.
Market and model
Prices for this 1.6-litre diesel variant have been kept quite competitive, starting at just under £20,000 for the SE model, just over that figure for the plusher ES variant and a little over £23,000 for the top-of-the-range EX. The specification for this trio of Civics is identical to the equivalent 2.2-litre i-DTEC cars but with the addition of revised 16-inch alloy wheels. The range-topping EX has also been treated to a few more goodies in the shape of front and rear parking sensors, an auto-dimming rear view mirror and DAB digital radio.
Standard equipment that's new to this generation Civic range includes Honda's intelligent multi-information display (i-MID) five-inch dashboard screen, which displays relevant driving details such as mpg, climate and audio settings.
Other additions include a rear wiper, daytime running lights and a headlight-off timer that maintains illumination for 15 seconds after the car is locked. The entry-level SE trim also includes 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic air-conditioning and USB connectivity for compatible MP3 audio devices.
The ES specification adds cruise control with a speed limiter, rear-view parking camera, key fob-operated windows and door mirror folding, plus auto up/down electric rear windows. Additional kit on ES models includes dual-zone air-conditioning, Bluetooth hands-free telephone, front fog lamps, auto headlights and wipers, leather steering wheel and gear knob, ambient interior lighting and six-speaker audio system.
Cost of ownership
We've come a long way in a short space of time. Honda's 138PS 2.2-litre diesel in the last shape Civic managed 53.3mpg and emitted 140g/km. This 1.6-litre unit isn't quite as powerful, at 120PS, but its economy and emissions figures are of a different realm.
Honda claims an average of 78.5mpg and emissions of just 94g/km. That means free road tax and London congestion charge exemption, should you feel the need to experience the joy that is driving in the middle of the capital during working hours.
The engine's the first to have been developed by Honda's fantastically-titled Earth Dreams Technology Unit, tasked with improving efficiency while keeping the engines fun to drive. It uses a latest-generation injection from Bosch and variable-nozzle turbo technology from Garrett. It's bound to be a popular choice with fleet customers looking for a vehicle with that winning combination of low day-to-day running costs, excellent reliability and modest depreciation.
Summary
The belief that variable valve-timed petrol engines and then petrol/electric hybrids would satisfy customer needs better than diesel engines was one of Honda's rare engineering mistakes. It's taken the company a long time to buy into the philosophy of compression-ignition engines but it now seems to have grasped that if it's to do well in Europe, it needs a diesel engine and a good one at that.
In typical Honda fashion, it's built two, but this 120PS 1.6-litre i-DTEC is the one that's going to shift the big numbers. I can see that some old-school dyed-in-the-wool Hondaphiles may see this as a dilution of the way the company once was. But there's no point in living in the past.
Anyway, the ninth-generation Civic as a whole is already a distinctly pragmatic vehicle, utilising technology that works. All right, so some feel that Honda was at its best when the engineers didn't listen to the marketing people and just produced extreme vehicles nobody else was capable of.
I'm not of that school. While it's true that this Japanese brand built some amazing cars as a result, these days that's a recipe for financial ruin. So Honda's become a bit more mainstream, a little more expedient?
As this Civic 1.6 i-DTEC shows, sometimes there's genius in exactly that.
