2016 Honda Civic Coupe is a near-perfect performer

2016 Honda Civic Coupe is a near-perfect performer (Photo: Dan Heyman/Autofocus.ca)

Vancouver, BC—While some people say they aren’t fans of surprises, they’re likely in the minority. Surprises are exciting. Surprises are fun. And, for the most part, surprises are good things.

Which is why it was so great when I first tested the Honda Accord Coupe – the bigger brother of the car featured here – back in 2008. It was powerful, it looked good and it was a decidedly more upper-class event than any Honda I’d sampled previously.

It certainly put my daily driver at the time – a 1992 Civic LX sedan with wind-up windows and no clock – to shame on the styling, power and dynamics front. To this day, that car remains one of the biggest automotive surprises I’ve experienced to date.

Could the all-new 2016 Honda Civic Coupe recapture some of that magic on this fresh, spring day in Vancouver?

Walkaround

When I encountered my steed for the day, those happy Accord memories shot to the forefront of my cerebral cortex. It was finished in something called “Energy Green,” a tint that is eerily reminiscent of the hue made infamous by Homer Simpson’s vehicular creation way back in season two of The Simpsons.

As we would find out as the day went on, however, the Civic Coupe was built with a heavy emphasis on unique styling, which means only offering neutral colours – like they do on the sedan, for now – simply wouldn’t do. “Energy Green” then, is a perfect fit for the car. As was the other colour on hand for the day, the brilliant "Rallye Red".

The 2016 Civic Coupe made it to dealers just last week, available in three trims – LX ($19,455), EX-T ($24,555) and Touring ($27,555) – with great features including 16-inch alloy wheels; a seven-inch TFT infotainment screen with backup camera; and LED taillights all standard.

Yes, that base price is a full $3,300 up on what it costs to get a base 2016 Honda Civic sedan, but when one considers that past Civic Coupes have made up such a small – yet enthusiastic – slice of all Civic buyers, it becomes easier to understand that Coupe buyers are willing to pay for a little more panache.

Take the wheels, for example, which grow to 17 inches on the EX-T trim. Or fog lights, or LED DRLs—all options to make your Civic variant look that much more special.

Those are just the details, however; overall, the Civic Coupe is a fantastic-looking car, managing to improve on the sedan, a looker in its own right. There are creases in all the right places, the front and rear overhangs have been reduced, and the roofline has been lowered a full 25 mm to make for a planted, purposeful stance that is especially appreciated from the rear three-quarter angle.

Related: Review: 2016 Honda Civic Sedan is the best one yet

From there, you get a good view of the squat profile as well as the signature taillight bar, which doubles as a subtle rear spoiler.

Interior

Not to worry, all you tall types: the seating position’s been lowered, too. I had no problems sliding my 6’-3” frame into the driver’s seat, the height of which can be adjusted. Not so the front passenger, though.

The wheelbase, however, is the same as the sedan, ensuring interior space remains almost constant. “It’s like the TARDIS [of Dr. Who fame],” exclaims the Coupe’s lead exterior designer, Guy Melville-Brown. “Larger on the inside than it appears on the outside.”

Now, while stepping into the Coupe may not transport you to another dimension, it’s got equal front legroom and just a little less headroom than the sedan. Rear legroom takes a hit, but I’m confident you could fit two adults back there, and they’d be comfortable enough to last short- to medium-length trips. There’s more room than there was in the previous-gen Coupe, too.

Technology

You want tech, yes? Good, because there’s plenty.

You get a multi-angle backup camera; heated front seats; and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility as standard. Then there’s the option to add the $1,000 Honda Sensing package to each trim, which adds adaptive cruise (the sensor for which is cleverly hidden within the driver’s side front splitter intake—you have to look real close to detect it); low-speed follow; rear cross-traffic alert; lane departure warning and active lane assist; and forward collision warning.

That’s a lot of kit for a car in the compact segment; indeed, those are features usually reserved for the luxury set. The top Touring trim, meanwhile, adds Garmin-based nav, rain-sensing wipers, premium audio, wireless charging (a Canadian exclusive) and satellite radio. That’s all in addition to the Honda Sensing package, which comes as standard at the Touring level.

Unfortunately, while all that tech is nice, the means by which you access some of it left me wanting. No matter the trim, the touchscreen audio interface felt like a finicky setup (you slide your finger up and down a skinny volume touchpad, for example) that had me – and many others at the launch – crying for some traditional knobs. Yes, you can adjust volume via wheel-mounted buttons, but little good that does the passenger.

Performance

Like with the sedan, two engines are available: a 2.0-litre unit rated at 158 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque; and the smaller 1.5-litre turbo unit good for 174 hp and 162 lb-ft. Transmission duties are undertaken by either a six-speed manual or continuously variable automatic (CVT) at base, but if you’re a turbo-or-bust kind of person, you’ll have to make do with the CVT only.

Luckily for us in Canada, Honda has made the turbo available with paddle shifters, a feature that can’t be had in the US. The paddles are activated by tugging on either one, and if you keep the transmission in “S” as opposed to “D,” the paddles will remain active no matter what you do. In “D”, they’ll be deactivated if you forget about them.

While they are by no means a replacement for a proper stick and clutch affair, they do add a level of driver engagement that is welcome in a sporty compact like this. The seven virtual ratios are engaged quickly, and they even allow for a bit of available engine braking when coasting downhill. I’m willing to bet that driving enthusiasts will make regular use of the paddles.

We also got the chance to sample the LX model with a stick-shift. It’s not hugely changed from the previous-gen model – a new shift knob shape is the main difference – but that’s no bad thing as Honda has mastered their lever action and clutch take-up for quite some time, now. If you really want that manual-turbo combo, though, you may want to wait as it’s likely to arrive later this year.

The drivetrain is one part of the story; the chassis and handling is quite another. The springs, dampers and roll bars have all been given a more aggressive tune for the Coupe, and while the sedan was an able handler, the Coupe manages to further push the envelope.

It remains planted in fast sweepers, eager to turn-in on sharper bends, and is all-around joyful on twisty roads. Just when you think the rubber is going to start to squeal and the body is going to list you into the hedgerows, the Civic remains anchored to the tarmac. The whole experience, meanwhile, is punctuated by fantastic steering feel through the chunky, leather-wrapped wheel.

For every apex that gets perfectly clipped, and for every camber that gets neutralized, a crack in the road gets absorbed with gumption, and a rail crossing gets dispatched with hardly a squeak from the chassis. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt a compact that rides as solidly, as confidently as this, whether it be of the mass-market or luxury bent.

To top it all off, wind noise has been reduced by strategic placement of more sound-deadening foam, and a slight murmur from the tires is all you really have to deal with. And I can tell you with confidence that said road noise will have little to no effect on in-car conversation decibel levels. It’s that good.

Perfect? Not quite. All those safety features are nice, but I just wish they were a little more subtle in their application. The active lane keep assist, for example, will have you bouncing from lane marker to lane marker if you let it.

Active cruise, meanwhile, doesn’t exactly ease you down to traffic speed when it senses the slowing of the car ahead. It’s more of a panic brake application when it really doesn’t need to be. I wonder if a slight re-calibration of the electronics would be all it takes to settle things down. Of course, you can shut all of that off, but you paid for it, so…

Conclusion

Other than some slightly invasive tech, a missing particular engine-transmission combo (for now) and a wonky volume knob, the Civic Coupe really does have it all. Fantastic looks, generous tech, massively confident chassis dynamics and, yes, even fuel efficiency (we saw 7.2L/100 km with normal highway driving).

They talked about the styling during the product presentation, and while excellent, there’s so much more to like about this car that it really needs to be driven to get the full effect. If you’re considering a compact coupe , a test drive is suggested.