2019 Honda Civic spotted testing in India before launch

Honda Civic is making a comeback in the Indian market after skipping a generation. The tenth generation Honda Civic would be launched in February 2019 after the eighth generation of the Civic was discontinued from the Indian market due to the dismal sales.

The spy photo you see here appeared in AutoCar India forums. The vehicle was under heavy camouflage in the Indian market, which means there can be Indian market-specific changes in the upcoming Civic. We may see a chrome-rich face perhaps. However, it is quite possible that the Indian-spec identical to the European version visually.

Honda announced the launch of three all-new cars in the Indian market in this financial year. After the launch of the all-new Honda Amaze and the all-new Honda CR-V, the all-new Civic is ready to be launched in the Indian market.

The Indian market will get the facelifted version of the Honda Civic that was recently launched in the international markets.

In Europe, the facelifted version of the Honda Civic offers changes like piano-black inserts on the exterior and an updated front bumper. There are no major changes done to the vehicle. However, it looks completely different from the eighth-generation version that was on sale in the Indian market. The all-new Honda City is much more aggressive in terms of design. It gets much more aggressive design cues and looks very modern on the road.

Honda has announced that about 70% of the all-new Civic would be localised for the Indian market. It would be made-in-India to keep the prices competitive. The Honda Civic will take on the likes of Toyota Corolla Altis and the Hyundai Elantra in the market but the price is expected to remain on the higher side. Honda will target the current City customers who are looking for an upgrade. The Civic would serve as a perfect vehicle that would be a stepping stone towards more expensive Honda vehicles in the market.

The Honda Civic in India would be powered by both petrol and diesel engine options. There will be a 1.8-litre petrol engine that produces a maximum of 140 PS and gets a 6-speed manual transmission. Honda will also launch the diesel version of the Civic for the first time in India. It would be powered by the same 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine that made its debut with the all-new Honda CR-V. The diesel engine would produce around 120 PS of maximum power and would be offered with a 6-speed manual transmission. Both petrol and diesel engine options are also expected to get the automatic transmission.

Honda will put a long list of features in the all-new Civic. We can expect the vehicle to get a sunroof, 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, collision warning, wireless charging, cruise control and many such advanced features.