2012 Honda Civic European Hatchback

The ninth generation Civic hatchback for the European market will soon make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September but Honda has provided us with a sneak peak of the five-door model with photos of a camouflaged prototype and a video explaining the changes under the body.

The Civic hatchback has been designed exclusively for Europe and will continue to be a separate model from the North American four-door sedan and two-door coupe variants with which it shares the same name.
The photos of the test car suggest that Honda will keep the edgy styling of the current model including the hidden door handles tucked away at the corners of the rear windows. However, the new Civic will be a tad longer improving passenger space.
Underneath the sheetmetal, Honda makes it a point to state that the European Civic will sport a heavily revised suspension that will significantly improve the car's ride quality, comfort as well as handling and body control.
Honda says it has achieved this even though the Civic, unlike many of its competitors in the C-segment like the Golf that feature fully independent, sophisticated multi-link suspension systems at the rear, retains a rear torsion beam.
A key change to the rear suspension system is the adoption of what Honda engineers describe as "clever fluid-filled compliance bushes".
The Japanese automaker is still keeping mum on the powertrain details, but according to our sources, one of the new introductions to the range will be a smaller displacement turbo diesel engine that will slot right under the current 2.2-liter i-DTEC unit.

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