Honda has taken the wraps off the new Civic Tourer ahead of its official unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid September.
The sleek exterior design of the new Civic Tourer houses a spacious interior which delivers exceptional versatility and functionality. It features Honda’s innovative 'Magic Seat' system and offers a class-leading boot space of 624 litres with the rear seats in place, up to the window line. This expands to 1668 litres with the rear seats down and up to the roof.
Honda claims it is not just the largest in the C Segment, but also one of the largest of any estate on the Irish market – of any segment.
The Civic Tourer will be available with the new 1.6 i-DTEC engine from the Earth Dreams Technology series. Designed specifically for the European market, the 1.6 i-DTEC engine provides excellent fuel economy while making sure the new Civic Tourer is engaging to drive.
The introduction of a new adaptive damper system will help to enhance stability and comfort under varying load and driving conditions. This is the first time that a rear adaptive damper system has been introduced on a production car and it features three settings - comfort, normal and dynamic - all of which have been developed to enhance stability and comfort under varying load and driving conditions. This allows the Civic Tourer to remain comfortable during motorway cruising, yet firm and agile when high-performance handling is required.
Developed and designed in Europe, allowing Honda’s European R&D team to lead the creative and technical design process, the new Civic Tourer will be launched in Europe in early 2014. It will be built at Honda’s manufacturing facility in Swindon, alongside the hatchback variant and the CR-V and Jazz.
The exterior design of the Civic Tourer is sleek and sporty, its distinctive style is defined by a bold line that runs continuously from the front A-pillar to the D-pillar creating the impression of a floating roof line.
The glass of the rear quarter window has been extended to cover the body work of the D-pillar and the rear door sash has been raised by 17mm compared to the Civic hatchback to create this bold styling line.
The Civic Tourer benefits from the same unique centre fuel tank layout used in the Civic hatchback. The fuel tank is located under the front seats allowing the Civic Tourer to offer unparalleled interior space and Honda’s clever 'Magic Seats'.
The unique 'Magic Seats' deliver further practicality and space within the Civic Tourer, enabling a range of seating configurations for maximum versatility.The rear seats fold down in one easy movement, and the interior trunk floor of the Civic Tourer has been raised compared to the hatchback to create a completely flat area when the seats are folded down.
The rear seat cushions can also be flipped up to reveal ample floor space for carrying tall objects. A 60:40 split in the seat base offers even more options for carrying both people and cargo and provides an alternative load area if access via the tailgate is limited.
There is also a very handy hidden compartment perfect for storing the tonneau cover when it is not needed. Furthermore, there is additional under floor storage in the boot which makes carrying tall objects in the boot easy, plus the height of the loading lip has been reduced by 137mm compared to the Civic hatchback to facilitate effortless loading.
And finally, Honda tells us safety was at the forefront of the development team’s mind when designing the Civic Tourer, particularly the integration of advanced active safety systems. It boasts that the new Civic Tourer will deliver a high standard of safety.
