Honda launched the 10th-generation Civic in 2016 to rave reviews. Despite its popularity, the 10th-gen Civic will have a short six-model-year run, as the redesigned 2022 Honda Civic will mark the beginning of the model's 11th generation. Honda gave us a glimpse into the future with the unveiling of the 2022 Civic Prototype.
Honda understood the 10th-gen Civic's popularity, so it chose to retain many design cues that attracted buyers, including its low roof and hip lines, hood, and fenders. The 2022 Civic Prototype also boasts rearward-shifted A-pillars and relocated mirrors for enhanced visibility. Other updates focus on giving the Civic an even more mature look, including its upright grille, a longer hood, sharp horizontal shoulder line, horizontally oriented taillights, bumper-integrated exhaust, and more. With the prototype being nearly production-ready, we expect nearly all the exterior design cues to carry into the production 2022 Civic.
The 2022 Civic Prototype's interior is an exercise in less equals more with its clean, clutter-free instrument panel. Honda visually widens the cabin with the instrument panel's horizontal lines, and honeycomb mesh inserts covering the air vents further enhance its widened look. Honda didn't dive deep into the Civic Prototype's interior tech, but it mentioned the new 9-inch full-HD dash-top touchscreen.
Honda didn’t mention the 2022 Civic's powertrain options, but we know it'll have at least three powertrain flavors: a thrifty base powertrain, a boosted Si powertrain, and a wild Type R option.
For reference, the 10th-gen Civic lineup includes a standard 158-horsepower 2.0-liter or an optional turbocharged 178-hp 1.5-liter in the standard lineup. Jumping into the Civic Si, which was dropped in 2021 but will return in 2022, bumps the 1.5-liter engine to 205 hp. Finally, The Type R tosses in a 306-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot. We expect the 2022 Civic lineup to see at least mild powertrain improvements compared to the current generation.
Every 2021 Civic has standard Honda Sensing, which includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and automatic high beams. The 2022 Civic will gain a new Honda Sensing suite of safety gear with updated active and passive safety tech, like enhanced pedestrian collision protection and airbag designs. The 2022 Civic will also include a new version of Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure for improved occupant protection. The current Civic is an IIHS Top Safety Pick, and we expect this to remain the same in the 2022 model.
