Honda has confirmed pricing for its Honda Civic diesel model, which joins the range this February as the second engine option for the regular car.
Priced from £20,120, the diesel starts at £1230 higher than the entry-level turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit and is slightly costlier than its archrival, the entry-level Ford Focus diesel, which starts at £20,195.
The Civic diesel also adds a new trim to the UK range. Beneath the SE and SR trims currently offered with the petrol, the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel is available in an entry-level S trim.
The 1.6-litre engine is an upgraded version of the previous Civic's diesel unit. It features higher-strength pistons and low-friction cylinder bores, although the car’s power and torque remain the same at 118bhp and 221b ft. The differences add up to a fuel economy – under the new WLTP testing procedure – of 76.3mpg, with CO2 output of 99g/km.
Honda now makes the pistons of the engine from a chromium-molybdenum steel alloy, while the bores have been subject to ‘super plateau honing’, which smooths the movement of the pistons.
In addition, Honda claims that the engine will be more refined and quieter than before, thanks to greater rigidity through the use of more cast ribs on the cylinder block.
To improve NOx emissions, the unit has an improved storage converter, which stores harmful gas until the regeneration cycle is under way, while a soot sensor improves the longevity of exhaust parts such as the particulate filter.
Later in the year, the new Civic will be available with a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 180bhp, as well as Honda’s nine-speed automatic gearbox. It’s the first time Honda has put the transmission in a two-wheel-drive car, following its introduction to the Honda CR-V in 2015.
The new Civic range also includes the Type R model, which uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing 316bhp.
Join the debate
Add your comment
It doesn't add up.
If the Honda Civic is £20,120 and the Ford Focus £20,195, how can the Honda be costlier ?
Put back.
Now March, that's nearly a year without a Diesel model. Wonder if Honda thought about pulling Diesel from this model altogether
Honda Civic diesel sales
As the majority of Honda Civic sales 2006 till the current model were diesel I would find it very difficult to believe not offering a diesel version would have been considered.
Under the current "scrappage" schemes on offer it has been reported the most common car to be taken under the deals is the Golf and that across all makes under the scrappage scheme 49% of cars were petrol powered. I could not find any info as to what the "scrapped" cars were replaced with though.p
Previous gen
Not sure where you got your worldwide Civic sales split but that model had the crappy 1.4 and 1.8 NA engines i.e. no modern low tax 1.0 Turbo
Either way we'll never know whether Honda considered dumping it but they sure took their time releasing it!
xxxx wrote:
I really struggle to see your obsession with Downsized turbos being better! They just are not in all reality! I've experienced it personally with the Fiat/Chrysler 1.4 multiair Turbo 170 engine (which was useless and drank alot!) and even autocar are commenting on it in their long term review of the new civic 1.0 125 Turbo.
"Just one foible stops it from being a decent cruiser: fuel economy. An average return of 36mpg over 400 miles of motorway is not enough to justify downsizing to this car’s 1.0-litre triple."
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/honda/civic/first-drives/honda-civic-long-term-review
I get 35mpg from my 2.0 i-VTEC NA 197bhp Type-R! And that's on a 30 mile run on motorways AND B-roads! When I was doing 35 miles each way on just the motorway, I was getting 41mpg! My average over the last 12 months has been 38mpg, in a powerful old dinosaur of a car with far more performance potential than the 1.0 3 pot, which is more than the downsized car is managing.
Civic diesel
At last, a choice of a decent automatic. By ditching the CVT I can look at it as a serious car again. Shortlist!