Honda plotting new Civic 'Type S' turbo

Honda Australia's 10th-generation Civic range will arrive next year, topped by a warm hatch model that could offer 150kW of turbo power and wear the Type S name.

While the Australian future of Honda's current Civic Type-R hot hatch remains unclear, the Japanese brand has confirmed it will release the next-generation Civic sedan and hatch here from mid-2016.

It has also confirmed we'll see the first of Honda's new-generation VTEC TURBO engines from next year, including a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder offering up to 150kW and 260Nm.

"Development of a new Civic is well under way and we'll also start to see the first new VTEC turbo engines here from next year," said Honda Australia director Stephen Collins this week.

Collins indicated the 1.5 VTEC TURBO mill will power the new Civic, while a smaller 1.0-litre turbo-petrol triple delivering up to 95kW/200Nm is likely to find its way into the Jazz, perhaps for a midlife upgrade due around 2017.

While the larger new 2.0-litre VTEC TURBO four powers the new 230kW/400Nm Civic Type-R, both downsized direct-injection turbo-petrol engines are expected to be matched with six-speed manual and new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions — the latter with a torque converter for smoother low-gear operation.

Base versions of the new Civic sedan — which will be the first to arrive next year, followed by the hatch by the end of 2016 — will be powered by carryover versions of the 104kW/174Nm 1.8-litre naturally-aspirated engines that power the existing Mk9 Civic, which is priced from under $20,000.

The 1.5-litre new turbo-petrol engine, meantime, could be reserved for the Civic hatch, in which it will effectively replace the 2.0-litre engine in the current Civic Sport sedan ($30,290).

Honda Australia denies it will employ the Type S name for its new Civic warm hatch, which will be a logical rival for everything from Holden's 1.6 turbo-petrol Cruze SRi and Hyundai's 2.0-litre i30 SR, to the $35K-plus Renault Megane GT220 and Peugeot 308 GT.

However, our sources insist the Type S nameplate will return to Honda's local range, which included Integra Type S from 2005. A Civic Type S was also previously sold in the UK.

Expected to be built in both hatch and sedan form in Thailand for Australia for the first time – potentially bringing lower prices or improved value — the Mk10 Civic will again be sold in the US in coupe form, as previewed by the two-door concept at this year's New York motor show.

Honda Europe is once again developing the hatchback version, which returns to the US and will be built in the UK, where Australia's current Civic hatch and diesel are made, and Thailand – which supplies 70 per cent of all Hondas sold here.

Spied in development testing last month and based around a new global platform that has taken three years to develop and was largely engineered at Honda’s Ohio technical centre and designed in California, the Mk10 Civic will be larger than the current Civic to help fill the void created by the discontinuation of the Accord Euro.

Honda claims its new global small car will "target class-leading levels of safety performance" with a range of Honda Sensing driver aids including Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Multi-Angle Rearview Camera, Adaptive Cruise Control and Honda LaneWatch.

Honda's Civic stretches back over 40 years and was once one of Australia’s top-selling small cars, but it's now only Honda's fourth best seller and sales are down more than 50 per cent so far this year, with just 1816 registrations compared to more than 17,500 for Toyota's top-selling Corolla.

A facelifted Civic range was released last month.

Collins said the 2016 Civic will change that and play a key role in Honda Australia's long-term strategy to return to 60,000 annual sales, alongside the popular new Jazz, its HR-V SUV twin and the larger CR-V, which will be offered in five- and seven-seat forms in the next generation due within two years.

“The new-gen Civic will be [here] from next year and will be one of our core cars," he said. "It’ll start with sedan -- obviously we’re doing a lot of work on that.

“I certainly think [the goal] in the next generation is to have a really competitive hatch and sedan at the same time. The idea is to put it right in the heart of the small car market and do what we’ve done with HR-V and Jazz.

"The next opportunity for us is Civic. It will certainly head us in that direction [60,000 sales]."