India’s leading premium carmaker, Honda SIEL Cars India is all set to surprise the motown by launching a refreshed version of its D-segment car ’Civic’, as revealed by one of its dealers requesting anonymity. Although there won’t be any technical upgradation, the new model will get a mid-life facelift which involves slightly updated exteriors – new front bumper and grille design, new headlights and tail-lamps and new alloy wheels.
Another dealer has revealed that there could be new cloth materials and patterns on seats, door linings and armrests. It is widely believed that the car will retain many of its design cues and technical specifications from the pre-2009 model, including its 1.8 liter inline-4 engine and two-tier dashboard with a digital speedometer. Furthermore, once the facelifted Civic hits the showrooms across the country, Honda SIEL will be phasing out the older version, though the company has not officially confirmed it. The prices and other details have yet not been announced by the company yet.
According to an auto journalist Anti-lock brakes (ABS); Electronic Brake Force distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) may be standard on the new Civic, while multiple airbags might be on the options list. The engine will be the same 1.8-litre i-VTEC unit, which will continue unchanged for 2009.
The refreshed version of the Civic is already on sale in North America.