Photo: Honda
The 10th generation of the Civic is nearing the end of production. From 2016 to the 2021 model year, the compact car has never offered all-wheel drive. This gets us to the all-new Civic, which has been rumored on many occasions to feature AWD.
Japanese, American, and British motoring publications have all reported about the Type R going hybrid by adopting an electric motor for the rear axle, but no confirmation has been offered so far in this regard. The thing is, Honda has slim chances of making this wishful thinking come true for two reasons.
Ford Performance pulled the plug on the development of the all-new Focus RS earlier this year, citing “increased CO2 taxation and the high cost of developing some form of electrification for a low volume of vehicles.” Considering that Honda is cutting costs like there’s no tomorrow to focus on EVs and autonomous driving technology, the e-AWD hybrid Type R we’ve been hearing about is definitely out of the cards.
The question is, what about lesser versions of the all-new Civic? You know, those with the 1.5-liter engine? Citing a Honda spokesperson, C&D reports that “there are no plans for an AWD configuration.”
Car & Driver labels this decision as a missed opportunity of sorts, giving the Subaru Impreza and Mazda3 Turbo with all-wheel drive as competitors for the Civic AWD that never was. If you look at the sales figures for the Impreza, you’ll understand that Honda was right about sticking to front-wheel drive and front-wheel drive only.
No fewer than 88,253 units were sold in the United States last year, less than a third of the Civics sold during the 12-month period. When there’s little demand for such a feature, it’s better to focus on more popular options rather than hope for the best after investing millions over millions of dollars into an all-wheel-drive option.
Revealed as a near-production prototype yesterday, the all-new Civic is scheduled to launch for real in late spring 2021 as a sedan. Honda has also confirmed the hatchback, Si, and Type R for later dates. Unfortunately, the coupe won't return.
Ford Performance pulled the plug on the development of the all-new Focus RS earlier this year, citing “increased CO2 taxation and the high cost of developing some form of electrification for a low volume of vehicles.” Considering that Honda is cutting costs like there’s no tomorrow to focus on EVs and autonomous driving technology, the e-AWD hybrid Type R we’ve been hearing about is definitely out of the cards.
The question is, what about lesser versions of the all-new Civic? You know, those with the 1.5-liter engine? Citing a Honda spokesperson, C&D reports that “there are no plans for an AWD configuration.”
Car & Driver labels this decision as a missed opportunity of sorts, giving the Subaru Impreza and Mazda3 Turbo with all-wheel drive as competitors for the Civic AWD that never was. If you look at the sales figures for the Impreza, you’ll understand that Honda was right about sticking to front-wheel drive and front-wheel drive only.
No fewer than 88,253 units were sold in the United States last year, less than a third of the Civics sold during the 12-month period. When there’s little demand for such a feature, it’s better to focus on more popular options rather than hope for the best after investing millions over millions of dollars into an all-wheel-drive option.
Revealed as a near-production prototype yesterday, the all-new Civic is scheduled to launch for real in late spring 2021 as a sedan. Honda has also confirmed the hatchback, Si, and Type R for later dates. Unfortunately, the coupe won't return.
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