With the deluge of Type R–related hype, it's easy to almost forget that Honda produce a range of other Civics.
The international gumbo of what-market-gets-what is an interesting one. Though they're a Japanese manufacturer, Honda produce Civics (and their individual parts) all over the world — from Thailand to the UK.
It's this framework that, for example, saw countries like the US and New Zealand miss out on the Honda Civic Type R until last year. And it's also the reason why Honda's reveal of the 2019 Civic sedan and Coupe (including the sporty Si Coupe) should be taken with a grain of salt.
Yes, the manufacturer have announced and revealed two of their 2019 models. One is the rather attractive Civic coupe [pictured above] which New Zealand will probably never get (sad face), while the other is the sedan that we probably will get.
More on those "probably" references soon.
As you can probably tell, not much has changed in the visual department. Those who love the Civic's wild, angular styling will potentially like it even more now with the addition of chrome trim that wraps around the fog lights and a revised front splitter arrangement. New wheels and updated headlights (halogen or optional LEDs) are also part of the package.
Beyond the mild evolutionary exterior changes, its in the safety department that the new Civic has had the biggest changes. The update will now sport the brand's full Honda Sensing safety suite as standard in all models. This includes Collision Mitigation Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Road Departure Mitigation that works alongside Lane Departure Warning, lane keep assist, and adaptive cruise control.
Making that equipment standard across the board is quite a big change in New Zealand, given only the Civic NT Turbo gets this equipment as standard here currently. The only problem is that Honda New Zealand couldn't confirm that "our" 2019 Civic that lands in New Zealand will come with these same changes to the spec sheet.
What else has changed? Well, it's 7-inch touchscreen is connected to a new infotainment system, and ... well actually that's about it. Powertrains are unchanged, as is much of the rest of the interior. And that's no bad thing ... so long as you like how it looks of course.
Honda have clearly gone with an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach. We now just await confirmation that when the updated sedan (and hatchback, for that matter) land in Aotearoa, they will also sport the same improvements.