2022 Honda Civic Sedan First Look: Small Car Royalty, Redesigned

This is it, Honda fans: Here’s your first official look at the all-new 2022 Honda Civic sedan. In place of the industry-standard teaser that features a backlit silhouette or just a slice of the headlight framed against inky darkness, Honda bucks the trend with a full front three-quarter glimpse of its newest bread-and-butter compact sedan.

Keen Honda enthusiasts know this isn’t really our first look at the new 11th-generation sedan. The lovely dark orange 2022 Honda Civic Sedan Prototype shown at the end of last year (and which is pictured below and in the gallery) gave us an eyeful of what to expect from the Civic’s sheetmetal; a sketched rendering is all we got regarding the small car’s cockpit design, however.

That said, Honda was careful to bill the prototype as a preview and not a verbatim production car, so it’s best seen as a conglomeration of stylistic touches that will be available on a range of different trims and editions of the 2022 Civic. So, think of the orange car as the forthcoming 2022 Honda Civic’s “greatest hits.”

Well, maybe not all of the future Civic variants, as Honda already confirmed there will be a Type R based on the 11th-gen, along with an Si and a hatchback. For now, this production-ready red sedan reveals the 2022 Civic in four-door Touring specification, complete with premium-looking contrast wheels.

There are subtle differences in the front fascia when compared to the prototype, but it appears the orange car was a faithful first look. It’s a largely handsome design, especially when parked next to the alien-like origami angles of the outgoing Civic, and it appears more as a scaled-down interpretation of the larger Accord than a sleeker version of the prior generation.

There’s good stuff under the new skin, too. Honda confirmed the new Civic’s bones are retained from the outgoing car, with significant improvements in torsional rigidity and handling. The current Civic remains one of the sharpest compacts to drive in any body style or trim, so we expect the new car to be dynamite to drive.

There’s still no look at the cabin but based on the sketches provided at the prototype’s debut, it’s shaping up to be one of the segment’s cleanest and most modern interiors. Look for the inside to reflect the mature aesthetic of the outside, with less angularity and more horizontal surfaces.

Excited? Us, too. For your first full look at the new 2022 Honda Civic, check back here on April 28 when Honda pulls off the cover completely.

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