2022 Honda Civic previewed with a sleeker and more mature design

Honda has taken the wraps off the next generation of its perennial best-seller, the Civic. The new model – previewed in prototype form and expected to go on sale late next year – will be the eleventh generation of a car that continues to be a best-seller for Honda in key global markets.

At a time when several brands are ditching sedans in favour of high-riding crossovers and the rest are busy fighting for the glory of having the biggest grille ever on a car’s fascia, the new Civic comes across as refreshingly clean and sedate. Those two words would have given you the hint that Honda is betting on a contrasting strategy compared to the current Civic that’s all edgy and aggressive.

Up front are sleeker LED headlights, a more pronounced grille and a chiseled bumper housing a larger air dam. The profile continues to be athletic with a sharp shoulder line that runs the length of the car and a rising belt line that connects the fenders. The long hood, the kinked-up C-pillar and the mildly-flared wheel arches housing dark 19-inch wheels stand out. At the rear, taillights are now more conventional than the outgoing model and takes an horizontal shape that extends into the boot-lid. Dual exhaust pipes and an integrated trunk spoiler are cool and add a sporty touch as do the blackened elements all around the car. 

Interior pictures have not been released though Honda was kind enough to release a design sketch of the cabin. From the looks of it, the new Civic will have a simpler, cleaner layout with much emphasis placed on the horizontal elements. The dashboard has a trim piece with a mesh-like pattern behind which the air-conditioning vents appear concealed. All you see are small knobs for adjustment. Neat! A sporty, three-spoke steering wheel, digital instrument cluster and a tablet-like 9-inch infotainment screen that pops out of the dashboard are the other bits that are easily noticeable.

Knowing Honda, expect the production version to not look very different from this prototype inside and out. In addition to the sedan you see here, the new Civic will also be available as a hatchback like the current model. Of course, the sporty Si and Type-R trims would join the line-up as well. Riding on the same platform as the outgoing model, expect the new Civic to carryover some or all of the engines, transmissions and suspension hardware. That would also mean the new Civic would continue to be a driver’s car in a segment that’s known to not offer much for those seeking driving pleasure. 

Now, don’t sulk. Skoda Octavia is more of an exception than a norm!

Coming back to the Civic, Honda has a lot riding on this. Ever since the nameplate debuted in 1972, the Civic has been a massive success and a consistent best-seller for the brand. The current tenth-generation model that debuted in 2016 is arguably the most successful Civic ever with over 1.5 million units sold just in the United States of America. China, Canada and Thailand are some of the many other markets where the car has enjoyed considerable success. The new Civic sure has big shoes to fill.

Who says minivans aren't cool? Look at the Porsche Vision Renndienst!

As part of activities surrounding the release of a new book called “Porsche Unseen”, the German car-maker has opened the virtual doors of its design studio at Weissach for a sneak peek into a handful of design studies the team created between 2005 and 2019. Of course, being experimental prototypes intended to test the creative limits of the design team while also helping to develop a long-term vision for the brand, these never made it outside the studio. Until now, that is.

While a race car-derived street sports car and a spartan roadster for the purists amongst others were studied as one would imagine from Porsche, what piqued my interest was a minivan. You read that right. But wait, don’t curse me. A 6-seat minivan from Porsche is real! 2020 is odd, indeed.

While you let that sink in, the Vision "Renndienst” - as Porsche calls it - is their design team’s interpretation of what a futuristic family van from the brand could look like. The result? An amazingly cool minivan that’s instantly desirable.

First up, the proportions are spot-on with all four wheels pushed off to the corners. The wheels themselves are massive housed inside muscular wheel arches that are flared just enough. The current design DNA of the brand is visible all through - from the quad-lights up front to the light bar running the width of the rear. Reducing the visual bulk of a minivan is quite a task and the team at Porsche has done that rather well using black inserts all around and a swanky greenhouse. Shown alongside an old Volkswagen T1, the differences in design and execution is understandably stark.

Inside, the Vision Renndienst is said to be equally funky with a central driver’s seat flanked by two passenger seats on either side placed slightly behind in a triangular layout. Apparently, there are seats to accommodate three more passengers behind. Keeping with the ‘futuristic’ theme, the Vision Renndienst is envisioned as a zero-emission full-electric vehicle with autonomous capabilities to boot. No further details have been shared.

How cool would it be to have one parked in your garage? Sadly, 1:1 isn’t going to be possible. Your best bet would be to wait for one of the many die-cast manufacturers to come out with a 1:18 or a 1:43 scale model and bring one of those little ones home.