2012 Honda Civic: First Look

• Competes with: Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3, Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze
• Looks like: Honda isn’t going away
• Drivetrain: 110-hp four-cylinder hybrid with CVT; 140-hp four-cylinder with five-speed automatic; 200-hp four-cylinder with six-speed manual
• Hits dealerships: Spring 2011

Just weeks after Honda showed the world the concept version of the next-generation Civic, it revealed the production models online today.

The big news is not the design, which you can check out in the photos above and below, but the efficiency of the entire lineup. And it’s a big lineup, too.

Starting in terms of best fuel efficiency, you have the Honda Civic Hybrid in sedan only, which is estimated to return 45 mpg city/highway combined. That’s 4 mpg better than the combined mileage of the outgoing Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight. It will be powered by a 110-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and for the first time, a lithium-ion battery pack. It will be teamed to a continuously variable automatic transmission.

Then you have the Civic HF — “High Fuel economy” — sedan that will get an estimated 41 mpg highway thanks to aerodynamic bodywork shared with the hybrid.

The Civic HF will be powered by the same 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine as the standard Civic sedan and coupes. All will be mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. The regular Civics are estimated to return 39 mpg on the highway, up 3 mpg from the current generation. The Civic Hybrid, Civic HF, standard sedan and coupe, and a natural-gas-powered Civic GX will also feature the Eco Assist system the company has put in its CR-Z hybrid coupe.

There will also be a high-performance Civic Si sedan and coupe with a 200-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. As you’d expect, they only come equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. Mileage and power are both up with an EPA- estimated 31 mpg highway, which is up 2 mpg from the outgoing model.

But what about the interior and all the standard features? We were only provided with one interior image, and it looks like the dashboard has been rearranged with the center stack angled toward the driver, a trick Audi recently made acceptable. The two-tiered gauge cluster remains, but it doesn’t look as futuristic as the current model.

There doesn’t look to be a leap in interior quality, but it’s hard to judge from a single image. Plus, the current Civic has a nice interior for its age.

Trim levels will likely remain similar to the current lineup, and we expect to have a full rundown the closer we get to the on-sale date this spring. For now, let us know if you think this new Civic is an improvement on the current design or a step back.