Honda Civic 150

Honda Civic 150 – more affordable entry to the marque

Honda South Africa has added a value-for-money 1500cc model to its new Civic range in South Africa. Comprehensively equipped, it offers almost all the features of the flagship models but at a more affordable price.

 To spread its marketing footprint and lure more buyers with a more affordable alternative to the Civic 170i V-Tec, Honda South Africa has introduced the Civic 150i sedan with a choice of manual and auto transmission.

 The 1,5-litre model is powered by a 16-valve, 4-cylinder transversely mounted engine, driving the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic gearbox. This engine develops 81 kW at 5 800 rpm and 135 Nm at 4 200 rpm, giving the Civic 150i manual version a top speed of 186 km/h, with a claimed 0 - 100 km acceleration time of 10,4 seconds.  Top speed of the automatic derivative is 174 km/h.

 Standard equipment in both versions includes air conditioning, electrically powered windows and mirrors, height-adjustable steering column and driver’s seat, remote releases for fuel flap and bootlid, and a 60/40-split rear seat. In Honda tradition, the seatbacks can be locked in the upright position, while the remote release for the bootlid has a separate lock too.  The only real difference between the flagship 170i and the 150i are the lack of a standard audio system, drivers vanity mirror and rear cupholders. Steel wheels fitted with smaller tyres, are standard and ABS  with EBD becomes an option.

Externally, the only distinguishing features of the 150i are the lack of Alloy wheels and a black rather than body coloured side bump strip

A unique feature of the Honda Civics is the flat floor behind the front seats providing extraordinary comfort levels for three rear seat passengers.

 With the improved crashworthiness of a more rigid structure, the smaller-engined Civic includes all the safety features of the 170i V-Tec version.  Honda has taken the usual crumple zones and deformation areas a step further by designing the front side frames to crumple and then fold, thereby absorbing the maximum amount of energy. Occupants also benefit from seatbelt pretensioners and dual SRS airbags. All Civics feature a high-mount rear stop lamp and 3-point ELR seatbelts in the rear, with child seat anchor points as standard.

 The MacPherson strut front suspension design offers significant space savings, but without compromising ride or handling, thanks to a lower suspension link which accurately controls fore/aft and lateral movement.  In addition, anti-roll bars have been fitted in the front of the vehicle.

 The steering rack is mounted high in the engine bay and in a central position, allowing for extra-long steering arms to be used, effectively eliminating bump steer. The independent rear suspension gives both high levels of comfort as well as sharper handling. The coil springs have been configured to improve stability, especially under braking.

 The brakes feature ventilated discs at the front but regrettably in a car of this type and in this price range, drum brakes are fitted to the rear as in the case of the 170i.  

 As well as a slick and precise-shifting manual version there’s an advanced “thinking” automatic, Honda’s Prosmatec transmission, which uses software dubbed Grade Logic Control to optimize gearchange points based on vehicle speed and attitude.

 All Honda vehicles sold in South Africa carry a three year, 100 000 km warranty, a scheduled 10 000 km oil change and full service intervals set at 20 000 km.