Honda Civic - billion-dollar sports car for Vietnamese customers

The traditional sporty bloodline is what makes Civic conquer driving enthusiasts, regardless of the car's price of nearly one billion.

Honda imported the new generation Civic from Thailand to Vietnam not to compete in sales with Mazda3, Kia Cerato or Toyota Altis. The Japanese car company knows that in a market where car prices are many times more expensive than customers' annual income, a price 200 million higher than the average price of the segment is no "way" to compete in car sales.

The new Honda Civic exudes sporty instincts.>> Detailed photos

But Civic has a specialized customer segment. The 950 million VND sedan uses sports inspiration as its core element to conquer those who are willing to spend billions of VND to own the "BMW of Asia". Putting Civic on the racetrack with complex exercises that are not available on public roads, Honda answers the question of why Civic confidently stands alone in a field.

The 4-seat coupe design is the first breakthrough that everyone notices. But let's not talk about the design, when on the "track", the lines are only meaningful for aerodynamic efficiency, everything related to the sense of beauty or ugliness is meaningless. The 1.5 turbo engine is the first thing worth trying.

Small engine technology integrated with turbocharger is the trend of the world car village that Ford has been very successful with EcoBoost. The two biggest advantages of this type of engine are fuel economy (small capacity) while still ensuring power (turbo support). What about Civic 2017?

The 1.5 turbocharged engine has a capacity of 170 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 220 Nm in the range of 1,700-5,500 rpm. The Japanese car company optimizes fuel economy with a CVT gearbox and also to solve the delay between each gear shift on automatic transmissions with levels.

For those who love driving and are too familiar with the extreme but jerky shifting of a geared transmission, a CVT can be an eraser that erases the feeling of excitement. That's the theory, but Honda's engineers know how to set the parameters of the engine and transmission to match each other, enough to bring a feeling of excitement for a sporty civilian sedan.

The 1.5 turbo engine accelerates well in slow water.

At the starting line on the track, continuously press the throttle to roar the engine like the racers do, the clock needle also stands up immediately, the exhaust sound also roars in the ears, no different from a real sports car. Shift the gear lever to S, the instructor waves the flag, the rest is to step on the throttle and hold the steering wheel firmly.

The Civic throttle is sensitive, there is no delay, the whole mass of matter accelerates immediately, the sports seats hug the back neatly. In the first 4-5 seconds, it still feels like the car is gaining momentum, from then on it is the time to unleash its power. The rpm is about 2,000, the turbo opens, after a slight lull is the time to fight, the speed increases continuously, the driver must be more alert to be vigilant because the straight road is about to end. The Civic eats the rear end, a rear end is just enough for the car to run on the street.

Slow down to about 50 km/h to enter the slalom field, continuously zigzag through the closely spaced markers. Both hands in the 9:15 position on the steering wheel, release the accelerator, gently shake left-right-left-right, the car passes the obstacle without a single tail wagging. This is when the AHA (Agile Handling Assist) active steering support system performs its task.

When you have to steer continuously or turn quickly but not enough to create an imbalance in the car's body, meaning the VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) technology is not activated, that's when AHA comes into play. Basically, AHA will brake the inside wheel when the car turns, then when the steering wheel is returned, it will brake the outside wheel, to ensure the car enters the correct curve that the driver wants. AHA works "silently", so the driver can hardly notice it like ESP.

Continue pushing the car to zigzag but the surface is slippery and wet and the distance between the markers is close together, the car can easily turn sideways and lose control. At this time, VSA works, steering hard, each wheel is braked by different forces to help the car stay on track. The difference is clear compared to the time when VSA was turned off, the wheels dragged black streaks, the tail flapped like a fish.

Designed like a real sports car.

After the last turn, step on the gas to reach the finish line. When you reach about 80 km/h, you need to brake with all your might or you will crash into the finish line marker. Lift your foot off the gas pedal, swing your body and press the brake hard and decisively. The ABS will immediately activate, the car will jerk repeatedly until it reaches the finish line, the ESS emergency brake warning light on the car will flash.

If you have time to watch the Civic speeding on the racetrack, you will see how much Honda hopes to transform the sedan model in the 10th generation. Add a rear spoiler and a few details, the Civic turns into a sports car, with perhaps a bit of the image of a civilian car in the stylish LED headlights and small fog lights at the corners.

After 3 months, Honda sold 347 Civic cars in the Vietnamese market, Truong Hai sold 3,132 Mazda3 cars and 1,227 Kia Cerato cars. The difference in sales here does not represent a dispute over market share. Because customers looking for a sporty design and operation, approaching the luxury segment of Civic will not hesitate with the trendy Mazda3 or Cerato, many options, reasonable operation and price.

By setting the price at nearly one billion, Honda Vietnam separates Civic from the race in segment C but not yet segment D. Standing alone, Civic has the opportunity to create a new school - popular sports sedan, a segment that has not yet developed in Vietnam.

According to VNE