wickerbill

I honestly don't want the Honda of today to release a followup to the S2000. Can you imagine how bad it would be? Butt ugly, probably have some underpowered hybrid powerplant that gets 29 MPG and puts out 180 HP and have FWD or if we're lucky, SH-AWD.

rockville

I will say that Honda isn't the only one to release less than stellar looking econoboxes but really, few have gone backwards.

Cobalt to Cruise: Neither is great. The Cruise has a lousy looking rear quarter and tail. The Cobalt was bland but really not bad... just bland. Cruise interior looks better than the Honda. Note the lack of a 2 tiered dash.

Ford: Looking good.

Hyundai: No, the newest Elantra nose isn't that good but most is decent. Kia is looking really good so I will give Hyundai total a pass.

Mazda: Well the 3 is a regression but the interior isn't two tiered

Toyota: Bland before, bland after. At least they aren't slipping.

Chrysler: .... um they have nothing ... but they are smart enough to not do a two tiered dash.

VW: I hate to see the Jetta get cheaper but compared to this it's a super model.

Nissan: Well I guess they aren't great either

Having written all this I guess the Civic will do OK because the made in Japan competition generally isn't any better.

wickerbill

haha. I have to laugh that the benchmark of interior design is lack of a two-tiered dash. It's not THAT bad, though it's obvious you prefer a standard dash.

deepbluejh

Was anyone really expecting a CIVIC of all things to blaze trails in the styling category? This thing sells in huge numbers to everyone from poor college kids to little old ladies. It needs to appeal to a very broad demographic and playing it "safe" is usually the way to go here.

bloodzombie

I think that the last model was a bold and really well done re-design, so yes.

JonBoy

I'm not sure why you hate the two-tiered dash. After having it in our Civic, I wouldn't have it any other way. The readout is easy to see indirectly, it's safer and it's more convenient. Driving a car with a single-tier dash is a pain in the neck for me now.

I had a Nissan Versa for a rental for three weeks and couldn't wait to get back to the Civic, purely based on ergonomics and sightlines for critical gauges/speedo (everything else is better in the Civic, too, but that wasn't as big of a deal).

deepbluejh

2010:

This is bold?


2012

And this is the world coming to an end?

lol

rockville

Yes, I hate the two tiered dash. The speedo works because it's high on the dash. Why not put a tach right next to it high on the dash. I'm OK that Honda decided not to make you look through the wheel to see how fast you are going. I just hate that they thought it was a good idea to put the gauges in two locations.

wickerbill,
A single tier dash certainly isn't the only factor to make a good interior but it sure is a step in the right direction. The two tier setup has no advantages and a number of cost based disadvantages (basically you have to pay for two IPs). The rest of the Civic interior is decent and has some aspects I really like. I like that the center stack falls away thus offering storage in the area in front of and between the seats. My Ford had this and it was useful. I also like that the dash is driver centric vs using the more symmetrical center stack such as the one in the Accord and most other cars. Honda could still do the driver centric setup without doing the two tier setup. Clearly my dislike is stronger than others. My brother bought one which I wouldn't have done in part because I hate the IP setup. The lack of a hatch back would also have been a big issue for me.

deepbluejh,
The old Civic was ground breaking in it's design when compared to the previous Civic and other economy cars. The new car looks like a mild rethink of the previous car but done by someone who wasn't as talented as the first guy... yet was dumb enough to retain the two tiered dash

wickerbill

How can you say the split dash has no advantages while also acknowledging the advantage it has of putting the speedometer higher than in other cars making it easier to check while you're driving? Generally if you're looking at the speedometer or the tachometer, you're not also looking at the other at the same time. I know I check my speedometer a lot more than I do the tach so the split dash makes it easier to do that. The tachometer is located in the same place it is in 99% of other cars on the road while the speedometer is in a place easier to check while driving. Putting the tach up by the speedometer would make it much smaller than it is. Anyways, at least on the Si, there's a red light that blinks up by the speedometer when you get close to redline so you don't even have to check the tach while you're accelerating quickly.

rockville

I've sat in many cars that had easy to read tach and speedos that weren't placed above the wheel. That said, if it's better to put the speedo where it is in the Civic, why is it not better to have the tach join it up there?

I hate the way it looks but I also hate that it strikes me as gymicy rather than functional. If it was really a good idea why doesn't Honda do it to the rest of their cars?