PedalFaster

Expectations for features and safety have gone up hugely in the past decade. A short list of features that less common in economy cars in 1997 that are commonly expected today (in my best guess at decreasing order of weight addition):

• Much greater expectation for refinement (quietness, isolation from the outside, etc.)
• Much greater chassis stiffness
• More airbags than you can shake a stick at
• 16"+ wheels
• Automatic transmission
• More gears in the transmission
• ABS
• Traction control
• Stability control
• Rear disc brakes
• Navigation

JonBoy

My wife's 2008 Civic Sedan LX with 5AT weighs 2754 lbs. A 2009 S2000 is listed at 2864 lbs on Honda's site. Even the CR weighs more at 2765 lbs.

They should have no problem keeping the Civic under 2800 lbs.

iam7head

they should but it's not as easy as keeping a sport car lighter(370z)

the have a much small budget cap, which will limits their material choice(composite, aluminium,etc) and manufacturing process(hydroform, unibody, etc)

of course the next civic doesn't need the rigidity of the 370z but being just guessing the direction honda goes, those emission and safety will add more lbs to the chassis

if you ask me, yes, the new civic looks big and drives big too.

JonBoy

They're already at a low weight and they're not planning on expanding the size of the car. Ergo, it should be roughly the same weight, give or take a few pounds. The car already has 5-star crash ratings so they won't have to kill themselves to make it meet standards it already meets.

I'd argue that it's tougher to keep a sports car light because you inevitably want more power, more speed, and more grip. All of those require more strength in the car and that's tough to do without adding weight or adding cost.