2022 Honda Civic sedan revealed

The 2022 Honda Civic sedan has been revealed today, showcasing a more understated exterior design and a subtly retro-themed interior.

Looking just-about identical to both the prototype we saw last year, and the recently leaked images of the Chinese-made version of the sedan, the only real differences this Civic presents appear to be; a new alloy wheel design, a marginally less angular top portion of the front fascia and an ever-so-slightly tweaked grille.

Honda says the look of the new Civic Sedan was designed through a revived philosophy, first used for a much earlier Honda design project in 1978: Man Maximum, Machine Minimum.

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The idea then was that the ideal car design should go beyond the traditional human-machine relationship.

That project resulted in the Honda City, styled around a "tall boy" concept that eventually brought dozens of compact but somewhat upright passenger cars to market – like the Jazz, now sadly retired. SUVs, of course, now play that role.

This time around, Honda has looked to that Man Maximum / Machine Minimum philosophy to develop what it describes as a "thin and light" body design.

That means simpler lines and more curves, replacing the sharp angles and heavy creases of the edgy outgoing model – and, in many respects, returning to the simple styling of earlier generations.

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Inside, the new Civic boasts a dash design that is equal parts retro and modern, with a classic honeycomb grille running the length of the dashboard. The neat trick there is that the air-conditioning vents are essentially hidden behind the grille.

On the driving front, the bigger new Civic benefits from a wider track, growing by 13mm at the rear and 36mm at the front.

The wider track will improve driving dynamics, but the new Civic also gains new high-strength steel and aluminium components, while torsional and bending rigidity have been improved by eight and 13 per cent respectively.

In America, where today's big reveal was focused, the Civic will get familiar 118kW/187Nm 2.0-litre and 134kW/240Nm 1.5-litre engines, the former being a naturally-aspirated unit and the latter benefiting from turbocharging.

Power is again sent to the front wheels through a CVT automatic transmission, which Honda claims will offer buyers a more conventional geared feeling – including a 'downshift' feel when slowing and braking.

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Will the 2022 Honda Civic Sedan come to Australia?

As previously reported by WhichCar, Australia won’t be seeing the four-door Civic, with the Japanese automaker confirming it has no plans to deliver it locally.

For the Aussie market, Honda will the five-door hatch variant of the 11th-generation Civic, as it believes this model strikes a better chord with local consumers.

The sedan will be built in a number of locations across the globe, including Ontario, Canada; and China, the latter of which is where it will be jointly built by Honda and Chinese automaker Dongfeng.

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Meanwhile, the Civic hatch will, for the first time, be built at the automaker’s Indiana factory in America, taking over the role of Britain’s Swindon plant which is due to permanently shut later this year.

The hatch will also be constructed in Honda’s Thailand factory, which will likely produce the regular variants of Australia-bound Civics, while the eagerly anticipated Type R will be made in Indiana.

Details about the Civic hatch remain scarce, but an official unveiling is rumoured to be mere months behind the sedan’s release, with a local launch likely to happen early in 2022.

Watch this space as WhichCar brings you all the latest updates on the 2022 Honda Civic.