Civic Turbo review is out @ Paultan
I've long suspected that the engine would behave in a similar fashion. It's fast, but not THAT fast.

A very good article. Better than the Paultan version.

So yea although the upcoming Civic is a much better deal than the current model, its still lags behind the Mazda 3 in terms of overall driving dynamics and value for money.

And yes many ppl still don't realise that the Civic Turbo is actually a single-scroll soft turbo. Many ppl are expecting it to be like the VW Golf or BMW type turbo. You are going to be very disappointed especially since the Civic Turbo comes with a significant turbo lag.

And if you want an idea of how a turbo feels like when paired to a CVT transmission, check out the Audi A4. Even though it has 320Nm torque, the turbo 'kick' is not really there because of the limitation of the CVT.

I really don't know why Honda bothers to equip the new Civic with the CVT. CVT is only for those who want a comfortable, linear pick up with good fuel economy. Those who buy Civics are a different breed from those who buy City's. The CVT is a noisy transmission when pushed hard. Spoils the whole driving experience.

if just a small family, y does interior space an issue? Ok for a young bachelor professional that can afford c-seg, are they going to worry about space issue?

this is one thing that i am furious about Malaysian cars - interiors are always blackish! Even the new Mazdas came into the local market with black interiors, when we can only drool from here seeing the international market getting black + white combo for their interiors

It's also part of the reason why FD2's interior felt so upmarket with its dark blue + white theme. Compared with 9th gen Civic 2.0, FB2 looks like shiett!

Agreed 100%. The Honda Red makes the car look too feminine. Pinkish under certain light. But many ladies (my wife included) dislike the Honda red. Very different to the Mazda Soul Red.

Toyota needs much more than a new chassis to keep up with Honda now. They lost the B segment to the City, the SUV segment to the CRV & HRV and now they will lose the C segment to the Civic. That's a huge whack on all 3 fronts.

Honda has set a new benchmark for the C segment with this new Civic. Very rarely do we get a car that offers a great design, a spacious interior and top notch specs for a reasonable price. You normally get 2 or maybe 3 factors but not all 4.

Well done Honda!