The country’s best-selling C-segment sedan is back from its sabbatical with a vengeance to carry out its civic duty of putting the competition in its place. Honda Malaysia revealed the facelifted Civic FC with plenty of new kit; including active safety tech, since bookings were opened in September 2019.

Such was the Civic’s dominance that it took a 72 per cent market share for last year in its segment and accounts for over 48,000 units since its launch four years ago.

Once again, the variant line-up remains unchanged. There’s the flagship 1.5 TC-P with a mid-range 1.5 TC sandwiched between that and the entry-level trim sporting the 1.8-litre natural-aspirated mill.

Cosmetically, there’s nothing much to go on about. They’ve ditched the chrome wing on the front grille and fortunately gave it the blacked-out treatment (1.5 TC-P only) to reduce some garishness on the front while the rear receives a redesigned bumper garnish and a new boot spoiler (also 1.5 TC-P only). Lastly, one for the ricers; the1.5 TC-P arches are filled with a set of new 18-inch wheels.

Don’t expect anything under the hood to change though. There’ll be absolutely no revisions to the powerplants. Hence, the L15B7 1.5-litre VTEC turbo four-cylinder petrol engine soldiers on as the most powerful in its class with 171hp and 220Nm of torque. As for the 1.8-litre single-cam, it makes do with 139hp and 174Nm of torque. You’ll still find the Earth Dreams CVT driving the front wheels.

Here’s where things pick up a little; the equipment count. The real party trick will be the Honda Sensing suite of active safety and driver assistance systems. Following the CR-V and Accord, the refreshed Civic is now the third locally-assembled Honda to roll out of its Malacca plant with the features. The Odyssey is kitted with Honda Sensing as well but is a fully-imported model.

What does the suite constitute though? Well, making it whole are Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow that leads to Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning and Auto High-Beam. Instead of the more commonplace blind spot monitor, Honda Malaysia has incorporated the Honda LaneWatch camera for the left wide of the vehicle.

However, Honda Sensing is only reserved for the top-notch 1.5 TC-P. You will get Honda LaneWatch with the mid-spec 1.5 TC. Standard safety kit is pretty comprehensive though and includes six airbags, the usual array of electronic nannies, multiangle reverse camera and front parking sensors.

Some kit has been standardised across the range now. Remote engine start can be had with all, as does the eight-way powered driver’s seat. Entertainment includes the 7.0-inch display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

Now we come to pricing. With all that added kit, a little increase is to be expected. Of course, the pricing here is on-the-road but without insurance:
Honda Civic 1.8 S – RM113,600
Honda Civic 1.5 TC – RM129,600
Honda Civic 1.5 TC-P – RM139,600