Reality Check: Honda Targeting Audi TT With New Civic - Do They Even Have A Chance?

Wow. So the Japanese can't even build the frigging Civic on their OWN anymore???

This really says a lot about the Japanese engineering. Clearly the Japanese engineering is dead. No wonder the American and the European engineering is considered the best in the automotive field.

I don't understand those deboosters. I mean really? Did I say anything wrong here? I merely stated something that is obviously the truth.

I mean, Japanese can't even build GT-R and NSX on their own anymore, and now Civic as well. Not to mention, the new Toyota Supra, which NEEDS help from BMW.

Without a doubt, the U.S. and Europe have far superior technologies. I'm sorry, Japan, just saying. I mean, I'm sure Japan knows, too, anyway.

I mean, -10? Really guys? What's so hard for you guys to understand?

Probably a lot of skilled engineers moved out of Japan due to radiation from Fukushima, earthquakes, flood, volcano and all that stuff that Japan has.

Which only explains why the annual income of the Japanese people keeps dropping every year, and also the GDP of Japan is now going down like crazy as well. Don't believe me? Google Japan GDP in the past 5 years, and Japan's annual income. Japan is the only developed country in the world that is becoming a third world country pretty rapidly.

Seriously, Japan really needs to do something about their corruption and radiation.

By the way, guys. S&P recently lowered Japan's credit rating.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/s-p-lowers-japan-credit-rating-1.2565513

"S&P said Japan is unlikely to experience an economic recovery strong enough in the next few years to restore its sovereign credit rating to earlier levels

Average income has declined to $36,000 from $47,000 between 2011 and 2014 which reflects the falling value of the yen versus the dollar and weak economic growth.

Japan's government debt relative to the size of its economy is among the highest for developed countries."


As you can see, I would hate to live in Japan. My Japanese girlfriend does not wish to go back to Japan as well.

Hmmm...so while the TT is a nice vehicle, I'm not so sure it should be the Civic's target, from a sales perspective, the TT has never been anything to brag about as that honor goes to the SLK.

From a driving perspective it has always lived in the Z4's shadow....

To each is own though, carry on Honda

I don't see the resemblance, or the connection.

Clickbait headline. Civic's target hasn't changed but boy does it seem to be an improvement over previous generations. Hopefully the interior is likewise improved.

Audi TT was made to compete w/ Honda Civic SI

is everyone on drugs here ? how do you put these two products together. Look at the DESIGN of the TT ? It is a stunning car and always has been. The detailing is impeccable ! always has been. It's iconic already, Any Honda changes its looks so often there is no pedigree at all. And the handling and tightness of the TT is miles ahead. Who comes up with these comparisons ? I had a TT and loved it over and over.

Honda is a good engineering firm and they have t in them to design a platform to take on Audi. It remains to be seen how good the chassis and suspension are. It sounds like he Civic will be as quiet as it's larger Acura division sedans and have at least the suspension to match in ride and handling. Regarding the Audi TT, I assume the Civic EX Coupe will have a larger 2.0 turbo engine tuned to match the base TT nd the Type R model will go against the TTS. We will have to wait and see.

If Honda makes the new Civic drive like the new TT, then they'll have a definitive winner and leader on their hands, without question. It doesn't necessarily need to be as quick, but if it is, then it'll sell like hotcakes. Design-wise, that's where the Civic may suffer, where the concept for the coupe looks only okay especially considering what appears to be the desired driving dynamics.

Sometimes I wonder if people actually click to read the actual articles around here. Where in the hell does anyone say Honda is targeting the Audi TT???? All this says is that Honda studied a wide group of products in the segment (INCLUDING certain German cars)for driving dynamics. In fact, the only Audi mentioned in the article was the A3. News flash. Automakers do study benchmarks of all types all the time. It doesn't mean that the Civic is meant to steal sales from the TT or any other premium car.

So ironic you question others' reading abilities when you need to question your own.

From the paragraph immediately following where the A3 is mentioned:

"The development team wanted the Civic’s sedan’s hip point at the same level as the Audi TT sport coupe’s, which involved lowering the Honda’s floor, instrument panel and engine, and re-engineering the suspension."

Now, I agree that this does not mean necessarily that Honda is "targeting" the TT as the headline suggests, but merely pointing out that the TT was mentioned.

Yes - this is common practice on this site. However - the Civic has a lot of advantages over the Audi in this case - It will be lower priced and have better content for the price - it is far more reliable - probably has better interior dynamic and room - and really looks good. As Audi continues with the same bland styling - its sales in the USA are still quite low - it does not compete at the top premium end here. That is not to say that VW cannot address the price difference - but when they are trying to make Audi a premium brand - they cannot go too far and compete with VW.

cidflekken. Point taken on the TT mention. I missed it. But still, the agent took a single reference and ran all the way away with it. Completely misrepresents the article.

222max, as they say, sensationalism sells newspapers! Cheers, buddy!

Looks to do very well even in this SUV market. If production can keep up, will take market share from all major competitors, except maybe Subaru. Wonder if Honda will be able to maintain the Civics extraordinary value pricing.

I love Agent009's headlines.

Its always better to aim high even if you don't hit your target. By lowering the hip point to TT specs, Honda lowers the Civics center of gravity that usually results in flatter cornering and better handling
for all models. No it does not have the simple German crisp styling but it is a great improvement over the previous Civic. Further it should have one of the largest interiors in the class along with very good quality plastics perhaps to rival VW. The engines even in base form seem promising as well. And we are not even talking about the EX version. The base 2.0 engine is nearly making 160 HP and the 1.5 turbo making over 170 HP. This puts Honda on par with VW for it's engine outputs. The EX, I would assume will most likely have a 2.0 turbo putting well over 200 HP. It will be interesting when a big comparison is done how these Civics stack up.

The EX thru Touring models get the 1.5 turbo with 174hp...hopefully the Si will get a detuned version of the type-R 2.0 turbo...the R gets a bit over 300hp. So hopefully Si will get in between 200-300hp...my guesstimate would be around 220-230hp...The Si has been getting around 200hp for a while now...it needs a bump to match the competition.

And again this is not a TT competitor, but Honda mentioning it has the same H-point is commendable for an economy sedan platform, especially since everyone is trying to go higher and be like a CUV. The Audi A3 however was benchmarked, as it should, don't forget this will be the basis for the rest of the world Civic and Accord - including the Euro Civic. It better have great refinement or else it's going to be in trouble...

Correction:

LX and EX trims will get the base engine. Everything else above sans the Si and type-R will get the 1.5t

Honda is now clearly showing the Acura influence with the 'Joker' front end.
Acura did not do well with the Joker look, so why is Hondayrecycling it into the Civic?