Friday, March 27, 1992 - North Shore News -— 43 RSS Ee ¥e. Bost NEWS photos Mike Waketietd Honda Civic Hatchback the downwards, making a full hat- chback design impossible. That brings me to the new styl- SINCE ITS Canadian in- troduction in 1973, the Honda Civic has been pop- ular for its peppy perfor- mance, high-revving engine, agility, manouevreability and ex- cellent fuel efficiency. Despite some rust problems in the early models, the Civic has gained a reputa- tion for reliability and has an excellent resale value. Honda sold more than 50,000 last year, making it the second- best-selling car in the country, next to the Chevrolet Cavalier. The 1992 Civic Hatchback, many of which are assembled in Alliston, Ontario, are fifth gener- ation models and offer a number of noteworthy improvements. Civic Hatchbacks have grown about seven centimetres (three in- ches) in length, creating more i terior room for passengers. Though the new Civic looks small on the outside, the interior is quite roomy for a small car. The Civic will seat four adults comfortably, five in a squeeze, and has a 13 cubic feet trunk that can be enlarged by folding down the split rear seats. A new split hatchback design, incorporating a lift-up rear win- dow and a pull-down mini- tailgate, replaces the one-piece hatchback of previous models. Critics have given the new hatch mixed reviews, and personally, 1 don’t think the new design is as convenient as the old one. First, it requires (wo separate actions: pull up the glass, and pull down the tailgate. And there’s no handle on the glass hatch, so it’s tempting to pull up on the rear mounted wiper mechanism. Secondly, the tailgate doesn’t lie flush with the loading floor, making it more awkward to load cargo. I also found that the privacy cover is awkward because it does not lift up automatically with the glass hatch. You have to hold the grocery bag in one hand, lift up the hinged cover with the other, and try to stuff the bag into a narrow opening. Apparently, the new tailgate design was necessary because of the new body styling. To improve aerodynamics, the rear side win- dows curve inwards towards the ‘data: Price as tested: $11,795 Type: two-door, passenger, hatchback Layout: transverse front engine/front wheel drive Engine: 1,493 cc four-cylinder, SOHC, 16-valves, electronic five- tail and roof curves ing. While the °92 Civic Hat- chback is attractive, the design makes some concessions 10 aero- dynamics to improve fuel effici cy and reduce wind noise. The result is a jeliybean design that’s not quite as eye-pleasing as the former model. There’s good news on the technical side. The base 70- horsepower model! has been drop- ped, and both the CX and DX models get the 102-horsepower SOHC 1t6-vaive four-cylinder engine with multi-point feet injec- tion (replacing dual-poini fuel in- jection). That’s a big imprevemer in horsepower, particularly for the base CX model. The sporty Si Hatchback is of- fered with a 125-horsepower 1.6- litre four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing, a substantial 17 horsepower more than the 1991 model. Even though horsepower has multi-point fuel injection Horsepower: 102 @ 5,900 rpm Torque: 98 ib-ft @ 5,000 rpm Transmission: five-speed man- ual (four-speed automatic) Curb weight: 995 kg/2,194 Ibs Vices: P175/70 R-13 all-season radials Cargo space: cu.ft. (seat up) 377 litres/13.3 been increased across the board, fuel efficiency has beer: improved substantially. This week’s test car, a DX with five-speed manual _ transmission, sips 6.9 litres of “gasoline per 100 kilometres (41 See Restyled page 45 Greg Wilson Fuel ecenomy: City 6.9 1/100 km, <. mpg; Hwy 5.2 1/100 km, 5+ mpg Warranty: Basic three yrs/ 60,000 km; Major components five years/ 100,000 km Check out the Civic Hatchback at Pacific Honda, 725 Marine Dr., North Vancouver.