MOTOR RIVALS

The all-new Chevrolet Cruze is larger, lighter, more efficient and more sophisticated than the brand's previous best-selling global car. The Cruze elevates the compact car segment with new technologies, active safety features, more spacious interior and an athletic, aerodynamically optimized design. The sleek profile is complemented by detailed, layered line work in the hood and body-side panels, contributing to an overall impression of muscularity - with an athletic stance enhanced by a longer wheelbase. The headlamps sweep back into the front fenders and an expressive, stacked dual-port grille design offers upscale attention to detail. Beyond the quantifiable, there's greater perceptual spaciousness in the new Cruze, driven by flowing line work in the instrument panel, which blends almost seamlessly with the front door panels. Like the exterior, the Cruze's interior - and the instrument panel in particular - feature lean, muscular and layered surfaces built around the Chevrolet-signature dual-cockpit theme.

Powertrain

• All-new, standard 1.4L turbocharged engine - 153 horsepower (113 kW) and 177 lb-ft of torque (240 Nm)
• Standard six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.
• GM-estimated 40 mpg on the highway with automatic transmission.
• Stop/start technology - automatically shuts down the engine when the car comes to a stop under certain driving conditions, such as a stoplight. The engine automatically restarts when the driver takes his or her foot off the brake.
• Expected 0-60 mph: 8 seconds
• Maximum highway range of 530 miles per tank
• In 2017, a new diesel model will be introduced

Chassis

• 0.29 coefficient of drag
• 2.7 inches (68 mm) longer and nearly an inch (25 mm) shorter in height than the current model
• All-new, stronger and lighter body structure - approximately 250-pound (113 kg) lower curb weight than the current model
• MacPherson strut front suspension design with specially tuned bushings and geometry
• Torsion beam rear axle on L, LS and LT models
• Enhanced Z-link design on Premier
• Rack-mounted electric power steering is standard on all models
• Four-wheel disc brakes with Duralife longer-life rotors are standard on all models
• StabiliTrak electronic stability control, with traction control, rollover mitigation and anti-lock brakes, is standard
• Wheel sizes ranging from 15 to 18 inches.
• Class-leading 106.3-inch (2,700 mm) wheelbase enhances roominess, contributing to greater rear-seat legroom and more rear knee room

Technology

• Chevrolet MyLink with smartphone integration capability - provides simple and intuitive use of smartphones in the vehicle. It integrates certain phone functions onto the Cruze's seven-inch-diagonal color touchscreen, allowing them to call up music, navigation apps and more. An uplevel MyLink radio with an eight-inch display and navigation is available and also incorporates Apple CarPlay.
• Standard seven-inch-diagonal screen and available eight-inch-diagonal screen
• Eight-inch screen only with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto coming later
• Rearview camera
• Available features - wireless phone charging, heated rear leather seats and heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel
• 4.2-inch-diagonal high-resolution driver information center in the gauge cluster
• Premium features including heated front cloth seats, heated rear leather-trimmed seats, and heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel.
• Android Auto is built around Google Maps, Google Now and the ability to talk to Google, as well as a growing audio and messaging app ecosystem that includes WhatsApp, Skype, Google Play Music, Spotify and podcast players.
• Available OnStar with 4G LTE and built-in Wi-Fi hotspot

Safety

• New, stronger body structure - incorporates high-strength steel
• 10 standard air bags, including frontal driver and passenger air bags, roof rail-mounted head curtain side air bags that help protect the front and outboard rear seating positions; seat-mounted side-impact air bags (front and rear); and front knee air bags
• Available safety features include an expanded range of crash-avoidance technologies, including Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Keep Assist and Forward Collision Alert.
• Front passenger seat occupant sensing system and rollover sensing and protection system
• Collapsible pedal assembly to help protect against lower-extremity injuries
• Three-point safety belts in all five seating positions, safety belt retractor pretensioners and lap pretensioners in the driver and front-passenger positions, and safety belt load limiters (with pretensioners) in the front safety belt retractors
• LATCH child seat latching system in the rear seat
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• Daytime running lamps
• Automatic headlamps.

Virtually everything about the 2016 Civic Sedan is new – an all-new vehicle architecture, sporty and sophisticated new interior and exterior styling, a more spacious and high-quality cabin, two advanced new engines, and a host of new premium features and technologies. The creation of this new 10th-generation Civic represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious new-model developments ever undertaken by Honda. The result of these efforts is a completely reimagined and reinvented new Civic, the sportiest Civic ever, and a new benchmark in the compact class in terms of spaciousness, fuel efficiency, safety features, interior quality and dynamic performance. The taut and tidy overall proportions of the new Civic Sedan are complimented and accentuated by its design details, including its sleek, swept-back bodylines, its sharp and aggressive face, and its bulging wheel arches. The 2016 Civic Sedan's new powertrains and sophisticated chassis design are underpinned by its entirely new body construction, where engineers went deeper in the study of dynamic body rigidity to realize an ultra-rigid platform architecture that serves as the foundation for its more sophisticated chassis design, its class-leading collision performance, and its powerful and fuel-efficient powertrains.

Powertrain

• Two all-new engines
• Civic Sedans in LX and EX trim: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine - 158 hp at 6,500 rpm and 138 lb-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm
• Civic Sedans in EX-T, EX-L and Touring trim: turbocharged 1.5-liter DOHC, direct-injected and inline 4-cylinder engine - 174 hp at 5,500 rpm and peak torque of 162 lb-ft. from 1,800 to 5,500 rpm
• Continuously variable transmission (CVT) with Honda G-Design shift control or 6-speed manual transmission.
• EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings of 31/41/35 mpg (city/highway/combined) for the 2.0-liter engine with CVT and 31/42/35 mpg for the 1.5-liter turbo with CVT

Chassis

• Ultra-rigid body with 59-percent application of high-strength steel and 14-percent application of ultra-high-strength steel
• 68-pound reduction in unibody weight versus the previous Civic Sedan
• Fully independent suspension includes an all-new multi-link rear design that rigidly mounted to the rear subframe for a high degree of lateral stability.
• Dual-pinion electric power steering with variable gear ratio - 2.2 turns lock-to-lock with variable gear ratio steering
• Agile Handling Assist - using the VSA system to apply the brake of the front inside wheel at the entry to a corner, improving cornering attitude, stability and precision.
• Electronic parking brake
• Standard four-channel anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)

Technology

• 7-inch Display Audio touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay® compatibility - integration of smartphone features and functions, including app-based navigation, streaming audio, voice-controlled search capabilities, and access to a host of Apple- or Google-approved smartphone apps.
• Remote Engine start
• Electronic parking brake
• Walk Away Door Locking
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Adjustable driver's-seat thigh support with 14 degrees of tilt
• Heated front seat backs
• Heated rear seat cushions
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Display Audio with Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto

Safety

• Front, side and side curtain airbag technology, including a driver's front airbag with new spiral stitching for an improved deployment profile
• SmartVent® technology for the driver and front passenger side airbags
• Front passenger airbag with safety vent technology - can mitigate the possibility of injury from airbag deployment when the passenger is "out of position."
• Targets the highest available crash protection ratings – a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score in the NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), with top ratings in all test modes; and a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with a score of GOOD in all test modes.
• Available Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technology includes:
    o Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
    o Lane Departure Warning (LDW) integrated with RDM
    o Forward Collision Warning (FCW) integrated with CMBS
    o Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low Speed Follow
    o Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS)
    o Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
   o All Civics also come equipped with a Multi-Angle Rearview Camera and Expanded View Driver's Mirror.