Honda's 2016 Civic could be the car of the future

Honda recently unveiled its newest 2016 Honda Civic sedan in a Los Angeles event and will sell in the U.S. this fall. Sooner or later it will be followed by coupe and five-door hatchback body styles, adding sporty Si and Type-R models with the latter's first appearance in U.S. showrooms, as reported by Digital Trends.

Civic's production maintains quite a few of the styling cues from the Civic concept that was showcased at the 2015 New York Auto Show, giving it a more stylish appearance than the current model.

A massive grill at the front resembles the ones added to the recently-refreshed CR-V and Accord with the cabin shifted backwards for a more dramatic, long-hooded silhouette.

The sculpted sides and bulging wheel arches add a more muscular appearance to Civic than one would normally expect from an economy car. It has standard LED daytime running lights and C-shaped taillights adding more style.

Aside from the restyled body and new powertrains, the 2016 Civic gets a tech upgrade too. It shall be offered with a Display Audio system and 7-inch touchscreen similar to the one that debuted in the 2016 Accord. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be available as well.

The new Honda Civic will likewise be offered with the Honda Sensing suite of electronic safety systems, such as Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation, and Adaptive Cruise Control with low speed follow. This is a first from Honda where the top-end models will also receive a full color- instrument panel display.

The Japanese car maker will offer Civic in five models namely; sedan, coupe, Si, 5-door hatch and a high-performance Type-R. It will be powered by two new power plants: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder mated to either a 6-speed manual or continuously variable transmission (CVT), or a 1.5-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder that is bolted to a "unique CVT."

Honda didn't provide yet power or efficiency figures but did stress that the new turbo engine is going to be most powerful non-Si Civic in the U.S. to date.

Clearly, Honda is making a play with this new Civic to build off its long-established baseline of accessibility and reliability. The addition of necessary tech and sportiness rolled into one creates a well-established and well-loved model.