Honda Civic 2012 GCC-spec sedan in the UAE
We’d heard rumblings that Honda had a batch of 2012 Honda Civic sedans shipped to the UAE, but backed off from properly launching the new model due to the supply shortage after the Japanese earthquake. These cars apparently went on sale quietly, and one of our readers snagged these photos of the Civic at one of Honda’s dealerships in Dubai.
Our reader Syed Hussain sent in these photos, and this is our first look at the GCC-spec 2012 Honda Civic, and some differences from the U.S. version are instantly obvious. For one, our version gets a plain bumper and clear indicator lamps, as opposed to the American-built version that gets orange corner markers and extra bumper vents, as shown below. The plain bumper is apparently available on the economy-minded Civic HF model in the States.
Out back, our version gets extra clear “lamps” on the boot lid, unlike the plain boot lid of the U.S. version. The new model gets a moderately-redesigned interior too.
Mechanical changes are limited, so don’t expect a big change in performance. Prices now range from Dhs 75,000 to Dhs 90,000.
Keep track of updates in the Honda Civic buyer guide.
Update: Another reader, Aaron Yesudasan, sent in these images from the Honda dealership in Dubai. This is our clearest look yet at the secretive new Honda Civic that is already in showrooms.
Comments
Azuz
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I wil Still go for the Current Civic…..
vivek
for 75000 i would rather go for the Lancer GT..
Samer
this is the most stupid and most overpriced car I have ever seen in my life, it looks like a honda city but after 3 months in Gym with some megamass useage, I started to doubt that japanese designers are amonge those lost in the earthquake? the older model looks better, but even the older model was stupidly overpriced, who would pay 80-90 K for a car this size? and for what?
Musa
Actually plenty of people were buying the Civic for 75k
When Holda were offering the Accord starting at 80k, the Civic at 75k simply didnt make any sense at all
ROJ
& a VW passat is selling for 70K with a service interval every 15K kms for 500 bucks.. Hence costing cheaper than both cars in all ways..
Rahul Jones
Sad. The old one looks better. This looks more like a city not feeling to call it a civic.
ivan
The GCC spec also have projector lens headlights, possibly featuring HIDs 🙂
^ Yeah I agree with that, it looks a lot like city. What’s happening to japanese carmakers these days. Sigh 🙁
Stream
Now thats what i can called real civic
finally they redesign the rear and front side,
oh yeah this is very nice design compared with old ugly style look…..!
Rahul Jones
So, they got one customer for the new one. 🙂
ivan
HAHA! lol @ Rahul, you got me there 😀
arj
luks like a 2002 camry frm de rear…frnt end luks like new city …
Abdullah
When has Honda ever built a nice looking car?
Aditya
Well they have, the accord coupe ! Cant argue with that, its a pretty handsome thing.
Abdullah
Well, not that beautiful, and the interior is a horrible place dude.
amre
i will go for optima or sonata with this price tooooo over priced
royer
Oh no…
ronnie
Mash,based on pricing alone can you please do a comparo on the price hike that mainstream models have had in recent years.For Example a full option Jazz in 2007 was around 45-47 k in 2009 it went for 72 k .A full option corolla 2006 with everthing was 65 k and today its close to 90 k.
Inspite of all the yen /dollar thingy .Mitsubishi ,Subaru,Mazda and to an extent Suzuki have been very reasonable in their pricing while the the big 3 seem to be doing whatever they feel like.At this juncture I believe the Korean and americans have been very reasonable too .The purpose is to educate readers about their choices and why they should just buy what is most apt for them.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
I’d say people can judge for themselves, if they bother researching cars online in the first place. Can’t help the ignorant ones.
Bjorn
A New Basic Kia Cadenza or a full option Kia Optima would make more sense to me price wise and not to mention they would turn more heads than this new junk.
When u cross the front of a Honda City to the back of the previous generation Camry, this is what you get. Way to go Honda.
Aditya
I see the hyundai and ford teams organizing huge parties !! Business is gonna be good for them 😉
Aditya
Hey Mash! Why dont you have updates on the New Hyundai Azera/Grandeur. I saw one today on the roads in Abu Dhabi. Fantastic looking thing. Im gonna check out the showrooms soon.
Fuad
I’m thinking for a new Slogan for Honda.
i.e.”Honda!! Moving Backward”
weswes
Honda is now getting out of the crowd with higher price comparing other Japanese brothers like Nissan and Toyota as you can buy bigger size from Nissan which is Altime with 2.5 Engine or Camry 2.4 which both more safe and remain in Mid-Size Sedan not the small one .which seems more reasonable , which I would like to go for , as bigger engine is better for high way and more stable on high speed and side wind , and also keep better resale value later than the smaller size , and bigger engine can life more thousands KMs before it give up , but after all Honda has it fans and maybe now they are going to compete with German and not look back to Nissan or Toyota and they have right somehow and Honda has more refined cars than Korean and other Japanese cars , for example there is way difference between Sunny and Civic , specially on the turns ,Honda having reliable cars , which give peace of mind ,no German or anyone else can give , I believe Honda have all the right to fly away from other birds.
ROJ
By moving backwards?
vivek
@weswes: Hi time you update yourself my friend!
evilalive002
WOW…wat a boring car….this looks older than the model its replacing….
wats wrong wit Japanese car makers?
and am surprised that out off all the above comment, one person actually liked this new car and doesn like the current one…
Zaheer Abbas
It is looking like hybrid of Honda City and VW New Jetta…
Rhymes
very bad model :S
prado
boring + stupid price = only die buyers will come
Posion
Civic is a reliable car, but Honda better put some extra effort in the designing department or else the Koreans will eat them alive, for God sake a Kia Optima looks better than that!!!
Samer
In fact KIA Optima is not looking better than this, but it is one of the best looking cars I have ever seen
farrukh
Well disgusting model !! previous shape was much better and was sportier looks. Price quoted is “FIRE” i will never ever think to buy such a dull model with such a GIANT price. I visited Honda showroom cuople of months before and literally jumped out of showroom after looking the prices. Better to go for Mazda 3 which is full option for 62000.
Rahul Jones
Today I saw the New Hyundai Elantra and the design is awesome. The design make that car look bigger from the back.
John Heart
I drive CIVIC 2009 model and I love it! Even the privce was bit high that time, I just loved to buy a CIVIC in terms of sporty look, economy and a decent sedan in the segment…But looking at picture a model change after 5-6 years seems like Honda engineers lost their track where other brands especially Kias, Hyundai, much ahead with their designs. As here a expatriate country we all will leave this toys behind, should think about spending 10-20k more for getting 2-3k more on resale numbers…
KJK
Spend 10-20k to get 2-3k more on the resale? Well that makes no sense whatsoever sherlock.
weswes
Actually when we see the old model which came out about 5 years ago ,that time was looking great as if it was a car from the future, I thought the new civic will be something amazing from year 2050 ….but its so disappointing .
Abdul
It’s unfair to compare a Civic with Altima or Camry. If price is the only concern then Fusion at 68 ks is a bargain. I own an American car designed in Europe, not sold in North America, and I couldn’t agree more that Japanese cars are reliable than German or American cars. Japanese are the best when it comes to long term reliability. Will go for a 2011 model, if I get a good offer.
Musa
People are comparing because Altima is 72-74 and the Civic starts around that price as well despite being inferior in everything.
sagorpare
i own a mondeo now…also drove accord, civic & mazda from years….i cant compare Japanese cars with Americans anymore…Japanese are history….Koreans are much better…
noside
Currently using 2009 civic, planning to upgrade to a newer model of civic but when I’ve seen this images. The front looks very ugly and the rear looks like old camry, I dont know from where they got this idea.. Kia Optima is completely better than this 2012 Civic.
marwan
I can’t believe how Honda made all these mistakes at once: a-replaced aclass leading successful car with an ugly one b-No significant improvement in the equipments or power c-Competitors gona eat this car alive. I hope the upcoming CRV will not be as disappointing.
mohd
I’m driving a civic 2007 model, currently cloaking 175K. I should say that the car was very reliable, no major issues except from routine maint. (a bit more expensive than other jap models). Expected a bit more innvoation from Honda folks for model yr 2012…was thinkin’ of buying the new model, but now I look for options.
Juned
Yukkkk
Why not buy a city rather than this?
You save money and you expect what you pay for.
E-Mad
Why are Japanese cars becoming worse in design every passing year while becoming increasingly expensive.The “new” honda civic and the “new” camry for instance are just pathetic. eewww they make me feel nauseated. All the other car makers seem to be going on the right directions, even the so called underdogs like hyundai & kia seem to be faring better by leaps and bounds. My friend own a honda civic 2010 pratcially brand new with just 6000 kms on it and i own a mazda 6 2007 with 44 000 kms on it. We both had to drive to work to dubai so we decided to use our cars on alternate days for a period of four months. And believe me i found the ride of the civic horrid, i usually used to do the driving up and down and everytime i drove the civic i just wanted to puke. Extremely rough ride, crap power,extreme wind noise, crap stereo system with only two speakers even though his model was a limited model and more importantly extremely jittery brakes. I would never in my right mind get a civic, its just pathetic in every sense and now it looks crap too :). my mazda 6 on the other hand was considerably much smoother and more stable while giving me heaps more space and comfort level with even the base audio system being just amazingly loud and beautiful and with lesser wind noise and better brakes.
Raj
HI All,
Can you help me to finalize the new car actually I have gone through two cars New Honda civic and New Nissan altima which car is better in resale and future value obviously in looks Altima is far better , and one more question if i wanna spend this much OK. Around 80k on Civic is there any other sedan or suv in this range in uae which has good resale value , because we expats need that also reply soon because this week i gonna finalize any one.
Mabini Jo
Raj buy the Altima for your sake. It has resale value as well. and much faster than this ugly old engined Civic