2022 Honda Civic Prototype Looks Like A Mini Accord, Previews Next Year’s Compact Range

This is the 2022 Honda Civic Prototype, and while it is billed as a prototype, it provides us with a good idea (think 99%) of what the production-spec model will look like.

In creating the 11th-generation Civic, Honda has given the sedan a low and wide stance with a more sophisticated and upmarket design than the outgoing model. Honda says it previews the all-new Civic that will first launch in America during the spring of 2021, first in Sedan guise and then followed up by the Civic Hatchback, Civic Si and Civic Type R.

The Japanese carmaker’s designers started with the low overall height and low hip point of the 10th-generation model and applied a new “thin and light” design ethos that includes a low hood and front fenders, as well as a low horizontal beltline. Up front, there is a new upright grille and distinctive headlights. Other key design elements include a sharp horizontal shoulder and a rear end with a wider track and new taillights. The prototype is also wearing a new color dubbed Solar Flare Pearl.

While Honda has yet to show us images of the 2022 Civic Prototype’s interior, it has released a sketch of the cabin. It reveals a more minimalist and stylish design than the current car and includes a 9-inch infotainment system, a digital gauge cluster and a honeycomb mesh accent stretching the width of the dashboard and concealing the air vents.

Looking beyond the design, Honda says the new Civic will introduce multiple new active and passive safety systems, such as an upgraded suite of Honda Sensing safety and driver-assistive technologies, while also including new airbag designs. It also features a new version of Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure that improves occupant and pedestrian collision protection.

Honda has confirmed that the 2022 Civic will be manufactured in North America, with the Hatchback to be built at the company’s Greensburg, Indiana plant.