The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact

The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact

Honda just unveiled the 2022 Civic Prototype, a preview of a totally new design aimed at hooking younger buyers. We got a close look at the redesign, and spoke to Honda representatives about the automaker's goals and inspirations for the eleventh-gen Civic. The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact

The current, tenth-generation Civic is the second-best selling car in America, behind only the Toyota Camry. Honda touts the outgoing Civic’s popularity with Millennials and Gen Z, specifically citing the angular design as one of the car's top selling points. Young buyers prefer the Civic’s unique styling over the competition, Honda spokesperson Carl Pulley told Road & Track. The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact

The sharp edges of the previous generation have been smoothed over for the 2022 Civic, with fantastic results. At the front, the new Civic takes clear inspiration from the Accord, and all the fake, blocked-off vents of the outgoing model are gone. Instead, Honda fit functional brake ducts with black gloss trim that bracket the lower intake. The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact

Honda lowered the hood one inch and pushed the A-pillar back two inches, changes that senior product planner Dave Calhoun told us give the Civic a sleeker look overall. A-pillar size is reduced, and the mirrors have been moved from the pillars to the doors, improving sightlines. You don't often see door-mounted mirrors on modern production cars, and while purposeful, these mirrors also provide a nod back to the first-gen Civic.

Knowing the dramatic styling of the previous Civic was a big selling point, it’s somewhat curious that Honda toned it down for the latest iteration. According to Pulley, the 2022 Civic is meant to embody the evolving tastes of those Millennials and Gen Z-ers who so loved the angular tenth-generation. "As our buyers have matured, the design of the eleventh-generation Civic has also matured," Pulley says. Sort of like when your formerly rebellious nephew finally gets a decent internship and actually cleans up nicely.

That maturity is reflected in the rear, which now has far less plastic cladding. Body-color details, including a trim piece between the dual exhausts, give the Civic the look of a much more expensive car. With the previous generation, the spoiler was a separate piece, but the new Civic sports a nicely integrated decklid spoiler on the trunk.

And according to Calhoun, this does indeed aid aerodynamics—it’s not just design fluff. From certain angles, the rear looks German—so much so, if someone had shown me this 2022 Civic from behind without badges, I would have assumed it was a Volkswagen Group product. That’s not a bad thing.

So The 2022 Honda Civic Prototype Previews an Ultra-Sleek Compact