Honda has "leaked" some details, along with the pictures above, of the new Civic Tourer ahead of its official debut at the Frankfurt motor show, now less than a month away.
The new station wagon, it says, was developed and designed in Europe, to combine a fashionably sleek profile with a cavernous 624-litre cargo bay - and that's with the seats up.
It will be offered with either a 1.6-litre i-DTEC turbodiesel or a 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, driving through a choice of manual or automatic transmission, while a new three-mode (C0mfort, Normal and Dynamic) adaptive damper system will help to enhance stability and comfort under varying load and driving conditions.
The Civic Tourer will be built at Honda's UK plant in Swindon; it will be released in Europe from early in 2014 and is scheduled for SA launch late in the first quarter of the year.
STRONG GLASSLINE
The Civic wagon is defined by a strong line that runs continuously from the A pillar to the D pillar to create the impression of a floating roof line. The glass of the rear quarter window has been extended to cover the D-pillar and the rear door sash has been raised by 17mm compared to the Civic five door to line up.
The Tourer also has the same unusual floor layout as the five-door, with the fuel tank under the front seats to increases interior space - Honda claims the civic will swallow two full-sized mountain bikes or three large hard-shell suitcases with the tonneau cover pulled over them. With the rear seats down and measured up to the headlining, the company quotes a luggage capacity of 1668 litres.
The rear seats assembly folds flat in one movement, and the cargo-bay floor has been raised to create a completely flat area when the seats are folded. The rear seat cushions can also be flipped up to reveal more floor space for carrying tall objects, while a 60:40 split in the seat base offers more options, including an alternative load area if access via the tailgate is limited.
There's even a dedicated stowage compartment for the tonneau cover, so it can be packed out of the way when the big Civic is in use as a delivery van - plus additional underfloor storage in the boot for carrying taller objects (we didn't say anything about washing machines!), while rear lip height has been reduced by 137mm compared to the Civic five-door for easier loading.