Geneva motor show: Honda Civic estate concept

Load-lugging variant of the Civic previewed as a concept ahead of a production car set to launch in September

The Civic’s fuel tank is mounted under the front seats

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  by Mark Tisshaw

  5 March 2013 10:42am

This new Honda Civic Tourer Concept has been revealed at the Geneva motor show.
The Civic concept previews a new production car that will be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Honda has kept back key details on the concept such as its load capacity, with the concept instead intended to showcase the design of the new British-built estate.
But in its Geneva release, Honda noted that its previous estates have all offered best-in-class loading space, so it’s likely the firm is targeting something similar in turning the already incredibly spacious five-door hatchback into an estate.
The Civic’s fuel tank is mounted under the front seats, which dramatically increases the space in the rear. Even more rear space comes from the fact the Civic uses a beam axle at the rear rather than a more space-hungry multi-link set-up.
While the standard Civic’s design looks a bit awkward on a five-door hatchback, it transfers much better onto a longer estate to create what Honda describes as a “clean, dynamics and elegant look”.