The Honda Civic e:HEV earns five Euro NCAP stars

The Honda Civic e:HEV, which we had the chance to test a few weeks ago, has received the maximum five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP safety tests. In doing so, the brand remains true to its commitment “to achieve zero road traffic casualties in its vehicles by 2050”. The eleventh generation of the Civic therefore incorporates a range of advanced, updated technologies aimed at delivering the highest level of safety in its class for both occupants and pedestrians.

To meet the demanding Euro NCAP safety standards for adult occupant protection, the Civic’s bodyshell incorporates a series of structural reinforcements to improve the vehicle’s overall passive safety. These include additional reinforcements in the front doors and rear wheel arch structures that improve the response in a side impact. These elements are joined by a full-width beam that reinforces the joint between the floor and the resin bulkhead, helping to control and limit deformation in the event of a full-width frontal or an asymmetric frontal collision.

In addition to the more robust chassis with enhanced protective capability, all versions of the new Civic e:HEV come as standard with a total of eleven airbags, including knee airbags for front seat occupants to reduce injuries in frontal impacts, and side airbags to protect both front and rear passengers. For the first time on the Civic, a central front airbag is included, which prevents collisions between the driver and front passenger in the event of a side impact.

https://youtu.be/muBZ69Q4MyU

This is how the safety tests went

This level of protection extends to all occupants of the new Civic, not just adults. The car also achieved a good score in the child protection category thanks to the Isofix anchorage points, which meet the most recent European i-Size standards.

The eleventh generation Civic also considers the most vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, and features new-design safety plates on the front bumper bars, created to absorb impact energy and thereby reduce the risk of lower limb fractures and knee ligament damage to pedestrians in a collision. This protection is further enhanced by an automatically raising bonnet, lined with an embossed membrane structure beneath the outer surface. This hidden component offers high energy-absorption capacity should a pedestrian’s head strike the outer surface, drastically reducing the risk of serious injury.

The new Civic’s passive safety features are complemented by an updated suite of driver assistance and active safety technologies, Honda Sensing. This system incorporates new sonar sensors that use sound waves to detect non-metallic objects such as glass and walls, far more reliably and with considerably greater precision than the millimetre-wave radar used previously.

The new Civic is also equipped with a camera offering a wider 100-degree field of view, giving the car a greater ability to identify road lines, road edges, motorcycles and cyclists. In addition, a new high-speed processing chip improves detection, performance and system control, enabling it to identify objects earlier and more accurately than before, including pedestrians in both lit and unlit environments.

With this result in the Euro NCAP tests, the new Honda Civic e:HEV joins the Honda CR-V and the Honda Jazz, which also achieved the maximum five-star rating.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackHonda Civic3 versions · from 36,300 €