VIDEO: Is Consumer Reports Even Skeptical Of The 2012 Honda Civic?

You know, the crowd at Consumer Reports -- although they're probably a nice group of guys -- just don't look at cars the same way an enthusiast does. Mostly they care about cupholders and how many golf clubs you can fit in the trunk.

They're great at some things but not exactly experts in our eyes in some departments. However, one automaker that seems to always do relatively well in their testing is Honda.

So, when they become a bit skeptical on the all-new 2012 Civic, you have to turn around and say "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Really?"

With that said, take a look at their initial impressions down below...


Understandably, Honda was conservative in redesigning the Civic line-up. After all, the Civic has long been near the top of the sales charts in the small sedan segment. Don’t want to mess with a winning formula… Still, given all of the fresh competition in this segment, some of Honda’s choices seem surprising.

For example, the 1.8-liter engine in the updated car seems downright old tech compared to the low-displacement turbo engines or the direct-injected engines offered by rivals. While most new small sedans count to “six” in their automatic gearboxes, the Civic sticks to five speeds...