Honda unveils next-generation Civic for 2016

LOS ANGELES — In a play for youthful buyers, Honda unveiled the production version Wednesday of the next-generation Civic on YouTube at its Los Angeles studio.

True to the concept version, the 2016 Civic has the same long hood and a sportier look. To get it, the new Civic is 2 inches wider, 1 inch lower, and the wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer. To burnish its high-tech credentials, it will have LED headlights, running lights and taillights.

The driver will sit an inch lower than the current version to enhance the sportiness.

"This 10th-generation Civic is quite simply the most ambitious remake of Civic we've ever done," says John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, in a statement. "We are bringing more new technology and innovative thinking to Civic than ever before."

With such a sweeping redesign, it only made sense that Honda would roll out new engines as well. There will be two.

One is a 2-liter, 16-valve, DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder, which Honda calls "the most powerful base engine ever offered on Civic." It will come with either a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission.

The other engine will be smaller, at 1.5 liters, but more potent, with direct injection and Honda's first application of turbocharging in the U.S. Honda says it will be the most powerful engine it has offered, short of the performance Si version.

Honda says it is shooting for an EPA fuel-economy rating in excess of 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

The new model will have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a 7-inch touch-screen.