Honda Civic facelift spied

With the Honda Civic Type R in the latter stages of development, it seems the Japanese manufacturer has turned its attention to the rest of the Civic lineup. This is the first time we’ve seen the facelifted hatchback, spied testing around the brand’s Swindon plant.

Although completely wrapped and hidden from view there are a few design cues which appear to have been adopted form the Civic Type R concept. The sweeping headlights now feature a more prominent kink, while larger air vents give a sportier look. Further changes round the back include a new rear light cluster and bumper plus a redesigned rear diffuser.

The lack of an exhaust indicates we’re probably looking at one of the lesser-powered and more efficiency-focused models, but a more potent Type S will also be introduced, which will sit behind the flagship Type R in the Civic range.

We could also be seeing some further changes beneath the bonnet. The plates on this prototype revealed the Civic will stick with the 1.6-litre diesel engine but the 1.4 and 1.8-litre petrol powertrains could be ditched in favour of Honda’s new downsized VTEC engines.

Introduced late last year the new 1.0-litre three-cylinder and 1.5-litre four-cylinder VTEC petrol engines could make an appearance in the Civic matching the power output of the current petrol engines but boosting economy. However, nothing has yet been confirmed by Honda.