The OG Pogi Car Now Has More Safety Features, And It's Still as Cool as Ever

In November last year, Honda made a surprising announcement: zero traffic collision fatalities involving any of its motorcycles or automobiles anywhere in the world by 2050. That’s an incredibly lofty goal, especially when you consider that around 1.3 million people die each year due to road traffic incidents. 

But it’s a commitment the Japanese automotive giant is bent on keeping. To do that, the company is banking on new technologies that put the focus on safety, and that includes Honda Sensing, which is a suite of intelligent driver assistive features that all work together to drastically cut the chances of a driver ever getting into a fatal or destructive accident.

Honda could just deliver a lecture on all of this, or it could also show them off firsthand, and that’s exactly what it did when it invited several motoring journalists to a drive event that puts the Sensing technology on the all-new Honda Civic front and center.

Photo by Honda Philippines.

I’ve already written about the Civic, highlighting its reputation as a truly cool, desirable car. The latest iteration of the premium sedan is no different, and while it comes in three variants, all possess the same good looks, not to mention the same Honda Sensing features.

I must have done something right in a past life because I was assigned the top-spec RS Turbo for the drive. Some might insist that a Civic is a Civic, no matter the variant, but there’s a reason the RS Turbo is about P400,000 pricier than the base S Turbo. For one thing, the car came in lava red (the official name is Ignite Red Metallic), which isn’t available in any of the other variants.

Photo by Honda Philippines.

While the S and V Turbos are now also powered by a 1.5-liter turbo engine (previously reserved for the RS in its immediate predecessor), the RS packs a bunch of creature comforts, if you’re into those sorts of things: electronically adjustable driver’s seats, a nine-inch screen infotainment system, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, wireless charging for your mobile phone, and a snazzy Bose 12-speaker system.

Not that I got to blast my playlists during the drive. My ears were tuned in to the walkie talkie that carried the disembodied voice of our lead car driven by local racing legend Georges Ramirez himself. The convoy followed him throughout the drive from Bonifacio Global City up to Tagaytay and Nasugbu, Batangas.

Photo by Honda Philippines.

The object of the drive was to demonstrate the real-world applications of the Honda Sensing system. There’s adaptive cruise control (ACC), which, although not exactly new, comes with low-speed follow in Honda Sensing. When engaged, it basically lets you run at the same speed as the car in front of you. The car senses when the vehicle ahead slows down or speeds up and adjusts accordingly. Of course, when the car ahead stops, your car brakes, too. 

Another key feature of Honda Sensing is Lane Keeping Assist System, which keeps the car within its lane and automatically adjusts the steering wheel when it detects that you’re swerving over the lines (this feature is disabled when you turn on your signal lights). The steering wheel vibrates and an icon flashes on the digital display when this happens, which is useful especially when it’s late at night and you might be getting a bit tired behind the wheel. There’s also Road Departure Mitigation System with Lane Departure Warning, which is similar to the LKAS and warns the driver when he’s veering too far out off the road.

Photo by Honda Philippines.

Lead Car Departure Notification System, meanwhile, automatically alerts the driver when the car ahead starts moving (and keeps the car a safe distance behind), while Collision Mitigation Braking System helps avoid the chance of a collision by automatically braking when the car is too close to the vehicle in front.

The drive itself was fun (especially when we stopped for lunch at the always reliable Antonio’s), but it was when I got to take the RS home and drive it around for a few days that I truly appreciated not just the new safety features but everything that makes the Civic what it is. The steering wheel gave a little resistance when I tried to switch lanes without signaling (yeah, I got the hint), the brake kicked in when I accelerated a bit too quickly and got too close to the car in front, and even the right-turn camera view was particularly helpful to give me the all-clear before I made my move.

And, it's a Civic, so of course I noticed all the stares of approval and appreciation wherever I went.

While the reality is that the compact sedan market is slowly being eaten up by SUVs and compact SUVs, the Civic proves that there will always be a place in our roads (and in our hearts) for a trusty, dependable vehicle of this size and sensibility. The fact that it’s only gotten more pogi with age is just another reason why we’ll probably see this model for years to come.