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08/10/2003 - Honda gears up for bumper 2004
With a raft of new and improved models, Honda’s car range will be more desirable than ever in the coming year.
Currently Honda is enjoying its best ever year in Britain, achieving a growth of around 5% compared with last year. This has been achieved through continuing strong sales of the Civic (which is responsible for two out of every five cars Honda sells in Britain), big gains in Jazz and CR-V sales and a very successful launch of the new Honda Accord. Plus the Honda S2000, now in its fourth year, is attracting more customers than ever this year -outselling such competitors as the Audi TT Roadster and Lotus Elise.
And next year promises to be an even better one. Why are we so confident? Well, we’ve been quietly introducing new models, new derivatives as well as effective upgrades of some of our most successful models. Consider the following...
Substantial changes for Civic range
The changes to Civic are so comprehensive they were the subject of a separate announcement last month. Suffice to say that the Civic gets a new look as well as comprehensive engineering changes to improve ride and handling, steering characteristics and refinement. There are new features (projector-style headlamps, mirror-mounted indicator repeaters and self-illuminating instrument dials) and a simplified model line up which includes upgraded 1.6 Sport and new Type S VSA.
Equipment levels have been improved with, for example, all models now having ABS brakes, RDS CD Tuners and Spacesaver spare wheels to liberate more luggage space.
Prices for the new Civics are essentially carried over from the existing range - which means the entry level price is £10,000 and the hot-shot Type-R remains at just £16,000.
Sales of the new Civic start in November.
Subtly does it for CR-V
The Swindon-built CR-V has established itself as Britain’s most popular petrol sport utility whose sales currently exceed the combined total of its three closest 5 door petrol competitors (Toyota RAV4, Land Rover Freelander and Nissan X-TRAIL)!
2004 CR-V models are distinguished by clear indicator lenses contained within the headlamp housing and clear front wing mounted indicators, with higher grade models gaining chrome instead of body colour door and tailgate handles. Additionally, the SE Executive model has body colour rather than black side skirts.
Inside, door handles and power window switches receive a silver, instead of black, finish and, conversely, the window switch surround is now black instead of silver and the driver’s window has an automatic closing operation. An elegant new shift knob with a black centre and champagne silver surround is introduced, which on the SE Executive grade is leather trimmed.
There is a choice of either black or titanium leather trim, featuring leather seats with perforated wearing surfaces. The titanium leather option also features titanium roof pillar trim and roof lining (instead of grey), titanium inner door handle surrounds and titanium door insert panels.
Finally the nine existing body colours are joined by a new shade, Cosmic Grey Pearlescent.
| Prices of the 2004 Honda CR-V models, on sale from November, are as follows: | |
|---|---|
| CR-V 2.0 SE | £16,900 |
| CR-V 2.0 SE Sport | £18,200 |
| CR-V 2.0 Executive | £20,900 |
Accord diesel joins the line up
Already the subject of enthusiastic press reviews, Accord i-CTDi diesel models go on sale in February 2004. Chief attributes of Honda’s first wholly in-house designed and built diesel are its outstanding combination of performance, economy and refinement combined with a tax-friendly Euro IV emission level.
The diesel Accords carry a premium of £1200 over the corresponding 2.0 litre petrol Accords, which means that the quartet of new models is priced as follows:
| Saloon | Tourer | |
| 2.2 i-CTDi Sport | £18,700 | £19,700 |
| 2.2 i-CTDi Executive | £20,200 | £21,200 |
Petrol engine Honda Accords continue unchanged for 2004, however the 2.4 litre models are subject to a £400 price increase with effect from 1 November. Prices of the 2.4 litre petrol range is therefore as follows...
| Saloon | Tourer | |
| 2.4 i-VTEC Type S | £19,500 | £20,500 |
| 2.4 i-VTEC Executive | £21,500 | £22,500 |
S2000 ups the ante
Honda’s highly respected two-seater receives its most significant upgrade to date with a raft of visible and under-the-skin improvements for 2004 YM. The net result is a roadster that’s stunning to look at - and even better to drive.
Chief visual changes are larger (17in) revised-pattern alloy wheels (with accompanying wider lower profile rubber), new-shape front and rear bumpers, new "triple beam" projector-style headlamps and LED rear lamps and oval-shape exhaust tailpipe outlets.
The latest car boasts a heavily revised interior with new steering wheel, redesigned centre console and door lining, real leather gearshift boot and the application of silver trim to the headrest backs, console lid and audio panel.
Keen drivers will notice substantial improvements from behind the wheel - with numerous chassis changes contributing to more refined road manners, better braking and more benign handling. Steering, throttle, clutch, gearshift and brake systems have all been overhauled in order to provide greater precision, feel and response.
Other useful improvements include more legible instrumentation (including a clock remote from the radio), heated door mirrors, a centre console storage tray incorporating twin cupholders, a seat belt reminder and a richer-sounding twin tone horn.
Finally the model’s security has been improved with a "wave" type ignition key, microwave-based intrusion-detection system and better protection for the door locks.
As previously two models are offered, the S2000 Roadster and hardtop-equipped S2000 GT. Sales of the 2004 Honda S2000 begin in January. Prices appear below...
| S2000 Prices | |
| S2000 | £26,500 |
| S2000 GT | £27,500 |