No, it uses that rotary knob system that the car reviews I've read absolutely hate. Even more so than the civic's outdated current system.
True, it isn’t a touchscreen, but I think Mazda intentionally chose to not go with one as they want the infotainment in mimic luxury brands. Many of them don’t have touchscreens and rely on knobs or touchpads to navigate the infotainment interface.
I honestly find that as being a hinderance. They say it's less distracting than touchscreen interfaces but... I've used both and definitely find rotary knob/touchpad interfaces WAY more distracting haha.
I like it as well but want to wait to see the hatchback. I feel like people are complaining about this and that first you have to realize cars now have crash regulations to comply with so the front end has to be made a certain way to protect and give less injuries to pedestrians. The side profile is giving the older model Acura ILX or even the new TLX. I think it looks great the 22 Civic but I reserve my judgement when I see the hatchback and see it in person.Interior photos confirmed what I expected: the interior dashboard and infotainment display are both a huge step forward for the Civic compared to the 10th generation, and look better than the Accord’s setup IMO. The temperature gauges are having the Accord-like look is a plus to me as well, as that was one of my biggest areas of frustration on my 2018 Hatch (I know Honda went away from a digital temp selector in future 10th gens, but this setup looks much more elegant than even the newer 10th gens did, IMO). Also, the Touring's seats look superior to me, but not by a lot, as the 10th gen's leather seats are quite solid.
I really love the side and rear profiles of the sedan and am glad the Sport trim has the wheels the prototype model had. The front grille looks good, but the area surrounding the Honda emblem isn’t as attractive compared to the 10th gen’s smoked or chrome look. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, however, and I still prefer the fog light housing with its lesser plastic. Blind spot monitoring instead of lanewatch is something we knew was coming, so that's an upgrade I appreciate as well.
Speaking of lesser plastic, the rear of the car is MUCH cleaner with more of the sheet metal displayed compared to the outgoing model. I also prefer the look of the tail lights on this model. However, I found the aggressive overall rear shape of the 10th generation to look better, just not the plastic pieces it had.
At this point in my life, though I'm far from being "old," I appreciate a more upscale design language like this has. I miss the more aggressive front end of the 10th gen, but am excited about the 10th gen looking more Accord and Audi A3 like, especially from the side profile.
Looking forward to more of those who actually plan to buy this car coming into this forum, as I'm definitely in for one at the beginning of next year. The Sedan looks fantastic but I have to see the Hatch before making a decision on which I'll purchase, as I loved my 10th gen Hatch.
Here are some more pictures of the interior and exterior of the Touring model:
Your comment is pretty accurate, except that 10th gen came out mid 2015 not 2017. 2016-2021, are it's production years . But I do agree, I like my 10th gen's "sporty" look better than this new one. It seems that they are trying to compete in a "classy look" market such as mazda 3, corolla, and sentra. I have a 2016 and will probably upgrade to a 2021 instead of an 11th gen.
And this one of the MANY reasons why I'm leaving Mazda and heading to Honda. I prefer a touchscreen interface, so while I'm really good with using the rotary knob on my '14 Mazda3, I preferred my '18 Civic's touchscreen infotainment system.
I’ve used both extensively and find the knob far less distracting than the touch screen while driving.
Hatch is launching later this year, nothing said about the Si yet. Hopefully they will announce what the plan is for the Si and Type R this year during the announcements tonight.
How badly do you need a car? The SI won't be here till end of the year at the earliest. If you can wait till then, wait. If not get the 21 Sport now and trade it when the SI gets here. The used car market is crazy now so you wouldn't lose much money.
