Civic buyers are almost rabidly loyal by auto-industry standards. Such buyers aren't likely to want a Civic they can't recognize. Honda research showed that Civic owners often have sport-utility vehicles, too, and have trouble getting both into their garages. So the '01 Civic is slightly shorter than the car it replaces, but is taller, allowing it to be bigger inside and have a bigger trunk while taking less garage space. Honda redesigned and relocated steering and suspension components to take less space so people and luggage could have more.
More power is always welcome, even among conservative drivers.
The bigger engines provide more power, slightly better fuel economy and lower emissions. Nicely tailored, sporting big, slash-cut taillights like so many others on the road nowadays. From the back, at just the right angle, there's a whiff of Mercedes-Benz. But there's also a similarity to Mitsubishi designs. While the four-door sedan isn't what you'd call a looker, neither is it likely to seem dated in 18 months.