New Civic breaks cover

DON'T PANIC. Honda hasn't gone mental. This isn't what the 2012 Civic looks like. But underneath all the disguisey stuff, it is what it'll drive like.

And guess what? It's STILL got a torsion beam axle. And Jeremy doesn't like torsion beam axles.

Honda boffins assure us that new suspension tech - which includes fancy fluid-filled bushes - makes up for the handling shortcomings of a torsion beam, but we'll have to wait for a drive to see. 

Its official justification is boot space. Honda wants the Civic to lead its class and a beam setup doesn't need much room. Much less so than the sort of fully independent rear end you'd find under a Focus or Golf, which are both dynamically superb. That said, a torsion beam setup seemed to work rather well in the Astra GTC.

On a COMPLETELY UNRELATED note, torsion beam suspension is vastly cheaper to build.

Anyway, we'll have to wait till September 13 for the fully unsheathed version but till then, this is all you're getting.

Reckon it'll stack up to the competition?