Apple CarPlay coming to higher-end models of Honda's 2017 Civic Hatchback

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Honda on Monday announced that when it launches in North America this fall, the 2017 Civic Hatchback will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto -- though only on higher-end trims.




EX, EX-L, and Sport Touring versions of the car will support the technologies via Display Audio, the automaker said. In fact only the Sport Touring trim will come with CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, forcing other shoppers to pay for an upgrade.

Honda didn't immediately offer pricing for the Hatchback, or what EX and EX-L drivers will have to spend on the Display Audio option.

Nevertheless the Hatchback should help extend CarPlay's reach to the public, given the popularity -- and relative affordability -- of the Civic lineup. For a time the technology was reserved largely for high-end vehicles, but that's changed in the past year with the addition of more cars from brands like Kia, Hyundai, Ford, and Chevrolet.

There are still some conspicuous gaps in Honda's support, most notably the Fit subcompact, which doesn't come with CarPlay even on trims equipped with Display Audio.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    And the CRV. Love the car except for the promise of car play. Have having the phone up on the dash.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    ApplePay will also be in pretty much most of the higher-end 2017 Mercedes Benz models in the US, and (I was told by someone whom I think -- but not 100% sure -- knows), in all of the 2017 BMWs ordered after September of this year.
  • Reply 3 of 23
    TurboPGTTurboPGT Posts: 355member
    TIL there is such a thing a high end Honda Civic.

    Meanwhile my ridiculously overpriced Jeep Cherokee is desperate for the Car Play experience, as Unconnect is just an embarrassment for 2016.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    zroger73zroger73 Posts: 787member
    "Apple CarPlay coming to higher-end models of Honda's 2017 Civic Hatchback"

    Duh. Why wouldn't it? CarPlay already comes standard on the EX, EX-T, EX-L, and Touring trims of the Civic. The only trims that don't get it are the LX and LX-P.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    ApplePay will also be in pretty much most of the higher-end 2017 Mercedes Benz models in the US, and (I was told by someone whom I think -- but not 100% sure -- knows), in all of the 2017 BMWs ordered after September of this year.
    Already have ApplePay in my car... :)
  • Reply 6 of 23
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Excellent. What about Carplay in rest of Honda models like CRV ? What about still head in sand giant Toyota ?
    edited August 2016
  • Reply 7 of 23
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    TurboPGT said:
    TIL there is such a thing a high end Honda Civic.

    Meanwhile my ridiculously overpriced Jeep Cherokee is desperate for the Car Play experience, as Unconnect is just an embarrassment for 2016.
    Depends what you class as high-end.  Being able to lap the Nurburgring rapidly  Is my idea of high-end, I suspect others might be more interested in the quantity of gadgets they can play with while stuck in traffic.
    singularitypscooter63
  • Reply 8 of 23
    Already have it in my '16 Sonata Limited. Not so Limited eh.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    BTW. Lets also put some of that Apple simplicity into the back end of the Civic. Yuk!
  • Reply 10 of 23
    sog35 said:
    I love CarPlay on my Honda.

    But it sucks that you still need to plug your phone into the car. I mean seriously. Ever heard of Blutooth?
    That is why CarPlay isn't all that great.  I can do everything with Bluetooth without having to plug in the phone to see eye-candy for a display.  All that eye-candy is probably too much of a battery drain over Bluetooth, so Apple requires the iPhone to be plugged in.  Since you have a Honda EX or higher, I hope you ripped out their awful amplifier and speakers to make the stereo decent.  Honda has never been known to have quality stereo systems in their cars.  You need a high-end JL Audio or Infinity amp that accepts differential balanced inputs in order to upgrade the stereo in a Honda, while retaining their DisplayAudio head unit.  The Honda amp has horrible crossover equalization on all channels that ruin everything.
  • Reply 11 of 23
    Honda should know that hatchbacks are not 4-door sedans.  Hatchbacks are two-door vehicles.  Honda should also learn from their failed Accord Crosstour, that no one wants a sedan with a lift-gate.  Honda finally killed off the poorly sold Crosstour, and Acura killed off their version of it years ago.  More people will choose the Civic sedan since it is the same vehicle, but cheaper.  Funny that Honda showed promotional shots of CarPlay in the 2014 Civic, the first year they switched to a DisplayAudio head unit, but failed to deliver until the 2016 Civic.  The early model DisplayAudio head units have no upgrade path either.  It will take a few more years for Honda to roll out CarPlay to the rest of the lineup, Fit, CRV, Odyssey, etc.  Read some reviews and there are a lot of issues with the DisplayAudio head units, from displays going out to unresponsive touchscreens.  Make sure you buy an extended warranty, because the main audio unit is over $2K, and the display unit is about $650 from Honda.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    sog35 said:
    I love CarPlay on my Honda.

    But it sucks that you still need to plug your phone into the car. I mean seriously. Ever heard of Blutooth?
    That is why CarPlay isn't all that great.  I can do everything with Bluetooth without having to plug in the phone to see eye-candy for a display.  All that eye-candy is probably too much of a battery drain over Bluetooth, so Apple requires the iPhone to be plugged in.  Since you have a Honda EX or higher, I hope you ripped out their awful amplifier and speakers to make the stereo decent.  Honda has never been known to have quality stereo systems in their cars.  You need a high-end JL Audio or Infinity amp that accepts differential balanced inputs in order to upgrade the stereo in a Honda, while retaining their DisplayAudio head unit.  The Honda amp has horrible crossover equalization on all channels that ruin everything.
    That is a Honda thing. Apple Car Play settings allow you to select to connect via Bluetooth but most manufacturers choose not to allow it so it is on par with how android functions. That's also why they put it on hold for a year and a half. 
  • Reply 13 of 23
    prolineproline Posts: 222member
    That is why CarPlay isn't all that great.  I can do everything with Bluetooth without having to plug in the phone to see eye-candy for a display.  All that eye-candy is probably too much of a battery drain over Bluetooth, so Apple requires the iPhone to be plugged in.
    The high-quality maps that CarPlay provides are far from eye-candy- they have a real safety benefit over audio-only or looking down at your phone. They are especially good on iOS 10.

    The Civic has a USB port down low in the front which is high-powered and allows rapid charging. I leave a lighting cable connected to that all the time- it takes all of three seconds to plug a phone in. After 20 minutes in the car you could either be plugged in and have a phone that is 20% more charged, or have one that is charged 10% less after running the GPS and sending video/audio over the air. When I unplug, iOS 10 marks where I left the car on the map. Pretty obvious wired is better.
    TurboPGT
  • Reply 14 of 23
    jannl said:
    ApplePay will also be in pretty much most of the higher-end 2017 Mercedes Benz models in the US, and (I was told by someone whom I think -- but not 100% sure -- knows), in all of the 2017 BMWs ordered after September of this year.
    Already have ApplePay in my car... :)
    Oops....

    /embarrass
  • Reply 15 of 23
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    Honda should know that hatchbacks are not 4-door sedans.  Hatchbacks are two-door vehicles.  Honda should also learn from their failed Accord Crosstour, that no one wants a sedan with a lift-gate.  Honda finally killed off the poorly sold Crosstour, and Acura killed off their version of it years ago.  More people will choose the Civic sedan since it is the same vehicle, but cheaper.  Funny that Honda showed promotional shots of CarPlay in the 2014 Civic, the first year they switched to a DisplayAudio head unit, but failed to deliver until the 2016 Civic.  The early model DisplayAudio head units have no upgrade path either.  It will take a few more years for Honda to roll out CarPlay to the rest of the lineup, Fit, CRV, Odyssey, etc.  Read some reviews and there are a lot of issues with the DisplayAudio head units, from displays going out to unresponsive touchscreens.  Make sure you buy an extended warranty, because the main audio unit is over $2K, and the display unit is about $650 from Honda.
    The reason for the delay is Google convinced most manufacturers to hold off until they could catch up. 
  • Reply 16 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    proline said

    When I unplug, iOS 10 marks where I left the car on the map. Pretty obvious wired is better.
    That's very handy, especially at events where you have in a massive unmarked field. 
  • Reply 17 of 23
    Sure would be nice if they added it to the Acura MDX. But if they don't do so soon, looks like I'll be buying something else.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    TurboPGT said:
    TIL there is such a thing a high end Honda Civic.

    Meanwhile my ridiculously overpriced Jeep Cherokee is desperate for the Car Play experience, as Unconnect is just an embarrassment for 2016.
    I have uConnect in my 2016 Fiat 500x, everything seems to work as advertised with me. The Deezer integration is what I use regularly, having my playlists ready on the touchscreen. I found if you want to play music via bluetooth, the music app has to be open prior to connecting else you just get the "press play on device" message.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    cnocbui said:
    TurboPGT said:
    TIL there is such a thing a high end Honda Civic.

    Meanwhile my ridiculously overpriced Jeep Cherokee is desperate for the Car Play experience, as Unconnect is just an embarrassment for 2016.
    Depends what you class as high-end.  Being able to lap the Nurburgring rapidly  Is my idea of high-end, I suspect others might be more interested in the quantity of gadgets they can play with while stuck in traffic.
    a Lada Riva with a hyabusa engine will go round the Nurburgring "rapidly" - it doesn't mean it's high-end. I think most associate the term high-end with quality workmanship and materials, prestige, latest tech etc. I.e. An Alcatel gimp-phone can do calling and texting on par with an iPhone 6S, maybe even faster using t9 keyboard and basic menus, and it can last several days longer on a single charge - the iPhone is still "high-end" in comparison.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    adm1 said:
    cnocbui said:
    Depends what you class as high-end.  Being able to lap the Nurburgring rapidly  Is my idea of high-end, I suspect others might be more interested in the quantity of gadgets they can play with while stuck in traffic.
    a Lada Riva with a hyabusa engine will go round the Nurburgring "rapidly" - it doesn't mean it's high-end. I think most associate the term high-end with quality workmanship and materials, prestige, latest tech etc. I.e. An Alcatel gimp-phone can do calling and texting on par with an iPhone 6S, maybe even faster using t9 keyboard and basic menus, and it can last several days longer on a single charge - the iPhone is still "high-end" in comparison.
    The current European Civic Type R set the fastest lap of the Nurburgring for a FWD car.  I think your Lada analogy doesn't really work because, well, you can't buy one in a shop and the context quite clearly relates to cars you can buy from their manufacturer.



    Quality workmanship and materials, eh?  I have a Honda Civic Type R. In 10 years it has never broken down or failed to start or given the slightest problem whatsoever.  Aside from service items like tyres, oil and filters, I have had to replace the battery, a tie-rod end, a set of brake pads, and a piston and seal kit in each brake caliper.  That is my idea of quality, not the exact formulation used for the plastics in the interior or whether the seat is heated or whether the seat can remember the adjustments for the 0 other people who ever drive it.

    As I was saying, 'quality' can mean different things to different people.  To some people it's a German badge on the front, dashboard toys and seat moves, even if it averages running costs in 6 months that are more than a Honda requires spending on it in 10 years.
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