In 1991, amidst an ever growing community of young, energetic youths. Honda revealed their 5th generation Civic to the world. The “Sports Civic” generation, as its tagline suggests, was a start of a revolution, gone was the boxy Civic image iconic to the past Showa era models, and in was a new bubble-egg shaped design solely inspired by liveliness of Brazilian Samba dancers. Flowing lines. Fluid to the senses, and an ever-aerodynamic body shape, evoking a sense of youthful, dynamic fun, which became a recurring theme to the EG’s design.
One of the EG6’s key uniqueness were the rear seats which could fold flat down, not only giving more room to put bigger luggage in and a small “living space” feel inside, but to also give the car a discreetly sportier look. But what really is the most unique aspect of the EG6, capable of arresting the eyes of many, has got to be its split-opening rear tailgate hatch, in which the rear hatch opens up in a funky two-way up and down mechanism, a feature only unique to this Civic generation, and was never adopted into future models, probably due to cost and structural integrity reasons.
Dimensions. The EG6 was 104mm longer, 33mm wider, but surprisingly 43mm lower than the EF9. Honda decided to do this upsizing as they felt that teenagers are getting bigger in size as time progresses, allowing them to accommodate the needs and wants of future Civic owners, which would mostly be teenagers, while also keeping the Civic’s sporty image by the lowered height. Along with a wider track and longer wheelbase, the EG6 was indeed a far superior car handling wise, but that wasn’t all.
Equipped with the EG6 was Honda's revolutionary B16A four-cylinder twincam engine. Compared from its previous predecessor, the B16A you'll find in this egg-shaped hatchback received a healthy 10PS bump, now peaking at a then-unbelievable 170PS at a jaw-dropping 8000 RPM rev limit. One which even the likes of 12-cylinder supercars are struggling to obtain. The catch? Honda's very own Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control system, or what you may know as VTEC. Introduced in 1989, this cam-changing VVT system became a revolutionary basis to many present day variable valve timing mechanisms. Involving a clever "two-step" process which involves two cam profiles; one wee small economy lobe and one gargantuan racing duration lobe. It is these two cams which, not only allows the Civic to achieve excellent fuel economy, but also to achieve that unbelievable power and rev range.
There were 3 SiR variations available: the SiR, SiR II, and the rare SiR-S. The SiR trim, being the lowest spec, did not come with A/C, power steering, power windows, nor even a radio, making it more as a “race-base” interpretation of the Civic. The SiR-II, being the more luxurious alternative to the SiR, came with A/C and radio as standard, while the rest mentioned above as well as a sunroof , SRS airbag wheel, TCS, ABS, and automatic transmission were offered as options. The SiR-S however, is practically the most luxurious, chic-minded of the bunch, basically everything the SiR-II has as standard complete with SiR-S only “DOHC VTEC” stickers mounted on the front part of the doors, keyless entry system, armrest, a unique black interior, and the sought-after Momo steering wheel.
But its options aren’t the only thing going for the EG6. Like any old 90s Civic, the EG6 brought over and improved its double wishbone suspension system from the EF9, praised for its superb handling by Best Motoring's maestro Motoharu "Gan-san" Kurosawa, who received the car extremely well, the potato-looking Civic became a choice competitor for Honda in Group A, winning the Division 3 class of the 1993 Japanese Touring Car Championship with the JACCS Mooncraft EG6 piloted by FF master Naoki “Ha-chan” Hattori. Group N also saw EG6s reigning supreme against the likes of the Mirage and the AE101. Oh, and did I forget that this was quite the competitor in gymkhana too? Basically, it was simply untouchable at the time! With these incredibly impressive achievements, it’s a no-brainer as to why people still race and track these cars today.
The CR-X model also continued on up until this point, with the introduction of the CR-X Del Sol SiR, a more relaxed, targa-topped, stress-free take on the performance minded EG6 SiR, dubbed the EG2. The Del Sol only shared the same chassis as the EG6, with most of its body components differing drastically from the hatchback. Even so, due to the open-top that the EG2 came with, the chassis was redesigned, opting for a completely new, thicker cross-member under-frame to support and introduce extra rigidity. The open-top targa is a convertible too, able to switch in between hardtop and open-top modes in 45 seconds. The roof also has a dedicated storage holder in the trunk, and when lifted, reveals plentiful trunk space to still be able to put stuff in your Del Sol, clever isn’t it?
The EG6 SiR, truly is the most recognizable Civic in history, bar none. In 1995, the unique hatch was replaced by the much more conservative EK4 hatchback. Gone were the unique split opening tailgate and, as mentioned in the second paragraph, was the return to use conventional single opening rear hatches common in many hatchbacks of its time. Of course, the bubble economy burst had a playing role in the supposed "tone down" attitude of the EK-generation. Sure, the EK-generation may have the highly-coveted Type R model that everyone wants nowadays, but nothing holds a candle to the EG's design, incredible presence, and respect that it has garnered over the past 30 years, from Group A circuit beasts to iconic and well-loved tuner cars. The EG has seen it all.
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