Roger Fingas
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.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Marko Zivkovic
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Andrew O'Hara
23 Comments
And the CRV. Love the car except for the promise of car play. Have having the phone up on the dash.
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.
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.
"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.