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The first details of the 2012 Honda Civic have been released ahead of its international debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Going on sale in 2012, the next-generation Civic is expected to have one of the most radical and forward-looking exterior and interior designs of any family hatchback.

But, underneath Honda has kept the simple and compact rear suspension design from the current car, which helps give the Civic its large boot.

This setup has received criticism in the past for being less advanced than the suspension of rivals including the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf - holding back its handling and ride quality.

Honda says it has addressed this with careful tuning of the next Civic's suspension on European roads and by using new fluid-filled components to improve comfort, reduce vibration and enhance handling.

No information on engines has been released yet, but rumours suggest a smaller and more economical diesel engine than the current model's 2.2-litre is in the pipeline. A Civic hybrid using technology from the Honda Insight and a hot Type-R version are also widely expected to follow the standard car's launch.

This will be the ninth generation of Civic, the family hatchback which has sold to 20 million customers since 1972 and rivals the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra. The current Honda Civic has found 170,000 homes in the UK.

European models of the Honda Civic have been built at Honda UK's Swindon factory since 1994, employing around 3,000 workers.

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