RETURN OF THE KING

Honda’s ever-popular veteran is reborn again, writes Steve Teale

You don’t realise how many Civics are on the road until you drive one. Suddenly it seems every second car is one of the these interesting, off-beat and well-priced Hondas.

And with good reason. Few cars conjure as many smiles as the Civic which must rank as one of the one extrovert cars on the road. It has huge air dams, spoilers and bulges which mean this car is not for the faint-hearted.

Yet it costs from under £20,000 while the test version 1.6 litre diesel model retails at £24,950 – or £26,075 for the test version with a few extras added.

That’s an awful lot of car for the money when you consider it has a massive amount of safety features, a splendid engine which is both economical and sprightly and ride and handling which lives up to its looks.

And the economy for such a perky car is excellent: between 78mpg and 83mpg on town, country and combined routes. Plus emissions below the magic 100g/km and you can why this car appeals.

Civic has been a familiar car on our roads since 1972 and we are currently on the 10th generation. It has been used in motorsports with great success, particularly in the British Touring Car Championships.

Not bad when you consider Civic might be considered middle-aged considering it was first launched 46 years ago. But Honda keep on reinventing and expanding the Civic so this model is as youthful and invigorating as it ever was.

So, how does Civic measure up? It’s a fairly sizeable hatchback with plenty of space for passengers and a 478 litre boot which rises to 1,245 litres with the seats down. There is a concealed space beneath, which is useful. Size-wise, this car is slightly longer than a Ford Focus.

It looks sporty and it feels like a fun car to drive with sharp handling. The 0 to 60mph time is 10.2 seconds but I must say it felt quicker than that.

Inside, the car is incredibly comfortable and wellequipped. I’m not sure about the ‘infotainment’ package. It is fiddly and difficult to get used to but I’m sure in time it would be fine.

The safety devices are impressive. Honda has a package called Sensing which combines features which detect possible collisions with vehicles or pedestrians and take evasive action, an intelligent cruise control system.

Tested is the EX with Tech Pack which is the flagship of the range, which adds LED fog lights, wireless phone charging and heated rear seats.

Honda says the diesel version – built at Swindon - completes the line-up for the Civic hatchback in the UK. It is the most technologically advanced diesel unit Honda has ever launched here and is described as a competitive offering for both the retail customer and the fleet market.

Tested here is the manual version, which is good. But better still is the nine-speed automatic which is incredibly smooth and versatile.

This is the first time that a combination of a diesel engine and an automatic gearbox has been available on a Civic.

With a wide spread of gears, the nine-speed transmission boasts superb efficiency: the very low first-gear ratio delivers a smooth and powerful launch, while a high top-gear ratio ensures low engine speed while cruising, which reduces fuel consumption and noise.