Honda Civic
We’ve reined in sensitive AEB just as our time with hatch has come to an end
WE’VE come to the end of our time with our Honda Civic, and I’ll be sad to see it go. But one thing I won’t miss is its over-sensitive AEB system.
Our car spent much of its time commuting in and out of central London, and even at walking speeds the Civic’s bright orange accident warning trigger flashed at every opportunity. It was infuriatingly premature, in fact, beeping furiously even when I was fully aware of the car in front.
But I understand these systems are there to maximise safety – and if the worst did occur, I’d be grateful for the Honda’s clever forward-collision tech. So I was reluctant to switch the system off, as that would be asking for trouble.
It’s something I lived with for months, but recently I delved into the 700-page user manual to try to turn down the system’s sensitivity. The infotainment set-up isn’t the easiest to navigate, although it’s packed with functionality, and among the lighting options and auto-fold side mirror settings sat a menu dedicated to the Civic’s safety systems.
I uncovered a specific setting for the pre-collision warning – and found it was primed to activate in its most sensitive mode. Amazingly, a simple 30-second solution all but entirely eliminated the flashing lights and warning beeps; so I could drive to and from the office safe in the knowledge that the systems are still working without the firework display.
As a result, the car became much more pleasant to drive. Sitting in such relative peace and quiet allowed us to better appreciate the Honda’s fine manners. Its light but accurate steering is great around town, while its refined powertrain meant commutes were as smooth as can be expected in London.
Its punchy engine proved hugely satisfying, offering enough power to keep up with faster-moving traffic, plus decent economy on motorway journeys.
The seats were always comfortable, too, and while the interior isn’t the most inspiring in this class, you can’t argue with our SR model’s standard kit list.
Its practicality was tested to the max as well, acting as a makeshift van during the weeks running up to my wedding last year.
Some small features also made an impression, such as the handy cable clip behind the front cubbyhole and the minimalist side-sliding parcel shelf.
But even in this day and age, it’s rare to find a car without its foibles. The best models and most experienced makers gett things wrong from time to time.
In this casease it was the fiddly ddly infotainment ent system, making our AEB frustrations ons worse than they really needed to be.
“A 30-second solution eliminated the AEB’S flashing lights and warning beeps”