Rating
Quick Summary
Recommended. What this Civic loses in character and quirkiness compared to the outgoing car, it gains in refinement and comfort. Moving closer to the middle ground results in a duller hatchback, though one that's closer the best of its competition.
Road Test
A sense of vague disappointment shrouds the Civic at first. From the initial photographs ("what is happening with those rear lights?") to the first few miles of driving, the Civic doesn't really do much to endear itself.
It's a grower, though. It certainly looks better in the flesh - and in more agreeable colours than the slime green of the pictures accompanying this piece - and initial misgivings about cabin design that's stepped backwards give way to appreciation of a better quality, more refined car. Mostly.
First and foremost, the Civic has grown up. The hard plastics of its predecessor make way for soft touch stuff more reminiscent of a Volkswagen Golf (and most family hatchbacks these days, actually), and the spaceship interior has been softened into something more conventional and probably easier to live with.
For some that will be a backwards step - the Civic's cabin certainly isn't striking in the way it used to be - but the majority of buyers will probably find it more intuitive (aside from the sat nav). The ride quality and sense of refinement both take a leap forward, with Honda softening the suspension up markedly so that the car mitigates bumps rather than photocopying them directly from the road onto your spine.
That's what the customers demanded, says Honda, although the wannabe rally drivers among you will miss the raw edge that made the old Civic such an engaging car to guide from point to point. The steering is light and manoeuvre-friendly now, but lacks engagement where it once had natural weight and accuracy, and the ride's added suppleness means there's more mid-corner roll.
Yet it still can't quite match a Golf or a Focus for comfort, because it gets a couple of basics wrong. The driving position is set too high, and the seat ratchet doesn't allow for the minute adjustments that separate a manageable driving position from a perfect one. There's a rear windscreen wiper now (something else demanded by the people), but the horizontal bar that cuts through the screen means that, even though it's lower than before, visibility is still hindered.
The engines have gone in the same direction as the rest of the car: refinement up; excitement down. Yes, they're economical and smoother at the lower end of the revs, but they're no longer much fun to work hard - they just make more noise when pressed. That's especially true of the petrols, neither of which have much sparkle, really - but also true of the 2.2-litre diesel. It rattles more than you might expect, although it is at least very economical, given its power: 148bhp with 110g/km is impressive.
The most salable thing about the Civic, however, is the space and usability it dishes up. The boot is, frankly, huge for a car this size, and it's easy to load because of a low boot lip. There's also a sizeable hidden compartment under the floor. It's not to the detriment of cabin space either, which is genuinely four-adult sized. The seats fold properly flat at virtually the touch of a button, too; really, this is just shy of a packaging miracle, and it's this that will convince most punters to buy one.
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