If ever a manufacturer has succeeded in winning hearts as well as minds in displaying style and brains equally, it has to be Honda.
Beloved by everyone from the curate’s wife to captains of industry, Hondas are the cars that offer technological excellence that seems to be one step ahead. They don’t need to advertise that their car doors go ‘clunk’ and are made from iron girders and are built like the Bismark (Look what happened to that!) . No – Hondas are finely engineered and are in the ‘precision’ automotive camp – and that’s where their better kind of strength lies. Perhaps that’s why when you want reliability, one name stands above all others.
Never having stopped evolving and improving, the Civic is one of the finest cars of its time – benefitting from a wide ranging series of developments. But In the context of evolution, ‘subtle’ is almost too strong a word. In fact there have been plenty of aesthetic changes both inside and out – but none of them is attention seeking.
Even in these penny-pinching days of crises and cutbacks when the phrase ‘civic pride’ has taken a beating, I reflected that, thankfully, it’s not the case with Honda.
Awaiting, gleaming in the Summer sunshine, with pleasing contours and punctilious attention to detail, was the Civic 5 door hatch. Honda can take pride in producing a car that challenges (or probably is) the market leader in its class.
To apprehend the pleasing profile is to be apprised of a hint of economic revival. We cannot remain on the downward slope so long as ‘onwards and upwards’ products like this re-invigorate the market. And one hastens to add, re-invigorate the driver – for here is a car that pushes good sense and reliability to a high level. it does what it does well, giving the customer what the customer wants in a super abundance of fine tuned engineering acumen.
A 4 cylinder 2.0 litre petrol engine combines with two electric motors and a CVT transmission. The petrol engine drives the wheels at high speeds but most of the time it generates electricity for the small battery pack. In stop-start traffic it switches off altogether. There’s 181bhp on tap which will take you to ‘fast enough’ and yet the claimed fuel consumption is over 56 mpg. (You can easily do better if you use eco mode).It’s probably the best hybrid system to date – helping to make the Civic one of the smoothest and most refined cars in its sector. And being Honda, it goes without saying that reliability is assured.
Slide onto the extremely comfortable seat and into the accommodating environment of reassurance and promise. The interior of the top spec. Advance version, with its sunroof and Bose sound system, is of even higher quality now. You soon realise that here is a repository of refined transportation. Start up and take to the high road and you’ll leave your blues behind as civic values predominate over crass modernism.
Whether you’re a car lover or not you’ll love the Civic for its ability to do all that you want of it in the best possible way. I often think that with the modern car they have gone as far as they can go – but it’s no exaggeration to say that the Civic shows that Honda can, indeed, go one better and one has to feel sympathy for rival manufacturers like Mercedes who must quake in their boots when thay see how far the bar has been raised.
Light weight and a superbly tuned chassis makes for agility on twisty roads. It is a responsive, good-riding car that slaloms through bends with the grace of an athlete. It offers more than just value for your money (From £32,995 to £40,680 for the Advance version ) – providing as it does, a rewarding every time you take the wheel. I’m delighted to report that re-tuned suspension and steering has brought about even better agility and an improved ride quality to make the Civic more dynamic. Always taut and agile, spearing the Civic through bends is grin-inducing. It feels balanced and poised – and pointy and alert.
I tried hard, but I found nothing to complain about. Most, I venture to suggest, will be more than satisfied with the performance and with the frugality too.
Yes, this is an up-to-the-minute car, but it embodies traditional values of worth. It carries with it its own oasis of calm, courtesy of silent running. If you’ll forgive me for saying so, the Civic takes the palm, setting the seal on civilised transportation and acquiring a legendary reputation for copper-bottomed reliability coupled with a cascade of golden benefits that elicit paeans of praise from ecstatic owners.
Say what you like, but there aren’t many cars that can manage this and put a smile on your face as well. We’ve all heard of ‘civic virtue’ – well here is a virtuous Civic that does not require a town crier to draw attention to the benefits. Cruising along some key words floated into my consciousness – like engaging, fluid, polished, refined, quality and image. These slip easily into the Honda’s lexicon. Oyez! Oyez! The Civic hybrid is the car for today.
