What is it?
New 2012 Honda Civic. Now only available as a five door, but still looking slightly crazy and futuristic compared to other hatchbacks.
Technical highlights?
The big news suspension-wise is in the fluid-filled compliance bushes, which improve the ride quality. The torsion beam rear axle (it?s MacPherson struts, as you?d imagine, at the front) is also now stiffer than the previous generation Type-R?s.
What?s it like to drive?
Well the first thing to say is that ? if you?re keen on the idea of a Civic - you should buy the 2.2-litre i-DTEC diesel. That might sound like sacrilege when you have the alternative option of an petrol engine with the letters VTEC in its name, but sadly the thrashy 148bhp 1.8-litre petrol is just too gutless to make driving it enjoyable. The diesel isn?t a corker in terms of refinement, but it will at least get you up a mild incline without multiple downshifts, and throttle response is good.
As you?d expect, a standard chassis Civic is not going to set the performance world on fire. Having said that, the ride is pleasingly supple without feeling wallowy (although it struggles slightly through bigger suspension movements at speed), the steering is engagingly direct and overall it feels nicely judged. The pedals are well spaced too and the manual gearshift is relatively close across the gate, so if you found yourself on a decent bit of road it certainly wouldn?t be horribly frustrating. Most importantly, it should ride well on British roads too.
How does it compare?
Priced at ?20,095 for the i-DTEC it is on a par with the slightly less powerful 2.0 litre diesel Golf. The main reason for buying the Honda however is that it resolutely isn?t a Golf. It looks conspicuously different to any other hot hatch on sale, and in an age where it?s all too easy for one generic shape to blend into another that has to be a good thing.
Anything else I should know?
The Magic seat system is jolly clever ? it won?t produce a rabbit out of a hat, but the rear seats do fold up in numerous ingenious ways and allow you to transport lots of unusually shaped and sized objects as a result. From a patriotic point of view, the other thing you should remember is that it?s built in Swindon.