Honda CIVIC 5-DOOR RANGE
Want A Family Hatchback That Makes Spacious Sense? Hondas Civic 5-door Could Fit The Bill. Jonathan Crouch Reports
Buying a Family Hatchback? Then you may well be agonising between something conventional (like a
Ford Focus) or one of those more practical but less rewarding
mini-MPVs (like a
Renault Scenic). In which case, youll probably be interested in a family hatchback like Hondas latest Civic that claims to offer the best of both.
It isnt that
Honda has anything against mini-MPVs. In fact, theyve developed one based on this latest Civics platform. Its just that they think more conventional family five-doors ought to be a good bit more practical. Not a sentiment many would argue with.
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Like the original Civic 5-door range this car was developed to replace, this model is being built at the companys Swindon plant and has subsequently spawned a three-door version that rolls along the same lines. Theres even an MPV version called the Stream though a glance at this 5-door model might lead you to think its already an MPV in its own right. However you classify it, the 5-door was recently revamped for the 2004 model year to keep it fresh in the eyes of buyers. The five door models got a three-bar grille as well as a revised tailgate and rear bumper ensemble.
A tailgate spoiler was added and the taillights have also been revised. A number of changes, however, go right across the Civic range. Extensive fine-tuning of the suspension and the power steering systems give the cars much crisper handling and better steering feel. Inside, the five-door cars get a four-spoke tiller with built in audio controls and the illuminated dash as seen in the Civic IMA and the Accord.
A space saver spare wheel now frees up extra boot space, with the volume rising by 55 litres in the three door and 45 litres. As for cabin space, well theres significantly more than youd find in an ordinary family hatch, due to dimensions that make it 130mm longer and 15mm higher than a class-leader like Fords Focus. Hardly surprising then, that the cabin boasts a useful amount of extra room. Compare it once more with a Focus and youll find 30mm more headroom and (perhaps more surprisingly given that its 15mm narrower) 145mm more cabin width.
Rear
seat passenger legroom is especially impressive, even for the middle seat occupant who for once, can stretch his or her legs out in comfort.
"This Civic gets all of the basics right and adds an extra dimension of space and versatility previously unseen amongst conventional family hatchbacks"
Surprisingly for a company that prides itself on building cars around its engines, theres not much thats new under the bonnet at least in petrol form. In fact, there are initially only two petrol engine choices, both of them basically carried over from the old Civic 5-door line-up. To be fair to
Honda, both have been fiddled with by the engineers to provide more mid-range pulling power and, as you might expect, emissions have been reduced in this case so much that they comply with new regulations not scheduled for introduction until 2005. Most customers will probably choose the 89bhp 1.
4, priced from £11,125, though theres also a 108bhp 1.6 to try and keep more enthusiastic motorists interested until more potent engines arrive. Here, sixty is 10.4s away en route to 114mph.
At the pumps meanwhile, you should be able to average over 40mpg on a regular basis, whichever of the two units you choose. The CTDi diesel is something of a departure for Honda, but the
Isuzu-derived 1.7-litre powerplant certainly makes all the right noises. Hitting sixty in a mere 11 seconds and good for over 57mpg, this 100bhp diesel may pave the way for Honda to start creating ever more outlandish oil-burners.
Equipment levels depend on your choice between either S, SE or Executive trim levels but pride of place at the top of the range goes to the 2.0-litre 160bhp Type-S hot hatch. Whichever model you choose however, you should find it pretty well specified. Theres ABS, twin front airbags, a CD Player and electric windows included on every model and the option of automatic transmission on most of the 1.
6-litre variants. As far as running costs are concerned, significant reductions are being claimed and theres the usual three year comprehensive warranty to consider. Not that youre likely to need it. Build quality a traditionally strong Honda trait is as usual exemplary: even the gaps between the body panels have been halved. On to safety and security. These were once weak points of Japanese design: now theyre major attributes. Twin front airbags are standard across the range, as are anti-lock brakes and three-point seat belts for all five occupants. Two of the rear seats have Isofix child seat mounting points. On the security front, this car copies the excellent system used on the larger Accord with deadlocks and an immobiliser.
Theres also a visible vehicle identification number to aid recovery should the car get stolen anyway. As a result, your insurance costs should be low, the base 1.4 rated in lowly group 4. At the wheel, its all nicely made and well laid out but somehow still doesnt have the quality feel that youd find in a VW Golf.
Mind you, not much else in the class has. As for the exterior styling, well its all very sensible and you can see the computer influence but theres nothing about it that will stir your soul. Still, stirring the soul is an irrelevancy for most family hatchback customers. This Civic gets all of the basics right and adds an extra dimension of space and versatility previously unseen amongst conventional family hatchbacks.
For industry experts, cars like this one are a nightmare, blurring the boundaries between established class categories. But family cars shouldnt be designed for industry experts. This one has been created for people and it shows.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Honda Civic five-door range
PRICES: £11,125-£15,730 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-11
CO2 EMISSIONS: 134-178g/km EPRFORMANCE: [1.4] 0-60mph 12.1s / Max Speed 108mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4] (urban) 34.0mpg/ (extra urban) 52.3mpg/ (combined) 44.1mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 4285/1695/1495mm
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