Honda CIVIC RANGE
Hondas Ever Popular Civic Might Well Be A Whole Lot More Car Than You Remember. Andy Enright Takes A Look At The Latest Versions
Hondas Civic is a car that broke the mould in any number of ways. As well as being the model most responsible for establishing the Japanese compact cars credibility in the UK, its also a hatchback that has been carefully marketed.
Honda recognised that buyers of three-door cars wanted a very different package to customers looking for more family-friendly five-door models, so created two quite different product lines when the current generation Civic was launched a few years back. Although in this way, Honda were able to steal something of a march on the opposition, times change and many manufacturers soon wised up.
Honda has responded and the latest Civics underline why theyre amongst the most popular Family Hatchback picks around.
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If anything, the latest set of changes have driven the three-door and five-door models still further apart. The three-door versions have become sharper and more aggressive while the five-door models go for extra equipment, greater refinement and a more upmarket feel. These changes are necessary as theres a sea change going on in this sector. Significant new rivals are coming thick and fast and its apparent that if manufacturers take their eye of the ball for a moment, theyll be left with products that are seen as old hat.
All three-door versions get a mesh grille to underline their sporting credentials while the Sport model adopts a Type-R style front spoiler, colour coded front grille, three-light projector headlights, revised tail lights, side sills and 16-inch alloys with chunky 205/55 R16 tyres. The flagship sports model, the Type-R, also benefits from a lighter flywheel and clutch assembly. With reduced inertia to battle, the Type-R can now notch off the sprint to 60mph in a startling 6.4 seconds .
A unique Type-R grille, blue projector lights, improved NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) tuning and door mounted indicators are also fitted.
"This Civic gets all of the basics right and adds an extra dimension of space and versatility previously unseen amongst conventional family hatchbacks."
Five door models get a three-bar grille as well as a revised tailgate and rear bumper ensemble. A tailgate spoiler is added and the tail lights 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.
The revised variable ratio steering rack and recalibrated spring, damper and anti roll bar settings are specifically tuned for three and five-door models as well as the Sport, Type S and Type-R variants. The interiors have come in for a little fettling and now feature improved
seat fabrics, and a bigger seat back pocket. Rear cup holders appear as does chrome finished detailing while Executive models get a titanium leather interior with a titanium centre console. All three-door cars are fitted with a three-spoke sports steering wheel while five-door cars get a four-spoke tiller with built in audio controls.
Three-door cars get white dials while five-door cars use 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 in the five-door. Theres also a relatively unfamiliar model at the top of the Civic five-door range. Weve grown used to the 160bhp Type S version, but
Honda have unveiled the Type S with VSA, the Japanese companys version of Electronic Stability Control.
The VSA model also includes a close ratio gearbox, bigger alloy wheels with low profile tyres and bigger ventilated front brake discs. Who said five-door models had to be boring? The five-door body shape has proved a winner with customers looking for sheer practicality. The one-box dome-shaped profile with its short nose and large glass area gives a very shrunken-People Carrier feel. Its the same inside, where the dashboard-mounted gearlever frees up floorspace and enables front-seated parents to walk through and clip the ears of warring kids sat in the rear.
As for 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.
Whilst sharing the same width across the floor pan as the five-door, the three-door range is in fact 145mm shorter and 60mm lower. A 20kg weight saving translates into marginal performance advantages for the three-door cars. On to safety and security. These were once weak points of Japanese design: now theyre major attributes. Twin front and side 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. 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 range
PRICES: £10,000-£16,000 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-17
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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