ROAD TEST: HONDA CIVIC 2.2 I-DTEC EC:TALENT DOESN'T always out. At least that's the succour I cling to as a football fan of Liverpool and Mayo. It's the sort of reasoning, however irrational, that must comfort Honda's directors. I'd be surprised if it's not emblazoned in 3ft lettering on the boardroom walls.
Honda should be a top 10 car marque given its engineering pedigree, with everything from dancing robots to powerboats and motorbikes. Yet like the England’s national soccer team, the sum of its parts are far in excess of what it achieves as a whole. Perhaps Fabio Capello’s replacement should pay a visit to Tokyo before signing up for the job.
Think of the hottest motorbikes and the Fireblade is one of the first on the list. A legendary supercar from a mainstream brand? You can’t go far wrong with the NSX. A practical family car at affordable prices? The Honda Jazz suits you sir. The first production hybrid? No, not a Prius but Honda’s original Insight.
So why is Honda continually ranked amongst the lower league brands in motoring sales? Perhaps it has something to do with the distance – in geography and mindset – between Japan and Europe. Instead Honda’s focus has been on the lucrative US market, where the brand has achieved the recognition it deserves. The Americans understand Honda, while Europe’s mature and highly car competitive market offers only idiosyncratic problems. We want diesels for a start.
The new Civic is meant to appeal to European needs and arguably this ninth generation of the car delivers on these fronts.
The new model is slightly larger than the outgoing version, but you will never mistake it for anything other than an evolution of the outgoing Civic. It’s not a great look, and while it is slightly sleeker than its predecessor, it’s not a head-turner. This seems like a car designed by engineers and aerodynamic specialists rather than stylists. They say that the secret to a great design is simple sweeping lines. The Civic is the motoring equivalent of a two-year-old’s colouring copybook.
Design and styling are personal tastes but I just can’t warm to the look of this car and little things like the rear wiper seem like an afterthought. The rear window, split in two between a slightly pitched horizontal back window and a vertical tailgate, remains a bugbear for anyone inside. You get used to it after a while, but it should have been the first item on the list of changes when this new model was being planned.
Yet sit inside and there’s a host of reasons why the Civic deserves much more credit than it gets. While bootspace has slightly shrunk, it’s remarkably deep stowage well means it can easily swallow a week’s shopping and the detritus of family life without a problem.
The cabin is something of a curate’s egg. It’s one of the most comfortable in its class and there’s a real quality feel to the plastics that seem to wrap around the driver.
The main controls are relatively intuitive. The digital age dashboard layout may be a little too 1980s sci-fi games console, but it can’t be faulted for its clarity and the speedometer and information screen are both located in the driver’s eyeline. It’s the nearest to a heads-up display without adopting that technology. However, as with several rivals, an attempt to marry all the latest infotainment technology results in over-complex controls in the central console.
Given its size, it’s hardly surprising that the 2.2-litre diesel is more than capable of pulling along this hatchback at pace. It’s mated to a sweet six-speed transmission that has a lovely short change and the overall package is smooth and refined. Even starting from cold the engine is commendably encased in sound-proofing so the din doesn’t seep into the cabin.
This is a reworking of Honda’s well-regarded diesel that achieves a very admirable emissions figure of 110g/km. The firm is preparing a 1.6-litre diesel for 2013, but unless the tax regime is radically overhauled it’s hard to argue that this current engine doesn’t fit the bill in terms of balancing fuel economy and emissions with power and refinement. The petrol engines on offer just don’t match this diesel for all-round ability.
The specification levels are impressive even on the standard model, while the move up to the mid-level ES grade costs €1,375 on the diesel. For that you get a significant upgrade in equipment that makes it look worthwhile. The same cannot be said for the range-topping EX, which adds leather and satnav but will set you back an extra €3,005.
That the 148bhp 2.2-litre diesel with ES specification retails at €25,820 is impressive, considering that even lower-priced rivals don’t match it in terms of performance or specification, while those that do are more expensive and usually combine their bigger diesels with automatic transmissions.
Few of its rivals have managed to bring this sort of performance and still deliver emissions in the 100g/km bracket. Given the car’s styling, it’s clear that much of this is down to aerodynamics. Every little feature, including strange little boomerangs on the rear sides are fitted to reduce air drag. There’s a low lip on the front, no doubt also to reduce air flow under the car and improve aerodynamics, but it occasionally clips the road when the car descends from large speed bumps, even at low speeds. If you get your speeds wrong there’s a teeth-grating scraping noise emanating from the front. It’s not a sound you want to hear from a new car.
The handling and steering are impressively refined, far more so than we expected and much improved on the initial test cars we drove several months ago. Bodyroll is kept to a minimum in corners, there’s a degree of understeer, but nothing more than with rivals and the feeling from behind the wheel is one of a very smooth and controlled performer.
Honda has an impressive record of customer satisfaction to judge by its strong rankings in reliability surveys and personal experience has found that owners quickly become evangelists for the brand. Despite being a remarkably small player, the brand retains a quasi-premium reputation and owners tend to stick with Honda once they get their first car. The problem has been that with Europe seemingly regarded as an afterthought in terms of engine development, Honda has been disgracefully slow to adapt to Europe’s diesel fixation.
Once more Honda delivers much more than we expected and it’s only after spending some time with the car that we really appreciated its ability. Its looks aside, the new Civic has real premium feel and should be set as a benchmark against the premium brands. There’s a value proposition here that combines with a very strong diesel engine that deserves far greater public recognition than it gets. Honda has spent too long on the cusp of success.
FACTFILE
ENGINE2199cc putting out 148bhp @ 4,000rpm and 350Nm of torque @ 2,000rpm.
PERFORMANCE0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds (top speed 217km/h).
ECONOMY4.2 L/100km (67.3 mpg).
EMISSIONS110g/km (Band A - €160 motor tax).
FEATURESStandard on entry models include: stability control; ABS with brake assist; six airbags; 16 alloys; climate control air-con; alarm; hill start assist; electric windows; LED daytime lights; remote audio controls and USB connection. ES adds: rear parking camera; Bluetooth; cruise control; dual-zone air-con; rain-sensing wipers; front foglights; leather steering wheel; six stereo speakers. EX adds: leather upholstery; satnav; heated front seats; premium audio with subwoofers.
PRICE€25,820 (start at €21,395 for 1.4-litre petrol SE version).
RIVALSFord Focus 1.6 TDi Zetec €24,335 (motor tax: €160); VW Golf 1.6 TDi 5dr Edition-R €25,240 (motor tax: €160); Opel Astra 1.7 CDT-I 125bhp SE €24,495 (motor tax: €160); Toyota Auris D-4D 90bhp Sport €23,075 (motor tax: €160).
O UR RATING7/10
Not pretty but impressive quality and value; the Civic is a real contender.