Honda Civic review: hybrid saloon delivers refinement, economy and style — but at a high price

Honda’s new Civic hybrid combines comfort, refinement and excellent fuel economy — but its premium price will test Irish buyers

The new Honda Civic is a gem; finely engineered, genuinely lovely to look at and drive, comfortable to a fault, and bursting at the seams with tech and innovation. But it isn’t cheap.

HONDA CIVIC e:HEV
Rating	★★★★☆
Price	€48,995
Power	essentially an electric, but that electricity is generated by a two-litre petrol engine
The Spec	truly top drawer, although there is only one model available
Verdict	a winning car compromised greatly by the asking price

IT IS very hard in this gig sometimes, believe it or not. People think it’s all brilliant this car reviewing craic — new car every week, driving around like a mad thing, and then just writing a couple of hundred words about it. What could be simpler?

Life is never that easy, though, is it? Sure, it’s a fantastic job and one — for a petrol head — that was invented in heaven and played out in real life here on earth. I will certainly never complain about my lot, but there are times when you come across a really brilliant car, yet find it difficult to recommend for one galling reason or another.

This week’s tester is a case in point. The newest Honda Civic is a true gem; fine engineered to its door handles, genuinely lovely to look at and drive, comfortable to a fault, and bursting at the seams with tech and innovation. What’s not to love?

Well, the fact that here we have a mid-sized family car which costs more than the amount the wife and myself paid for our first house, does colour the matter somewhat.

We have had 11 generations of the Civic to date and without doubt the current one is possibly the best ever built. Well, apart from the mad “R” versions and some of those with the high-lift cam engines they made in the ’80s and ’90s, long before many of you gen-Zers or millennials ever saw the light of day.

The Civic has always been a model of both decorum and incivility — finding happy homes in a variety of driveways, from those who simply loved its solidity and reliability to those who loved tearing the ass out of theirs, simply because it allowed them to do so.

That it could do everything — from getting to the supermarket and back to special stage rallying — without having to modify it greatly, showed its versatility and robustness across many generations.

It has also moved with the times down the years and been to the fore of any engineering innovations the industry was going through at any given point in time. Invariably it also caught the design zeitgeist of the moment, too.

The current one is a stunning looking car — a four-door fastback saloon rather than a hatchback, as was so often the case in the past — and particularly so in the crystal blue metallic overcoat the tester came in. It truly is a joy to behold. In engineering terms, too, it is also on the money as a petrol hybrid, which is currently one of the most saleable options for punters right now. And the system Honda has come up with is not only innovative from an engineering point of view, but it is also extremely economic, while being quite sprightly as well and largely devoid of the traditional hybrid pitfalls such as the screechiness under acceleration.

Honda Civic e:HEV interior

Choosing the hybrid path as the only engine option is also brave as — apart from Toyota — all Honda’s major rivals still produce a full complement of internal combustion engines for their contenders in the market segment.

And the e:HEV system they’ve produced is a different take on that used in both the Jazz and the HR-V models we tested recently — both of which impressed us greatly. This version too, which utilises a larger two litre engine specifically designed for this Civic. 

An electric motor does most of the legwork here, with the actual engine largely used for generating the electricity with which to power it. This makes it very a very smooth and quiet drive and it is altogether a very refined thing.

Economic, too. During our test of mixed driving, we saw a figure of 4.7 l/100 km (59.5 mpg), which is pretty impressive.

The hybrid set-up provides some 183 bhp and an impressive 315 Nm of torque and, despite a 0-100 km/h time of 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 180 km/h, this is a car which always seems at ease with itself.

Emphasis here is on refinement rather than speediness and in this regard the e-CVT gearbox, which actually has no gears and relies on two electric motors, does a passable imitation of changing gears under acceleration.

The refinement extends to its on-road performance as well. The Civic is relatively softly sprung which, in Irish conditions this can present many difficulties — such as excess body roll — but this thing soaks up what’s thrown at it with considerable elan while never allowing the car wallow in its own deficiencies. It helps that this version is some 22% more rigid than the previous model and that there’s a wide rear track. It also helps the overall balance that the battery pack is sited under the rear seats and that’s not something everyone has cracked.

Honda Civic e:HEV

That said, the suspension set-up does prevent you getting all excited about cornering, but the handling in general is excellent and things like the steering weight and response are a lot better than you might have expected. Even so, if you want real Honda thrills, there’s always the Type R version.

If all of that is good, then the interior will also please most punters. The decor is easy on the eye and pleasingly laid out, while the 9” infotainment system is easy to live with and there are also nice rotary controls for the climate system.

It’s spacious as well in there, what with an extra 35mm of legroom found for the rear passengers, even if the sloping fastback roofline does limit head room a tad. Equipping levels are good, which is just as well, as only one specification level is offered to Irish buyers.

That single trim level, however, presents something of a difficulty for both Honda Ireland and its dealers, particularly as it is not cheap. That means the Civic is up against it.

This is a car I really liked, but I must say that when I saw the list price, I did blanche. At nearly 50 big ones, it seems inappropriate at best for a small family car. Sure, you’re getting a lot of class and sophistication here, but you can tell the asking price is something punters will easily balk at.

I do feel for the guys trying to sell this car and particularly so as they know they have a truly excellent product to offer, but because of a variety of factors they effectively have one hand tied behind their collective backs. That’s a bit sad, in truth.

Honda Ireland has been able to readjust pricing on a number of other models in recent times and undoubtedly dealers will heave a sigh of relief if and when they are able to manage that with the Civic.