New Honda Civic delivers

I KNOW that many car companies are good at blowing their own horn when it comes to any technological innovations they might happen upon, but it strikes me that one company — possibly above all others — rarely either takes or receives the credit it deserves for so long being at the fore of automotive innovation.

For generations Honda has been at the leading edge of engineering in many ways and it seems to me that the company is the antithesis of the innate conservatism which is at the heart of so many of its Japanese rivals.

And it amuses me when a company claims to have made a major breakthrough in any given area, to know that it is fairly certain this is an area where Honda has already successfully visited or walked away from.

It was something of a surprise therefore, when the latest generation of the Honda Civic was unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The overwhelming reaction from the media was one of stunned incredulity.

That stemmed from the fact that the previous Civic was launched back in 2006; it was so radical and different from the Focus/Golf/Astra pack with which it competed that it took everyone by surprise. However, if we were expecting more of the same from the 2012 Civic we were misguided.

Honda itself calls the new Civic a ‘thoughtful evolution’ of the car which it succeeds, but you’d have to suspect that Honda was corporately nonplussed by the media reaction to the 2006 model, which was characterised by its space-age cockpit and innovative exterior looks.

If I am correct in this, the result was that the 2012 Civic is not in any way as visually extraordinary as its predecessor and is not really what could be described as a pretty car. However, what is worth noting is that this time around Honda has concentrated heavily on what is underneath the skin of the Civic and has paid special attention to its on-road dynamics.

Now while the MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspensions might seem fairly conventional, Honda is claiming huge gains in ride and handling performance as a result of retuning the chassis and steering. Those changes have made the Civic one of the most sophisticated machines to drive in its class, and while it’s not quite at the very top of the class in this regard, it is a lot closer to it than ever before.

It is a very smart on-road performer with beautifully weighted steering, excellent grip levels and a sense of handling fluidity you might only reasonably expect from a much larger and more expensive machine.

This wellbeing is mirrored under the hood where the already excellent 2.2 litre turbodiesel has also been the subject of a clinical revamp of some of its internals — including a new intercooler, revised combustion chambers and other bits and bobs — and the net result is that it now outputs some 148 bhp at 4,000 rpm and a massive 350 Nm at between 2,000 and 2,750 rpm.

Power is transmitted to the front wheels via an excellently slick six speed ‘box and top speed is 217 kph, while the 0-100 kph dash is achieved in just 8.5 seconds. Co2 emissions are just 110 g/km (putting it in tax band A and giving an annual road tax of just €160) and fuel consumption works out 4.4 l/100 km which, believe me, is not to be sniffed at.

Coming on to the car’s interior and it is fair to say that this Civic is not quite as radical looking as the previous one. The dual instrument binnacle surrounds the driver and the dash itself is swathed in soft-touch plastics and all told it all works well and provides a premium feel that many competitors lack.

We tested the ES spec version of the Civic and this added kit such as a rear parking camera, leather steering wheel and gear knob, cruise control, dual zone climate control and automatic lights and wipers, to what is a pretty comprehensive standard package.

The Civic also boasts ‘magic’ rear seats which not only allow them to be folded flat, but also have squabs which flip up and allow storage space for difficult items such as bicycles, for example.

On the down side, some of the switchgear is fiddly and hard to assimilate at just a glance and interior space is not as generous as some competitors, particularly the rear headroom.

These, however, are fairly minor quibbles, as the Honda represents a very classy buying proposition, particularly the quality and reliability of the product.

Honda has always prided itself on producing a premium product and there was nothing I saw in the new Civic which could lead one to dispute this claim. The quality of the engineering and design on offer here is top drawer.

To any well-tutored eye the Civic represents a decent and competitive buying option. Everything that is good about the brand is on offer here.