Honda Civic Review
Published: 11th February 2007
Honda Civic
Coupled to Honda's 6-speed manual gearbox, we achieved over 60 mpg on a sixty mile dual carriageway run from Cornwall back to Devon. Although our touring consumption dropped to a respectable 49.4 mpg, whilst pottering along Cornish lanes and byways.
The 2.2 CTDi engine is so suited to the Civic and having driven the 1.4 i-DSI and 1.8 i-VTEC petrol models, I have to say that this is undoubtedly the engine variant to have, especially if you enjoy driving or do more than average mileage.
How It Drove - Ride/Handling
The new Honda Civic has been specifically designed for the European market, with Honda engineers carrying out extensive chassis development in Europe using European drivers and this really shows.
On A-Roads and Motorways the Civic never seems out paced, even in 6th gear. The Civic copes well with modern Motorway driving and on B-Roads you can have a great deal of fun. The Civic is quite sharp with direct and extremely well-weighted steering. It takes quite a bit to unsettle the Civic although the VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) can be intrusive and this can be switched off (which we wouldn't recommend on the public highway). VSA is standard throughout the Civic model range which is unusual for a vehicle manufacturer so full marks to Honda for not compromising on safety.
The ride is verging on the hard side and through the optional 17" wheels fitted to our test car you can feel the road surface intimately.
All-round disc brakes with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking), EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution) and EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) are standard throughout the Civic model range and ensure that the Honda Civic brakes reassuringly well.
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