Fun Family Favourites

To me, the Civic Hatch is still one of the best-looking hatchbacks in South Africa. I like the rear doors’ hidden handles that fooled my wife into thinking it is a two door: mission accomplished and one-zero to the Civic. I do, however, miss the triangular tailpipe end pieces protruding from the backside of the old model. But then again the new Civic has a prettier face.

 

The futuristic interior, with the same flashy blue rev counter and digital speedo in front of you, as found in the sporty CR-Z Hybrid Coupé, lets you feel like you’re a pilot in a spaceship. Combined with racing-style pedals, I was rather let down by the lack of oomph when I tried some quick lift-offs.

 

That is until I remembered switching on the green ECON Assist button when I initially got in. In ECON mode, the gear indicator teaches you to drive economically and the 1.8-litre, 16-valve SOHC i-VTEC engine is tuned for frugality. This was proven by the 7.4 l/100 km reading from the centre control screen. Not bad for an eighteen hundred, but far off the claimed consumption of 6.3. Switching off the green ECON button with the flower on it, the 104 kW and 174 Nm of torque is enough for a very engaging drive. It revs freely to the soft limiter at around 6,500 r/min and the gear changes, via the six-speed manual, are slick and direct. The steering is smooth, but feels a bit light, which scores points in the comfort stakes. However, a bit heavier weighting and more feedback would have been nice.

 

In the Executive model, you get heated front seats, climate control, an easy-to-use multifunctional leather steering wheel, cruise control and a rear-parking camera. I always try to figure out all the functions without looking in the manual and try as I might, I could not find the hands-free Bluetooth connection for my cell phone. It might not have been an option on my car (there was a USB cable connector in the centre cubbyhole), but if it was, it was not easy to find. Everything else was instinctive to use, as is the case with all the Hondas I’ve driven. You really feel at home in the car and the blue lighting that emanates from the door pockets adds ambiance. The only gripe I had was the annoying reflection of the intelligent Multi-Information Display (i-MID) bouncing from the smooth dash to the windscreen at night. Even if you switch it off, the not-entirely-black screen is still visible just to the left of your line of sight.

 

The Civic is one of the safest cars in its class, with the maximum stars in the new Euro NCAP tests, and comes with all the safety features we’re used to these days.

 

The boot is big, gulping up 401 litres of luggage, and so is the rear legroom. As always with Honda, you just know you won’t regret buying it. I enjoyed the Civic Sedan when I tested it last year and the Hatch is no different, expect in one way. It is good to look at too. At R274 400, I could not find a direct competitor in this hotly contested C-segment, as the closest actually-all-new Auris from Toyota, the seventh rendition of VW’s Golf and Opel’s Astra all have smaller engines at smaller prices or turbo-charged engines at higher prices. As with smart phones, even though the prices are hard to compare, you usually know beforehand which one you like best. Regardless of your choice, I am sure you’ll find a way to justify it.

 

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