Honda Civic 2006 Review

The car has an edgy look is all its own.

It is the same in the cabin, where the double-decker dash has futuristic blue lighting and the speedometer is set high up against the base of the windscreen for maximum visibility.

Honda says the new Civic is a breakthrough and talks about the styling, technology and the Hybrid model at the top of the line.

The eighth-generation Civic models spread from the VTi at $20,990 to the Sport auto and the Hybrid at $31,990.

There are two four-cylinder motors, a 1.8 and a 2.0-litre, in a body that is longer, lower, wider and cuts through the air much better than the car it replaces.

The previous Civic was not nearly as adventurous — or appealing — as the cars that won it such a strong following in the 1980s and 1990s.

The seventh-gen Civic was a bit boxy, a bit cheap and a bit boring.

It did well enough for Honda Australia but was overwhelmed by everything from the classy Ford Focus and Holden Astra to the price-driven Nissan Pulsar.

So number eight is the response. And it is a good looker that gives exactly what you would expect from Honda.

With one exception. There is no hatch and, in a small-car class in which up to 80 per cent of sales are hatches, Honda has backed itself into a corner filled mostly with older and more conservative customers.

That is fine, but that doesn't leave much room for growth in coming years.

So, after saying at first that the Civic hatch was built only in Britain and would be far too costly Down Under, Honda Australia is working hard to get the wickedly good-looking hatch here.

But it won't be this year, and it is not ever going to be a price leader, but the super-quick Type R would be a great start.

But, for now, we're talking about the sedan.

Honda Australia has tried to cover all the bases with the car, which has been built up from what the company calls a "flat-floor" design.

The idea is to maximise the cabin space while still having a low roofline and a wedgy shape, which calls for small triangular "peek-a-boo" windows near the wing mirrors to eliminate blind spots.

Twin airbags are standard, with more bags as you move up the models, and standard equipment from VTi includes airconditioning, anti-skid brakes, cruise control, electric windows and mirrors and a full-sized spare tyre.

The basic Civic engine is a 1.8 with i-VTEC that produces 103kW and 174Nm. The engine stays the same on the Civic VTi-L, but the car picks up a six-stack CD sound system with MP3, a 60-40 split-fold rear seat (it is a one-piece in the VTi), side airbags, alloy wheels and automatic aircon.

The flagship Civic Sport has 114kW and 188Nm from its four, which Honda says is the "gruntiest Civic ever", and the fancy stuff includes electric power steering, curtain airbags, a sunroof, leather in the cabin and a chromed tip on the exhaust.

The Hybrid is another story, for another day.

ON THE ROAD

THE new Civic looks good but is not as special as it looks.

It is a nice enough drive, but not as outstanding as the latest Focus or even as enjoyable as the Euro-built Astra.

Though impressive at first, once you spend a few days with the car, it settles comfortably into the Civic zone.

It ticks all the boxes, but just does not ring the bells. That sounds like criticism, but it is not.

The car is good, very good for the price and class, but the standard is now so high — and there are so many contenders — that a new

car has to be very, very special to jump any of its rivals.

We suspect the Civic hatch would give the extra zing we expected from a car that looks pretty impressive, but we will not know

until Honda Australia gets it Down Under.

Our test Civic was, not surprisingly, the flagship Sport model. It is well-equipped and beautifully finished, but still comes in at $29,990, though the showroom sticker goes up to $31,990 if you go for the five-speed automatic with F1-style shift paddles behind the steering wheel.

All very nice and typically Honda in the quality of the materials and finishing.

The cabin is pretty roomy, the seats are comfy and the electric steering and gearshift are light and easy to use.

The Civic goes nicely, with a wonderful Honda-style surge to the redline.

There is more than enough power for any job, but the car will also lug along well in the higher gears with few revs on board.

But the 1.8-litre engine is not far behind and there is a good argument for slipping down from the Sport to the lesser models without worrying about loss of power or response.

Still, the two-litre is surprisingly frugal and we got 8.2 litres/100km with a lot of freeway running, using standard unleaded in a car that qualifies for a low-emission rating.

Which brings us to the suspension. Hmmm. The Civic is all right, but we found the ride a bit choppy and the cornering performance was well short of what we expect in a Sport model.

The grip is fine, too, but the car runs wide pretty early, and well before the tyres should be losing grip.

Honda has a hi-tech fully-independent suspension system in the Civic but it is not properly tuned — or focused enough — for Australian roads, drivers and its rivals.

On the red tick side of the business, we also found the Civic tough to park (no visibility at either end), too noisy for our liking on country roads, a bit bland in the back end and no match for the Focus as a driving car.

One thing we liked was the full-sized spare. More and more small cars are switching to space savers, but when we got a flat in the Civic it was good to have the security of a real tyre for the long run home.

So the Civic is good and very classy, but is not top of the class.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A smooth looker and a nice drive, but outpointed by the Focus and not a value match for the Holden Astra. 76/100