HONDA CIVIC SR

 

Honda Civic

The HONDA Civic is a family car for a family that likes to be looked at, because its aggressive styling will definitely turn heads (although not always in a good way). Imagine your grandad suddenly coming round sporting a Lady GaGa t-shirt and you’ll be close to the reactions the Civic sometimes elicits.

The good news is that those distinctive looks are backed up by a sporty driving experience, although you have to pay a bit more for it than you do alternatives such as the Vauxhall Astra, Ford Focus and Skoda Octavia.

Inside, plenty of soft, squidgy plastics help it feel more upmarket than a Focus but not quite as plush as an Octavia. All but basic S and SE models come with a glossy 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard.

It’s not quite as easy to use as the unit you get in a Golf but some handy shortcut buttons help make switching between key features on the move fairly easy. The Honda Civic menus are a little confusing but it does come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring and satellite-navigation as standard.

The Honda Civic’s seats are soft, supportive and come with plenty of adjustment to help you get comfy if you’re tall, but you can’t get adjustable lumbar support to help stave off backache on long journeys on entry-level S models.

The back seats are nicely padded but your taller passengers might be moaning about headroom – there’s an annoying lump in the roof just in front of the rear windscreen that you don’t get in the Skoda Octavia. Thankfully, leg and knee room are excellent and there’s almost as much space for three adults to sit abreast as you get in the roomy Vauxhall Astra.

The Honda Civic’s boot is pretty generous, too. It’s bigger than the boot you get in an Astra and will easily fit a bulky baby buggy and some large soft bags.

S

Entry-level S models come with loads of safety kit but not much else. You get lane-departure warning, traffic-sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and a system that’ll brake automatically to help prevent collisions but there’s no touchscreen infotainment system, DAB digital radio or Bluetooth connectivity. For those you’ll have to spend extra and get an SE model.

2 engines available with the S trim 1L 

SE

SE models come with the same raft of safety equipment as S versions (including lane-departure warning, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking) but, crucially, add a few extra luxuries. So you get DAB digital radio, Bluetooth connectivity, air conditioning, steering wheel-mounted controls and 16-inch wheels as standard.

2 engines available with the SE trim 1L

SR

SR models come with a few extra features over SE and S versions, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation, a reversing camera, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, tinted rear windows and 17-inch alloy wheels. Also standard are automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, active cruise control, lane-departure warning and a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

2 engines available with the SR trim 1L