2014 Honda Civic first drive review

From £15,7607
Dynamic and styling changes add an extra touch of verve and class to the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf-rivalling Honda Civic

Our Verdict

Honda Civic 2012-2017

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is an impressive achievement and a worthy rival to the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, but it isn't quite up to class-leading standards

Matt Burt
14 November 2013

What is it?

Heeding feedback from dealers and customers, the Honda Civic hatchback has undergone a mild dynamic and styling refresh for the 2014 model year.

The aim, says Honda, is to close the dynamic gap between the base model and the imminent Civic Type R, which is set to arrive in 2015, and also to give the car a slightly more upmarket feel.

Under the skin of the ninth-generation Civic, the electronic power steering has been retuned to make the car feel more surefooted at higher speeds.

The suspension set-up – MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear – remains the same but the front and rear dampers have been tweaked to enhance body control, and the toe and camber of the rear suspension have been realigned to improve overall handling.

The tweaks have been carried out by the engineering team at Honda’s Swindon base to further align the car with European tastes.

What's it like?

Given the advantage of driving the tweaked Honda Civic back-to-back with the existing version, the benefits were clear. The steering, which previously felt numb and rather fudgy through the thick-rimmed steering wheel, is now more slick and communicative.

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Thankfully, its not quite as ultra-quick and nervous as the system found on the previous-generation Civic, but it now feels nicely balanced.

The spring and damper changes have ramped up the driver involvement level by a notch. During higher-speed cornering, the revised Civic feels tauter, more composed and body roll is contained. The front and rear ends of the car appear to be on closer speaking terms than previously.

The Civic’s ride can be a little inconsistent, fidgeting over some road imperfections, although well within tolerable limits. A roughly surfaced dual carriageway threw up a fair degree of road noise, too. A contributing factor may have been the 17in wheels and tyres that our high-spec test car rode on, as opposed to the 16in versions which are standard on lower-spec models.

The key exterior styling changes are at the rear, which gets privacy glass on the lower rear window, and piano black finishes to the tailgate, licence plate surround and lower bumper. The front bumper finish is now also piano black, instead of anthracite grey, and there are darker wheel arch garnishes. The changes are extremely subtle, but a side-by-side comparison with the outgoing car indicates a more cohesive and upmarket look.

The interior changes include some light-coloured stitching on the leather and touches of brightwork and gloss finishing that conspire to lift the previously less-than-inspiring cabin.

Unchanged are the Civic’s more fundamental drawbacks of a cabin that somehow conspires to offer limited headroom to even drivers of medium height, and restricted backwards visibility caused by the split rear window.

Should I buy one?

It’s definitely worthy of consideration. The changes are likely to be accompanied by a modest price increase, although Honda is also planning to redefine its spec levels to include extra kit, which should further sweeten the deal.

There are no changes to the performance of the Civic’s engines, with the lightweight and pleasingly economical 1.6-litre modern diesel installed in our test car still the pick of the bunch, especially if you are in the market for a frugal hatch with tax-beating CO2 emissions.

Overall, the raft of tweaks doesn’t affect the Civic’s position as a left-of-centre alternative to the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, although keener drivers will now find more to get inspired by.

Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC EX

Price £23,785 (est); 0-62mph 10.5sec; Top speed 129mph; Economy 78.5mpg (combined); CO2 94g/km; Kerbweight 1428kg; Engine 4 cyls, 1597cc, turbodiesel; Power 118bhp at 4000rpm; Torque 221lb ft at 2000rpm; Gearbox 6-spd manual

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Comments
7

Mini2

14 November 2013
It certainly looks better than the current model. I always felt Honda had taken a backward step with this Civic, making it overly fussy rather than the futuristic treatment of the previous model. The glossy black elements on this newer version certainly help make it appear a little sportier, visually at least, and I have to say that Honda always seem to be quite quick at responding to criticism. This Civic has only been around for about 2 years - they treated the Insight in a similar way.


"Work hard and be nice to people"

fadyady

14 November 2013
"It’s definitely worthy of consideration."

Mark Rodriguez

15 November 2013
'Dynamic and styling changes add an extra touch of verve and class to the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf-rivalling Honda Civic.' Matt- when is the last time you had an eye-test, my dear boy? No self-respecting person will be driving that awful-looking thing.

paul896

15 November 2013
Honda are on a roll lately... turning out crap! They had to quickly facelift and improve the US Civic and now the same with this one. I agree with Mini2, they took the beautiful shape of the previous generation and made it worse. A lot worse. Personally, I don't see any reason to buy this over the competition. It seems that Mazda will be the new Honda

winniethewoo

15 November 2013
It still looks like a hippo to me, especially from the rear 3/4's in metallic bronze or grey. The front looks like a puffy face, sort of like a beaten up boxer. Honda really need new talented designers, in touch with current design trends. Its a shame that Honda lost confidence in its core values (torsion beam suspension anyone over double wishbones?) and are producing cars that look like this / the hastly replaced US Civic.

RayCee

9 December 2013
I recently went for a test drive in the previous model. I thought it was a safe, reliable purchase option. Well made and I liked the rear seat folding up. That said, it is 'Honda conservative'. They do need to be more aggressive if they want younger buyers. It looks young on the outside but is for middle aged folk and up on the inside. Mazdas have more driver focus but are poorly packaged, and not quite as solid. I would take a Honda any day on that choice. That said, few bigger car makers take risk these days. Honda seem to be very much in that mode.

nicolodeon

21 July 2014
The only thing this car rivals is a shopping trolley, it's noisy, the ride is terrible, the handling is slushy, interior rattles, the engine sounds like an old taxi, the interior is a mess, the paintwork is a joke, chips and scratches so easily, and the whole thing looks abysmal. It's economical though, the seats are ok and the boot is big. Oh, and it's a company car I didn't choose it myself.

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