Honda Civic EX 1.0 Turbo 2017 first drive

We first drove this new entry point to the Honda Civic range in Spain at the start of the year. It was a big launch for Honda; after all, the new Honda Civic is the product of the single largest development programme in the Japanese car maker’s 70-year history.

With a new platform, a more sophisticated multi-link rear axle and a significantly stiffened unibody (which features increases of 52% in torsional rigidity and 88% in lateral stiffness), our Spanish drive was evidence that the Civic has benefited from Honda’s renewed focus on the European market during benchmarking. The Civic's engineering team wanted to get its family hatch to drive better, with greater comfort and more driver engagement than the immediate C-segment opposition.

We've now driven the Honda Civic EX 1.0 Turbo on UK roads, where it needs to stack up against rivals such as the three-cylinder Ecoboost-powered Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra 1.0 Ecoflex and the Peugeot 308 1.2 Puretech. Motorists with a larger budget might also be interested in the Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI and Audi 's A3.  

The new Honda Civic is one of the biggest cars in the family hatchback class, but nonetheless the small-capacity turbocharged triple under its bonnet makes a significant 127bhp, along with and 148lb ft, and that's enough to deliver reasonable acceleration. You need to work the six-speed gearbox hard to make decent progress, but its short throw and slick action across the gate makes the experience quite enjoyable.

Push the engine harder and you’ll be treated to a distinctive three-cylinder thrum, while at a steady cruise the motor's sound fades away into the background. Around town and at low revs, however, a small amount of vibration can be felt through the pedals and steering wheel, whereas similar engines in the Skoda Octavia and Vauxhall Astra tend to remain silky smooth throughout the rev range, so Honda’s new motor falls a little short when it comes to overall refinement.

Nevertheless, the new Civic drives well. The steering is direct and well judged, the control weights are spot on and the combination of body control and high grip levels is impressive. This is largely down to the new rear suspension and the wider, longer and lower platform. The car weighs in at a surprisingly portly 1348kg, but the Honda Civic displays remarkable levels of composure on all but the most undulating B-roads.

Adaptive suspension is standard on EX trim cars like the one we tested. If you leave the suspension in Comfort mode, there’s a pleasing compliance to how the car interacts with the road surface, and sudden inputs and imperfections do little to upset the balance of the chassis. Switching to Dynamic is to the detriment of the ride, but not to the extent that the car feels fidgety or nervous.