07 Nov 06
Frankly, though, I don't care. Driving the Civic is like piloting a concept car. At night the instrument panel lights up like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise and details such as the small, sculpted steering wheel, glossy piano-black panel face and Gore-Tex-style silver mesh on the cloth-trimmed sports seats make every other small hatchback I've driven feel as exotic as a Morphy Richards kettle.
Best of all, it all works brilliantly. The multimedia interface that controls the sat nav and stereo system is intuitive and fast to use, and the large digital rev counter and additional speedo set at eye-level in the dash make checking your progress safe and straightforward. There's ample storage too, including a handy lidded compartment between the seats that doubles as a twin cupholder and a hiding place for your mobile phone. It's a shame that the binnacle below the stereo is too small to hold CDs, but you can't have everything.
Neither is the attention to detail restricted to the needs of the driver. The rear seats fold down almost flat at the pull of a lever and there's a false floor in the boot that allows a surprising amount of kit to be concealed from prying eyes. And when you need maximum capacity, the false floor levers and folds flush with the seat backs. Clever stuff.
Some design faults have come to light over the last few weeks, however. The structural beam that intersects the upper and lower tailgate window, forming the rear spoiler, obscures a large part of your view of the road behind. You can easily lose an entire car in it. The piano-black instrument panel cover also collects grease and dust like nothing else. I've gone through half a travel pack of wet wipes already this month.
It's early days, but I've got a very good feeling about this car. I was never a fan of the previous Civic, even in Type-R guise; it always felt tinny somehow, brittle and built down to a price. This one has been built up to a standard.
