As we mentioned last time, we have a few long journeys to take the Civic on, the first being a 478-mile jaunt from our Liverpool offices down to Dunsfold Aerodrome. You can read more about what we got up to down in Dunsfold here, but it also gave us our first proper opportunity to test how the Civic Tourer performs over the best (and the worst) of what Britain’s roadways can throw at it.
After all, the 1.6-litre diesel engine in our car is the greenest option in the range, but the tradeoff for fuel efficiency often means that the greenest engine is also the least entertaining. The i-DTEC has everything to prove, then.
Is the 1.6 i-DTEC a good cruiser?
Before that, here’s the specs. The only diesel in the Civic Tourer range, the 1.6-litre i-DTEC has a maximum output of 120bhp and comes linked to a slick, six-speed manual gearbox with a surprisingly short throw for a family car. 0-62mph takes 10.3 seconds, while it’ll run all the way to 121mph if you present it with enough straight tarmac.
The engine is, on paper at least, slower to accelerate than the 1.8-litre petrol which is also available, but with more torque, smoother power delivery and of course those all-important economy figures we reckon that it’s the frugal diesel which is the pick of the bunch.
It’s smooth and yet remarkably punchy when you’re cruising about and the high torque figure means that you can accelerate with ease to overtake on the motorway without having to change down from sixth for a bit of extra poke.
The engine does get a bit noisy when you really rev it but it doesn’t sound as agricultural as some other diesels, and measured against comparable engines from the likes of the Volkswagen Group it’s a real gem.
What the Civic Tourer does lack is some of that real emotional appeal: it’s too slow to be a real hot estate and even the sporty-feeling gearbox can’t make it feel all that exciting. It’s more softly-sprung than its rivals and the steering’s a bit vague too, which means that it feels just a tad too detached from the road to be a real drivers’ car.
Honda Civic Tourer comfort
That same benign setup does make the Tourer exceedingly comfortable however, particularly on long jaunts of the kind we undertook. Our test car also comes with the optional adaptive damper system, which can firm up the ride for B-road sprints and then relax again for cruising.
The Civic Tourer is at its best when cruising up the motorway though, and makes long road trips and family journeys. That soft suspension does an excellent job of ironing out all manner of road irregularities to the point that you’ll often hear them but never feel them, which is perfect for the UK.
Could it be the ultimate road trip car for Britain? So far at least, the Civic is proving to be a fantastic companion for long-distance runs, so stay tuned to see what we make of its other aspects in the next few weeks.