yes, believe it

i get to drive all sorts of cars in my job as a test engineer for a Tier 1 automotive Air Conditioning supplier. for example, next week i'll have a supercharged v8 range rover and in the past i've driven such things as aston martin vanquish, bentley arnage black label, lotus exige etc, etc.

but last night i had a go in a new civic 1.8 and i can honestly say that it is the best car that i've ever driven. obviously not the fastest, or the best sounding, or best handling, but the best overall package.

for the money, and for the size/class of car it was just superb. the interior was fantastic, with a superb dash board with multifunctional digital display in the centre of the rev counter. the digital speedo can be switched from mph to kmh at the press of a button. it has cruise control, you can set warnings at different speed limits, the multimedia screen is huge and has superb dvd based sat nav, as well as an mp3 cd player, and dual zone climate control.

the ride is superb, very quite. handled well in the pouring rain last night with stability control for safety that can be switched off to allow for a bit of fun the 1.8 engine is typical honda, ie smooth and powerful to the red line. feels more like a 2.0 in terms of performance. the HID headlights were superb.

the only fault was the rear screen that doesn't have a wiper and the base of it is quite high restricting visibility.

can't wait for a go in the 2.2 diesel

here's a couple of pictures, focus and golf don't compare imo.

 

cool dash....but damn is it ugly

 

I've got my eye on the new civic as a potential choice for an ADI car, but am a bit worried about the view out the rear, cool dash tho

 

i disagree, for a 5 door hatch these days, with all of the safety features that have to be incorporated into the design, i think it stands out as being very attractive and different

 

Boffered

 

I love it

Can't wait to see how the 3 door type R turns out.

 

thats good to know cos im getting one as my new company car next year

 

Cant wait for the Type R version out Jan 07

 

RobS you are a lucky man. what spec. are you getting?

 

Agree, my mum could be well be getting a Type R

 

love the dials

 

My god thats fooking ugly!

 

That dash is fucking smart

 

my crappy pics in the dark don't do it justice.

how people with 80's fords can comment on style and design i do not know

 

the best bit of the dash is the square inside the rev counter. it's a multi-colour, multi-pixel display that changes to many different information screens. looks well high tech, and much better in the flesh (or metal, or plastic or whatever)

 

i forgot to mention that it also comes equipped with bluetooth to use your phone through the standard sound system

 

Nick

going for the 2.2ctdi sport version, got a 03plate dsl civic now which is q good car but that looks awesome.

 

love the dash and the little honda engines are always a blast but im sorry that looks like a dog dinner

but deffo looking forward to the type r version

 

RobS you cannot compare the honda 2.2 with the old isuzu 1.7, you will love it. post up some pics and report when you get it