Honda Civic 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $26,990
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $525
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 4.0
CO2 emissions (g/km): 105
Also consider: Citroen C4 e-HDI Seduction (from$27,990); Hyundai i30 Active (from $23,590)

It has taken Honda a long time to bring out a diesel engine in its passenger car range for Australian buyers.

Not until Honda announced its 'Earth Dreams' program at the Tokyo motor show in November 2011 did prospects improve for a diesel-powered car sold through local Honda dealers.

Now that the car is here – the Civic DTi-S – we can say the wait has been worth it. The engine in the Civic hatch  lives up to Honda's corporate views of diesels – as expressed in this TV commercial from 2006.

The small, but lion-hearted engine is unlike any other engine of its type in a passenger car sold locally. It's peakier than most, for a start, but in a small car like the Civic hatch it feels livelier than it would in an SUV.

There's precious little turbo lag (although it can be encountered during gear changes), and building up the revs enough for a fast launch is not a major conundrum. The engine's response and the fluid gear shift action even lend themselves to double-declutching. In gear the Civic will whip out of corners readily too.

Don't be mistaken, this isn't some high-revving diesel like Mazda's SKYACTIV-D, the Honda engine is mostly conventional in the way it presents itself, other than the torque peak of 300Nm from a 1.6-litre.

The smaller displacement also leads to better refinement than is the case for 2.0-litre diesels in our experience. And from around 3000rpm the Honda's powerplant is one of the sportiest four-cylinder diesels you'll ever hear. At freeway speeds it rumbles a little, but there's also a light rustle of wind noise. Tyres can be noisier on country roads at lower speeds.

For all the exploration (and exploitation) of the Civic's performance and driveability during the week, it averaged below 6.0L/100km (5.8, in fact), which is around the same real-world consumption as we've experienced in the Insight and Civic Hybrid in the past – but the Civic diesel is a lot more fun to drive, frankly.

The shift quality of the six-speed manual transmission is light, precise and nice to use. If there's any problem with shifting manually in this car, it's the slightly high clutch take-up, but different drivers will likely find it works for them, depending on their physique. Sadly, and despite the qualities of the manual transmission, it's the lack of an automatic option that will deter buyers from considering the Civic DTi-S. I have a sneaking suspicion that an automatic variant might be easier to drive, but would lose a measure of the manual car's fun-to-drive factor.

Roadholding is particularly impressive for a small, front-driven hatch. By the time the tyres begin screaming for help on the other side of the apex the Civic is hitting some serious speed. As far as handling goes, the Civic remains close to neutral right up to the point where it's beginning to lose adhesion (at the front). There's no hint of lift-off oversteer and the car doesn't widen its line appreciably with the application of power.

The steering doesn't quite match the suspension. It's fine by contrast with other electrically-assisted steering systems offered by competitors, but feedback isn't in the same league as the car's grip in corners. Where the Civic's steering will win fans lies with its high level of assistance, for parking and low speeds around town. On the subject of parking, I found the field of vision to the rear was hindered slightly by the rising waist and thick C pillars, but that issue was partly offset by the car's reversing camera.

Ride comfort, which colleague Feann Torr described in his launch review (appropriately) as 'firm-ish', is certainly less compliant than many of the Civic's rivals in the same market segment, due to its dampers, but it's not delivering a knock-out punch to your kidneys over lumpy bitumen and it will absorb smaller bumps or speed humps without transmitting the impact to the cabin. And it's the lack of 'give' in the suspension that makes the Civic such a competent machine in corners anyway.

For the most part, however, people would and should be buying the diesel Civic for properties other than its sporty dynamics. Given the car's price and Honda's long-standing reputation for build quality and reliability, it's a good package. Some minor considerations let it down, however, with the handbrake closer to the front passenger than the driver, the indicator stalk on the left of the column (a particular no-no in a manual car). Good knee room in the rear is let down by the lack of toe room under the front seats for rear-seat passengers. The headlights are inadequate on low beam and the trip computer read-out and the dash top both reflect back into the driver's eyes from the shallow-raked windscreen. And while the seats are comfortable and supportive, they're short in the squab and bordering on narrow for larger occupants.

On the plus side, there's adult level headroom in the rear seats, the boot is usefully large, the instruments are easy to read and the selective use of leather, brightwork and colourful instrument lighting provide a lift to the cabin's ambience. The interior can look busy, with buttons scattered hither and yon – something that has bothered me about Hondas in the past – but once you're aware of each control's location and use, operating the various functions becomes less a chore.

The upshot of a week in the Civic DTi-S is it has whetted our appetite for other Honda diesels – if they're all as good as this one.

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