Prior to its track antics, I took the Honda on a job to northern Spain. I just managed to squeeze in its 12,000- mile service at Banks of Bury St Edmunds before hoofing down to Plymouth to catch the ferry to Santander. The ΂£123 service was all routine stuff, though they filled the sump with semi-synthetic oil, rather than the more expensive synth lube I'd recently topped it up with. It'd be interesting to know the long term difference between semi- and fully-synth oils.

Roughly 70 miles south of Bilbao there's a brilliant mountain road that's sometimes closed off for rally testing, and the Honda felt fantastic ripping up and down it. You have to work the engine and gearbox, but that's all part of the fun, especially when you're in the company of an Evo VII and a TVR Tuscan.

The Spanish caper further proved the Honda's practicality. Its optional air-con coped easily with temperatures chugging towards 27C, and the car proved less tiresome on the long drive back home than brief exposure to its noise levels would lead you to believe. My fondness for the R continues to grow.