Honda Civic review - decent looks but it's no Type-R - Interior and Tech

Interior and Tech

The cabin of the Civic is unconventional, which, depending on your viewpoint, will either appeal or not. The dash is multi-layered in its structure, with plenty of converging curves and differing materials. Busy then, the mix of both conventional analogue and digital displays meaning there’s a lot of information in front of you. Two screens add to that, the one to the left of the large central digital speedometer having a blocky old-school looking display, while the large central optional touchscreen is far shaper and of higher definition. It offers tablet and smartphone-like pinch and slide operation and all manner of connectivity and apps.

Honda now offers its City-Active Brake as a standard feature across the entire range, too, while a Driver’s Assistance Safety Pack includes Forward Collision Warning, Traffic Sign recognition, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Information and a host of other safety aids for just £600.  

The interior materials lack the upmarket quality of some rivals', though there’s no faulting the solid feel of the build. There’s decent space up front, though the rear view is hampered slightly by the aerodynamic aid splitting the rear window (on the hatch). Rear seat space is acceptable among its class rivals, even if it’s short on headroom in the back - the Tourer improves this. The boot in both the hatch and the Tourer is huge, with good access via wide openings and a large underfloor compartment and easy split folding of the rear seats. The rear seat bottoms can be flipped up out of the way, too, allowing even more versatile carrying capacity, so the Civic is useful if you like chucking things like bikes in, rather than hanging them off your car.