All hail the Japanese. They finally seem to be comfortable with their identity. At least when it comes to car design. For years, our Eastern cousins aped European design, with mixed results. The last generation Nissan Micra was a poor man's Mini, the Datsun 240z a shameless homage to the Jaguar E-Type, and the original Nissan Bluebird was an exact copy of a steaming pile of shite.
Now though, ever since the
Gran Turismo-inspired boom of interest in the likes of the R33 Nissan Skyline and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI; Japanese manafacturers have realised that we're more than happy to buy into Eastern high-tech, without any faux-European gloss applied.
So then, we come to the current model Honda Civic. Beloved by the elderly for its reliability and lack of excitement, the Civic has always been the safer persons' choice. In guises other than the Type-R its been a big seller with the over-60s, invisible to the rest of us, and rendered entirely undesireable by its anonymous styling and indeterminate road presence.
Now though, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong with this formula. The new Civic doesn't look like a standard Japano-box. It isn't dull. It isn't invisible. It's bloody cool.
Why? Well for once, it doesn't look like its trying to be a Golf, or a Focus, or an Astra Belmont. Its pure Japanese high-tech, and we love it.
Triangular exhaust pipes peek from the rear flanks. A full-width glass strip conceals both headlights and the foreward Honda badge. The door handles look like Phallic 1950s era Flash Gordon rocketships. Its fabulously different. And that's before you even open the door.
Inside, things are even better. Its like Darth Vader's bathroom. The driver sits, coccooned by hemispherical banks of controls and displays. It's ergonomically sound, but it's also entertaining. When people sit in the Civic for the first time they just want to play with stuff.
The way the rev counter surrounds a floating trip computer display in the centre of the driver's view; the digital speedo; the big red starter button - it all exudes the same high-tech cool as something like an iPod, or the Starship Enterprise.
Now, that'll put the wind up the geriatrics.
It seems fairly clear then that Honda are aiming at the youngsters. Notice the funky, five-door -masquerading-as-three styling, the drilled aluminium pedals; there's even built in MP3 support on the powerful stereo.
We like. We like lots.
It's no surprise then that Honda have seen fit to eschew a boring old self-shifter in favour of something a bit more 21sat Century. iSHIFT, as its called, is another of those flappy-paddle sequential overrideable autos. It's supposed to make you feel like Jenson Button every time you flick your way through the box using either the centre console-mounted stick or wheel-mounted paddles.
Unfortuantely, it's crap.
Not 'a bit rubbish'. Not 'slightly poor'. Total, utter crap. It's one of the worst gearboxes we've ever come across. With 6 speeds to slot through there's plenty of changing going on, and the electronic clutch just can't handle it. Upshifts take an age, occasionally leaving you hanging dangerously when pulling away from junctions or trying to overtake. It's not just in semi-auto mode either, the problem manifests intself with the box slipped into full auto, rendering it effectively useless for all but the most sedate of driving.
Even the Honda dealer we spoke to admitted it was a terribly disappointing system. Whatever you do, do not buy a car with iSHIFT. If you must have an auto - by something else. It's that bad.
So what of the rest of the car then? Well the 1.8 four is fairy gutsy, Honda's legendary variable valve timing and lift system piling on the power in the upper echelons of the rev range. If you can put up with the god-awful gearbox (or better still, opt for the manual), then three figures will pop up on the digital speedo in no time at all.
Through the bends grip is remarkably good. There's more feel and feedback through the steering than you might expect, and with solid, direct inputs its easy to get the nose of the Civic pointing where you want it through tricky switchbacks and off-camber sweepers.
There's consierable bulk to slide through the tricky sutff though, and with a slightly crashy ride and high centre of gravity the Civic is more a fat lass who can dance a bit than ballet-dancer limber.
Interior space is excellent though, and the kit levels are commendable. The version we drove came with dual climate control, a full length glass roof and 17" alloys - all for less than 16 grand.
In manual-guise, the Civic makes perfect sense. Practical enough to take the family out for the day, but with enough driver appeal to satisfy an audience half the age of more traditional buyers. That sci-fi styling is initially appealing, but we wonder if the Buck Rogers interior might start to look dated after a couple of years, even though it seems solidly built.
Whatever you do though, stay well clear of iSHIFT. We love the techno-funky side of the Civic, but too many gadgets
can be a bad thing...
(VIDEO) Watch the
Honda Civic advert
The new BMW 3-Series Convertible is to feature a folding hard-top roof.
