Honda Civic Saloon (2018 – 2020) Review
Honda Civic Saloon (2018 – 2020) At A Glance
Once upon a time, the four-door saloon was king of the company car park and suburban driveway. SUVs have taken over now, but the Honda Civic Saloon arrived in 2018 to cater for traditionalists. During its brief time on sale, it showed it was more than able to take on the likes of the Audi A3 Saloon, another premium German offering, the Mercedes A-Class Saloon, plus more mainstream options such as the Volkswagen Passat. Read on for our full Honda Civic Saloon review.
When sales of the Honda Accord stopped in the UK, it didn’t spell the end of a decent-sized four-door model with a boot from the Japanese company.
The Honda Civic Saloon effectively replaced it in the firm’s line-up, and offers a surprising amount of room for a car based on a family hatchback.
The four-door Honda Civic is similar in size to a Skoda Octavia and is usefully practical for a saloon with a bigger boot than the Honda Civic hatchback – the capacity is close to 520 litres.
Obviously, there is less versatility though, which is not helped by a high boot lip.
On the plus side, there’s good legroom in the back, even if headroom is compromised by that swooping roofline.
It was designed more for comfort than the hatchback, with a softer suspension set-up that will appeal to drivers spending hours on the motorway.
As a result, it deals better with poor road surfaces, yet still handles more than capably, with little roll in corners and impressive levels of grip.
There’s a simple engine line-up, with the 1.0-litre VTEC Turbo – our choice for most buyers – available with either a manual or CVT gearbox. There’s no 1.5 VTEC Turbo, but the 1.6 i-DTEC was available as a manual or with a new nine-speed automatic designed to improve economy.
Around town, the Honda Civic Saloon is easy to manoeuvre, although rear visibility isn’t the best due to the thick rear pillars.
Fortunately, parking sensors front and back are standard on all models, while SR and EX models get a rear view camera.
The fit and finish of the Honda Civic is excellent, but one thing that lets the interior down is the infotainment system. It’s long been a criticism of Honda models and that’s the case here, too.
It’s fiddly to use, doesn’t look great, and just isn’t user-friendly.
While most people will stick with the standard Honda Civic hatchback, the saloon does have appeal and is a very good used car option.
Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Honda Civic Saloon review here.