Was not my choice but a fleet car given to me.

The good bits:
* Great diesel engine, lots of pull and economical
* Comfortable ride
* Big boot
* Proper handbrake

The bad:
* Coal hole cabin, dark & dingy
* Inadequate range of steering wheel adjustment
* Wheel obscures instruments when raised to clear my knees
* Poor rear and over shoulder visibility & very thick front screen pillars
* Naff digital speedo - too many reflections in screen (looks like a refugee from Star Trek)
* Can't change trip computer between average fuel consumption & range whilst on the move
* Over complicated trip computer and menus
* High boot loading lip makes getting heavy items in & out difficult
* Rear seats not designed for adults (cushion too short and low)
* Small children can't see out of rear windows
* Fuel tank too small - only 50 litres
* No spare wheel supplied (extra cost if you want one)

Comments:
* Average ride / handling
* It's ugly, especially from the rear

Summary:
The only good things about this car are the engine and the fuel consumption. The cabin is dingy and cramped in the front, whilst the rear has spacious legroom but uncomfortable seats and is even darker than the front. The visibility out of the car is truly dreadful. You can completely lose other vehicles (never mind pedestrians) in the massively thick and sloped front screen pillars. I have narrowly avoided 2 accidents simply because I could not see the other vehicle! Reversing into a parking space is also a nightmare with the high rear window, obstructive bar across the middle and small rear side windows and thick rear pillars.

Although the boot is big, it is also a real pain to get stuff in and out because the loading lip is about 300mm high. If you have a large heavy box it is a real back breaker. The seats fold down pretty flat but again, the rear lip makes things excessively difficult.

The digital instrument display is seriously naff, looks like something from a cheap DAB radio whilst the analogue gauges below look great. The speedo also causes reflections in the windscreen at night. The digital speedo also flickers and is not the easiest to read on the move, particularly when accelerating or braking. I had hoped that this was just a fad and that the present Civic would have returned to a decent set of analogue gauges.

The trip computer is just plain annoying. To change from average fuel consumption to range to empty involves delving into the digital info display menus, scrolling around and then wriggling back through to display the info. For some bizarre reason, Honda don't let you just toggle between the two settings and you have to physically stop the car to change as it refuses to let you do it on the move! The manual is pretty vague on the process and I had to get a lesson from the dealer!!! Obviously designed by some nerd trained by Microsoft.

I have been a Honda owner and fan for many years and wanted to like this car but I have ended up absolutely hating it. I am hoping to swap it soon for a Golf.

Only the fuel consumption rescues it to 2* otherwise would only get 1*