Published 08-07-2012
The Civic recently received a very positive review from British automobile magazine Autocar.
"Life isn’t all seat-of-the pants evaluation here at Autocar — so much so that I have a state-of-the-art (solar-powered) calculator on my desk. And not just for working out those tricky expenses claims.
After knocking off a couple of thousand miles in my Honda Civic, I put it to its sternest test yet over the jubilee holiday weekend: a trip to see my in-laws. Not, I hasten to add, because there’s anything wrong with them, but because they live 221 miles away, in Wales.
Tank brimmed, it was time for an economy evaluation. Since taking delivery of a 1.8-litre petrol-engined car, I’ve had eyebrows raised in my direction. In this age of austerity, many people think I’m mad. But I had a hunch they were wrong, and this was my chance to prove it. So it was I went to Wales, loaded with wife and kids, and then left them all there while I returned to the Smoke for an honest half-week of work. Numbers crunched, the Civic managed 41.8mpg.
Now, that may seem disappointing against the official average of 48.7mpg, but by my reckoning it was a pretty good real-world figure, especially given the traffic-clogged run on the motorway and the too-hard-to-resist country lanes at the beginning and end of each journey.
But rather than make excuses, it was time for an (almost) back-to-back comparison with our diesel-equipped 1.6 Renault Grand Scenic. Okay, so the journeys were a week apart, and the road conditions weren’t identical, but the route was exactly the same.
The Scenic is heralded as a paragon of frugality, with an official average of 64.2mpg. But either I was in a hurry,or my real-world average of 42.7mpg hinted at something afoot. With even the parsimonious keeper of the Scenic, Tim Dickson, managing only 46mpg over its life, I suspect the latter.
Many will argue this is an unfair comparison, because the Scenic is larger, heavier (Scenic kerb weight 1563kg, Civic 1378kg) and built for a different purpose. I’d counter that the Civic, while undeniably less versatile and family orientated, still packs a large boot with the rear seats up and carries four with ease.
Question is: does that mean the Civic’s efficiency is great, or the Renault’s disappointing? A bit of both, I reckon. The real test would be to run another journey to Wales with a diesel Civic and then get the calculator out again. But, for now, that’ll have to wait. The Severn Crossing operators have done well out of me, and with Honda soon to launch an all-new 1.6 diesel, it seems only fair to give them a few months before calling a definitive verdict."