Honda Civic review

The Honda Civic has a fairly low-set and sporty driving position, with its stubby gearlever placed relatively high so you don't need to reach far to grab it.

The driver's seat is comfortable, providing decent side and thigh support, and comes with electrically adjustable lumbar support from SE trim and upwards. That said, adjusting the angle of the backrest is a bit fiddly – you have to pull a lever and shift your weight back and forth. Most of the Civic's rivals have wheels to control the backrest angle, which makes fine-tuning so much easier.

Even a rear wiper isn't standard on the entry-level S trim, but from SE trim you get front and rear parking sensors as standard. Our favourite SR trim also adds a reversing camera to put your mind at ease when parking. The LED headlights that are standard throughout the range are powerful and bright enough to illuminate the darkest country lanes at night.

The Civic's entry-level S trim doesn't come with a radio, which might have been acceptable up until the mid-twentieth century, but isn't by today's standards.

SE models get a 5.0in touchscreen, which is still very basic for a current family car, but it does add a Bluetooth phone connection, steering wheel audio controls, a USB port, a DAB radio and an adequate eight-speaker sound system. Our favourite SR trim gets a 7.0in touchscreen, with built-in Garmin sat-nav and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring, which allows you to bypass Honda's software and use your phone's apps on the screen instead.