Britannia is still ruling the wave of Honda Civic hatches. While the Honda Civic sedan we get here comes from Thailand, the hatches arriving in showrooms this week are being shipped from Britain.

Honda says Australia is a unique market in getting product from both factory streams. And the flagging carmaker is determined to make the ninth-gen Civic hatch a success in the increasingly competitive C segment – and get back closer to their former glory days of strong sales. So the hatch has been given an exterior makeover, revised engine and fuel efficiency tricks from the CR-Z hybrid, along with a sharper starting price.

Technology

The revised 1.8-litre 4 cylinder engine produces 104kW/174Nm and boasts fuel consumption of 6.1 litres per 100km six-speed manual and 6.5 litres per 100km in the five-speed auto – an improvement of about 10 per cent, but it does require a diet of 95 octane fuel. However eco modes are there to try and encourage you to drive more efficiently. The manual comes with a shift indicator light while the automatic gets paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.

Research into noise has resulted in a much quieter cabin -- for a car in this price range we were surprised at 110km/h to be able to hear approaching cars.

Value

Priced from $22,650 for the VTi-S (manual), the entry point is significantly less than the Civic Si hatch model it replaces. It’s just over $7,000 cheaper than the starting price of the old model and compared with the 2009 price of the Civic Si a whopping saving of over $17,000. There's now a choice of six-speed manual or five-speed auto transmissions ($24,950) in the VTi-S trim, and the top of the range VTi-L only comes as an auto ($29,990).

The features list includes 16-in alloys, hill-hold assist, LED daytime running lights, climate control, intelligent multi information display and a four speaker audio system with AUX and USB input. Bluetooth is a dealer fitted option of the VTi-S and disappointingly there’s no cruise control offered on this model. Most competitors have this option covered as standard.

The automatic only VTi-L gains extras like 17-in alloys, auto headlights and wipers, fog lights, electric side folding mirrors, dual zone climate control, reversing camera, leather trim, seven speaker audio system as well as Bluetooth connectivity and cruise control. Satellite navigation and sunroof are notably missing even from the extra options list. Leather heated seats in the VTi-L are inviting and obviously more comfortable than the standard fabric seats in the VTi-S.

Design

Exterior changes are minimal at first glance. The LED daytime running lights give the car a sportier look, and aerodynamics have been improved, but the problem is that the car looks very similar to its predecessor. The new hatch won’t be seen as revolutionary as when the Si Civic was first unveiled.

The redesigned dash layout is uncluttered and easy to read, is arguably now the benchmark in this segment. It’s a smart looking interior all around with good quality plastics used throughout.



There’s a lot of room in both the front and rear, and Honda also retained their ‘magic seat’ configuration that can flatten the back seats to create a huge cargo area, or fold them to make more room for tall items.

Safety

It gets a five star ANCAP safety rating, and has six airbags, stability control, anti-skid brakes and a good helping of other active and passive features.

Driving

The focus is clearly on saving fuel and for most situations in urban driving this is more useful than brisk performance. So the engine performance is capable rather than startling.

The manual gearbox was smooth but the auto box with steering wheel mounted paddle shift was not as responsive as we’d like when left in auto mode. For extra overtaking oomph the ability to quickly drop down a couple of gear ratios without your hands leaving the steering wheel worked well.

The Civic’s smooth suspension system is quiet, and handled bumps quite well during our drive. It was surprisingly well composed during our run through the Royal National Park near Sydney. Steering felt light, responsive and direct thanks to the electric powered rack and pinion system. The car’s agility and stability through corners was better than expected.