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The New Honda Civic Tourer - DriveWrite can't decide.

Topics:  Honda Civic

The New Honda Civic Tourer - DriveWrite can't decide.

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
August 12, 2013

Honda has announced the new British built Civic Tourer ahead of its official unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2013. It is to be built in the beautiful surroundings of uptown Swindon.

The exterior design of the new Civic Tourer houses a spacious interior which is said to deliver exceptional versatility and functionality. It features Honda’s innovative ‘Magic Seat’ system and offers a class leading boot space of 624 litres with the rear seats in place, up to the window line. This expands to 1668 litres with the rear seats down and up to the roof.

The Civic Tourer will be available with the choice of two engines; the new 1.6 i-DTEC engine from the Earth Dreams Technology (Who thinks these names up? OK, it’s green - we get it.) series and the 1.8 i-VTEC engine in manual or automatic transmission. The introduction of a brand new Adaptive Damper System of which there’s more below will help to enhance stability and comfort under varying load and driving conditions. Honda describe the exterior design of the Civic Tourer as sleek and sporty; the distinctive Civic style is defined by a bold line that runs continuously from the front A-pillar to the D-pillar creating the impression of a floating roof line.

The glass of the rear quarter window has been extended to cover the body work of the D-pillar and the rear door sash has been raised by 17mm compared to the hatchback to create this bold styling line. Behind this sleek and sporty design is a hidden versatility that offers clever functionality and unrivalled practicality, they say. The Tourer benefits from the same unique centre fuel tank layout used in the hatchback version. The fuel tank is located under the front seat allowing the Civic Tourer to offer unparalleled interior space and Honda’s 'Magic Seats'. This new model offers class leading boot space across both the C and D segments. The cargo area will apparently accommodate two full-size mountain bikes or three large-sized cases with the tonneau cover pulled over. There is also a very handy hidden compartment perfect for storing the tonneau cover when it is not needed. Furthermore, there is additional under floor storage in the boot which makes carrying tall objects in the boot easy, plus the height of the loading lip has been reduced by 137mm compared to the Civic hatchback to facilitate effortless loading.

Honda’s unique ‘Magic Seats’ deliver further practicality and space within the Tourer, enabling a range of seating configurations for maximum versatility. The rear seats fold down in one easy movement, and the interior trunk floor of the Civic Tourer has been raised compared to the hatchback to create a completely flat area when the seats are folded down. The rear seat cushions can also be flipped up to reveal ample floor space for carrying tall objects. A 60:40 split in the seat base offers even more options for carrying both people and cargo and provides an alternative load area if access via the tailgate is limited.

The 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine was first applied to the Civic hatchback and subsequently to the new CR-V. The engine is the first of Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series to be introduced in Europe. The philosophy behind Earth Dreams Technology is to deliver an impressive balance between fuel economy and driving performance and this is certainly the case in the Civic Tourer.

The Civic Tourer also features an innovative Adaptive Damper System. This is the first time that a rear adaptive damper system has been introduced on a production car and it features three settings - comfort, normal and dynamic - all of which have been developed to enhance stability and comfort under varying load and driving conditions. This allows the Civic Tourer to remain comfortable during motorway cruising, yet firm and agile when high-performance handling is required. This is an idea that is being seen more often and, although some can be a bit clunky, is to be welcomed by owners who actually like driving.

Overall? Well. We like the Civic. It’s an excellent car that drives well and the idea of a tourer in the range is a good one; but there’s a but. The tail end has certainly been well blended in but I think it is going to be a personal choice as to whether or not it works. Frankly, I can’t decide until a see a live one in the wild. In the meantime - over to you.