Honda Civic

SECOND REPORT Comparing our Civic with its hot brother reminds us what we like about both

- Tristan Shale-Hester

Practicality Boot (seats up/down) 410/1,220 litres

Performance 0-62mph/top speed 7.9 seconds/112mph

PREVIOUS generations of Honda Civic particularly the last Mkio model - are a common sight on British roads, but this Mk11 model still seems to be a bit of a rarity. In the three months since our Civic arrived, I've only seen one other in the wild.

I'm sure this is simply due to the Mk11 being a new model launched in the midst of supply-chain issues, and that in due course you'll be able to spot them all over the place.

At the moment, however, our Civic is drawing more attention than I would ever expect from a run-of-the-mill family hatch. One lady approached me in a supermarket car park to ask how I was getting along with my "fully electric car" after hearing the artificial spaceship-like noise it makes at low speed to alert pedestrians. Despite the Civic having a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet, this acts primarily as a generator, with the wheels instead being driven by two electric motors.