Honda Civic Tourer - station wagon for the young at heart

The Honda Civic said goodbye to the wagon body when the th generation was discontinued. The Japanese compact has become a car aimed at young drivers who value style more than cargo capacity. Is the new Tourer going to change that look?

The Civic Tourer belongs to a group of cars that look much better in real life than in pictures. After a few days with the car, if you like the XNUMX-door Civic, you'll love the Tourer. A year ago, after reviewing the official galleries, I was not, to put it mildly, a fan of this station wagon. Now I'm coming to the conclusion that this is one of the most stylistically interesting cars on the market.

First of all, the front end starts relatively low and the whole body looks like a wedge. The front panel is already familiar from the hatchback - a lot of black plastic in the shape of the letter "Y" plus distinctive headlights that overlap the clearly defined fenders. From the side, the Civic looks good - the rear door handles are in the C-pillar, like a five-door compact, and all this is emphasized by spectacular creases. I just can't figure out why dark plastic was used for the wheel arches. Should the Tourer look like an all-terrain vehicle? The greatest excitement is caused by the rear lights that go beyond the outlines of the body. Well, if this car's styling is commonly referred to as "UFO", it's hard to expect a German classic line. The Civic Tourer needs to stand out.

The station wagon body forced to increase the length by 235 millimeters in relation to the hatchback. The width and wheelbase remained the same (that is, they are 1770 and 2595 millimeters, respectively). But it was the stretching of the car by more than 23 centimeters that made it possible to save 624 liters of luggage space. And that's a lot. In comparison, the Peugeot 308 SW or, for example, the Skoda Octavia Combi offer 14 liters less. Stowing luggage is facilitated by a low loading threshold - 565 millimeters. After folding the seats, we get 1668 liters.

Thanks to the Magic Seats system, we can not only fold the backs of the sofa into a flat surface, but also raise the seats, and then we will have quite a lot of space throughout the car. It's not over yet! Under the boot floor is a storage compartment with a volume of 117 liters. Such a move forced to abandon the spare tire. Honda only offers a repair kit.

We already know the interior from the hatchback - no significant improvements have been made. And this means that the quality of the materials and their fit can only be assessed as a five-plus. For people who are getting into the seats of a Civic for the first time, the look of the cockpit might seem a bit odd. Having taken our place, we “hug” the center console and wide door panels. The tachometer is located in a tube in front of the driver, and the speed is displayed digitally right above the small steering wheel that fits perfectly in the hand. Near the onboard computer. I appreciated the interior design after driving only a few meters. I fell in love with him in an instant.

However, this does not mean that there is nothing to cling to inside. First, the driver's seat is too high. This is due to the presence of a fuel tank under the floor of the car. There is no lumbar support adjustment - this option is available only in the highest configuration "Executive". In addition, the on-board computer is controlled from the steering wheel, but its system cannot be called the most intuitive in the world. I had a similar problem taking apart the electronics in the previously tested "CRV". So the Civic should run smoothly. Unfortunately, it is not.

An underfloor fuel tank also took up rear passenger legroom. The available knee room is almost the same as in a hatchback, in other words shorter people will be happy, while those over 185 centimeters will have to work a little to find a comfortable position for a longer trip. They have an armrest with two cupholders at their disposal (but, surprisingly, in a station wagon of this capacity, we cannot transport skis without folding the seats). The absence of air conditioning vents on the second row of seats is shocking.

The Japanese do not spoil buyers in terms of available engines. There are two (!) units to choose from: petrol 1.8 i-VTEC and diesel 1.6 i-DTEC. The first engine appeared under the hood of the tested car. It produces 142 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 174 lb-ft at 4300 rpm, and power is sent to the asphalt via a six-speed manual transmission.

When I fired up the Civic, the first thing that caught my attention was a low purr. The sound somehow reminded me of old Hondas, smoky "angry young." The murmur prompts you to constantly check how the fourth row behaves under the hood at the highest speeds. To move dynamically, we will have to turn the engine almost all the time. Below 4500 rpm, the unit does not show great readiness to accelerate (after turning on the ECO mode, it is even worse). To overtake, you must include up to two gears down.

The capabilities of the car do not stand out from the competition, because the 1.8 engine provides a “hundred” in about 10 seconds. In urban conditions, a car with a power unit weighing about 1350 kilograms will be content with 9 liters of gasoline for every hundred kilometers, and on the road we should get a fuel consumption of 6,5 liters.

While the performance doesn't bring you to your knees, the Tourer offers the driver a solid dose of enjoyment. This is due, for example, to the short travel of the gear lever. The suspension is also to be commended. Despite having a torsion beam at the rear, the Civic is fun and holds the road well. The steering system conveys a lot of information, and in extreme situations the car is surprisingly predictable. The only downside (but that's too strong a word) is a bit of body roll. The Japanese realized that the station wagon will go to people who do not always want to enter the turn on the edge of the clutch. Therefore, we managed to provide a fairly good level of comfort for a car that for several generations has been trying to cultivate its own, after all, sporty image.

We can buy a Honda Civic Tourer for PLN 79 (hatchback prices start around PLN 400). We can choose from 66 equipment options: Comfort, Sport, Lifestyle and Executive. The test car (Sport) costs PLN 500. For this amount, we get, among other things, a dual-zone automatic air conditioning, -inch rims, LED daytime running lights or, for example, cruise control. Importantly, the manufacturer did not provide for any possibility of customizing the car by purchasing accessories. When buying a Tourer, we choose only a complete set, nothing more.

An additional 235 millimeters made it possible to create a really large trunk. However, I come to the conclusion that the Civic Tourer is just a demonstration of the possibilities and a good marketing ploy. The unchanged wheelbase is reflected in the rear passengers, and the struggle for more liters forced the sacrifice of a spare wheel for a 117-liter glove box. Of course, the tested Honda is not a bad car. But customers are not won only by those who have more ... station wagon.