Driven: Honda Civic Tourer SR Review
After a weeklong test drive of the Honda Civic Tourer SR 1.6 i-DTEC diesel here is what I thought about this practical small estate car.
What is the Honda Civic Tourer SR all about?
The Tourer is based on the Honda Civic hatchback, the rear of the car has been redesigned to allow the estate boot configuration, and I personally think the Tourer rear design looks better than the standard hatchback model. The additional space that the Tourer boot creates is pretty impressive, and the rear seats can even lie completely flat taking your boot space from an already brilliant 624 litres to 1,668 litres.
The SR trim comes with additional features such as 17″ alloy wheels, Sat-Nav, voice activation, leather interior with heated front seats, and Adaptive Damper System. Our test model came fitted with an optional set of 18” Krypton alloy wheels.
The external aesthetic improvements to the car look fantastic, these include the new black gloss front bumper design with LED-running lights integrated into the lower section.
The Honda Civic Tourer is powered by a 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine that creates 120bhp and 300Nm of torque. There is a six speed manual gearbox putting that power to the front wheels. This means that the car will get from 0 to 60mph in 10.5 seconds and will do a top speed of 121mph; but most importantly it is able to return an economy rating of 74 mpg.
How does it drive?
Sitting in the driving seat of the Honda Civic Tourer the first thing that you notice is that you do sit a little higher up than you would in any other estate vehicle. It only takes a few minutes to get used to it, and it actually make the car a lot easier to get in and out of, so it does have its plus points.
When driving the Honda Civic Tourer SR with the i-DTEC engine for the first time you do notice a significant amount of diesel rattle. But once you are moving you seem to forget about the noise. The controls are all fairly lightweight to use, which makes the car quite refreshing and a lot easier to drive. The 6 speed automatic gearbox is matched well to the diesel engine; the car seems to have loads of usable power from even low down the rev range. The experience overall is quite a relaxed one.
The Honda Civic Tourer comes with adaptive rear suspension, this gives the ability to change the ride by adjusting the rear suspension damping through an electrically operated valve. This system comes with 3 modes; Dynamic, Normal, and Comfort. I found that comfort was my personal preference for the majority of the test drive, the others felt a bit too stiff for this kind of car, but it’s not a bad option to have as you are able to adjust the feel of the car in the touch of a single button.
The Tourer on test has the 1.6-litre diesel engine, which I think is the better option over the 1.8-litre i-VTEC petrol engine. The diesel gives you plenty of power, which you need to carry four people and a boot full of luggage around, but also returns consistently high mpg. The Civic has start/stop technology to save fuel when you are not using the engine, a godsend when driving through the city. And when you’re on the motorway you can easily cruise at 70mph and return over 60mpg. This car really has some great engineering behind it.
What is it like inside?
Inside the Honda Civic Tourer it is identical to the Civic hatchback. You still get that two-tier dashboard giving an additional screen full of information back to the driver. When I first got into the Honda Civic it did take me some time to get an understanding of where everything was and how it all worked. But after a while I soon learnt what all the buttons and screens did. After a week with the car I was happy with how to use everything and was quite comfortable with the layout.
The build quality of the interior was pretty good and it’s certainly a nice place to be. The best part about the interior is just how exceptionally practical the car is. The Civic Tourer comes with those magic ‘cinema-like’ lifting rear seats, this feature allows you to put tall objects in the back more easily, such as bikes or plants. This is a great example of some of Honda’s innovation.
The Experience
The Honda Civic Tourer SR provides an exceptionally strong everyday driver experience. The Tourer has plenty of passenger space, lots of boot space and effortless economy. Owning the Honda Civic Tourer is simply just a good decision. During my time with the car I took it on a six-hour drive, and even after this huge journey I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute and still felt relaxed. There aren’t many cars that will give you this kind of experience let alone any as practical, efficient and as well priced as this one.
Verdict
During our review the Honda Civic Tourer SR has proven to be super practical, super efficient, and a super user-friendly car. Beyond the main features of the car the Civic Tourer has great build quality and lots of interesting design features and styling.
Video Highlights
Specification
- Price: £ 27,055
- Engine: 1.6-Litre Diesel i-DTEC
- Power: 120bhp
- Torque: 300Nm
- Transmission: 6 Speed Manual
- 0-62mph: 10.5 Seconds
- Top speed: 121mph
- Weight: 1,337kg
- Economy combined: 74mpg
- CO2: 103 g/km
Author: Paul Hadley
