TOURER, TOURER (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 71

With their Civic Tourer estate, launched in 2013, Honda for the first time designed a car in Europe as well as building it there. The result was an unexpectedly effective combination of style and practicality matched to driving dynamics a cut above those of most competing small estates and Crossovers. Especially when matched to peppy but frugal 1.6-litre diesel power. It's a surprising package for the right kind of used buyer.

Modelsword count: 13

5-door estate [(1.8 petrol, 1.6 diesel) S, SE, SE Plus, S-T, SR, Sport]

Historyword count: 278

On the face of things, the idea of a small estate car doesn't make much sense. Back in 2014, Honda didn't agree, bringing us this car, their Civic Tourer. At the introduction of this model, this innovative Japanese brand proudly claimed it to be the smallest model of its kind in the Focus-sized family hatch-based 'C-segment', yet it offers more carrying capacity inside than almost all rivals from its era. In fact, we're talking more than you'll get from a Mondeo or Insignia-sized medium range estate from the next class up. With its Civic, Honda has always championed this same combination of sleek, compact styling and practicality. Despite that, prior to the introduction of this Tourer model, there had only ever been one Civic estate model, the Aerodeck, unveiled in 1998 but deleted from the range in 2001, when the company felt the market was turning towards trendier means of family transport like their own CR-V 4x4. As it turned out, they weren't entirely correct in that supposition. In the first decade of the 21st century, compact estates continued to maintain a small but profitable market niche, provided they could prove themselves to be both practical and stylish. Which meant that Honda quickly realised that it was missing a trick. Nevertheless, it took until early 2014 for this Civic Tourer to arrive and return its maker to a small estate segment showing gradual but significant signs of growth. It offered something distinctly different in its sector, both in terms of style and practicality. But it remained very much a niche product in the company's line-up and wasn't replaced with the tenth generation Civic hatch was launched in 2017.

What You Getword count: 1378

There's an uncomfortable truth that most of us recognise when it comes to estate cars. Namely that the better looking they are, the worse they turn out to be as load carriers. Boxy and dull always wins when it comes to the cubic litres of carrying capacity - it's an immutable law. Or at least it used to be. What then, are we to make of this Civic Tourer? A car that Honda claims has one of the largest load capacities in its class from its era. Yet at the same time is an elegant, swoopy-looking compact estate that most would see as the most stylish choice in its segment. Let's cover off the aesthetics first. Up front, there's the same short, rising bonnet you get on the hatch version, with large wheel arches and a distinctive, beaky nose sitting above beautifully detailed lower air intakes. The side view though, is perhaps this car's best angle, with a bold line that runs continuously from the windscreen pillar to the rear lights, creating the impression of a floating roof profile that flows elegantly into the tailgate. Nice detailing includes the same hidden rear door handles you'll find on the MK9 hatch model. And large rear light clusters that wrap around the hatch and are joined by a red bar. All 235mm of this Civic Tourer's extra length was added at the back, but even with this addition, this car still remains shorter than most of its contemporaries. Which leaves us with the perplexing question of how it can be so spacious inside. How exactly can a little Honda Civic that measures in around 30cms shorter than, say, a huge executive segment Volvo V70 Estate, nevertheless offer a seats-up luggage bay around 10% bigger? The answer's found in magic - or Magic Seats, to be more specific. Let us explain. Most estate cars would offer their owners a lot more space if more could be done with the siting and flexibility of their back seats. That usually isn't possible because these are normally situated right on top of the fuel tank. Here though it's different. The fuel tank has been moved frontwards and as a result, the floor level can be dropped and the rear chairs freed up for all kinds of cleverness - hence the 'Magic Seat' tag. One that's justified by the way they flip up cinema-style so that you can carry tall objects of the kind you might need to accommodate on your return trip from IKEA - or maybe your local garden centre. Further benefits of this design philosophy can be found in the estate compartment - or more accurately, below it. Instead of the usual inconsequential space below floor level that most station wagons offer as a kind of afterthought, this one delivers enough room below stairs to swallow 117-litres, enough for a couple of airline carry-on cases. There's also a very handy hidden compartment that's perfect for storing the tonneau cover when it's not in use or something like an umbrella when it is. Add the under-floor space to the room available above and you'll find yourself with 147-litres more than you'd get in a normal MK9 Civic hatch - 624-litres in total up to window level: in this class from this era, only Peugeot's 308SW offers more. We're reliably informed by Honda that this would be enough for four golf bags, three large suitcases, 25 pumpkins or 2,873 tennis balls. To put that into perspective, we're talking around 40% more room than you'd get in a longer Ford Focus estate and even a much boxier Volkswagen Golf Estate has a luggage bay 10% smaller. Supposedly bigger estates from far more exalted market segments are smaller too if you leave their rear seats in place. Earlier, we mentioned that Gold Standard of Boxy Utility, Volvo's V70, which has only 575-litres to offer, marginally ahead of theoretical load luggers from this era like BMW's 5 Series Touring (560-litres) and Ford's Mondeo Estate (537-litres). So you're getting the idea. There's an awful lot of space to play with here for a car measuring in at just 4.5m in length. There are a few caveats of course. Though four floor-mounted lashing eyes are included to tie down awkward loads and you get carpet designed to repel pet hairs, a netted side storage compartment and a 12v power socket, there are no bag hooks available and much of the space freed up below the floor will be lost if you get a car whose original owner decided to pay extra for a spare wheel. Nor do you get the cargo bay sidewall-mounted latches that many rivals provide to make it easier to fold down the rear bench, a process that in this case frees up 1,668-litres, not quite such an eye-catching total when viewed in comparison to some of the bigger station wagons we've just mentioned. Nor is there the option of the kind of fold-forward front passenger seat that other rivals provide for the transport of really long items. Having said all that, we're still talking of near class-leading capacity here, easily sufficient for, say, two full-sized mountain bikes. Getting things like this in, it'll help that the loading lip is the lowest in the class (a huge 137mm lower than that of the Civic hatchback) and that the seats-folded floor is totally flat. But enough on the cargo bay. Has space for rear seat folk been constricted to pay for it? Not especially. True, smaller kids might not enjoy that stylish raised window line and the central seating position is definitely the short straw. On the plus side though, knee room isn't bad by class standards: one six footer can sit behind another with few issues. And adults familiar with the constricted headroom you get in the back of a Civic hatch will certainly appreciate the extra inches that the raised roofline of this Tourer model provides. Time to take a seat up-front, a position that'll deliver a surprise or two if you're not familiar with Civic culture. At least MK9 model Civic culture anyway. There isn't a cockpit we can think of this side of a motorshow concept car that looks more wilfully futuristic with its dual-plane architecture and mixture of analogue and digital instrumentation. In principle, it sounds like a mixed-up mess. In practice, it all works brilliantly. To your left on the centre of the dash just above the perfectly positioned gearstick lies what Honda pretentiously calls the 'Information Interface Zone', the area in which you'll find not only the air conditioning controls but above them, this 5” colour Panasonic MiD TFT screen, displaying sat nav, air con and audio system information. You can even personalise its homepage with your own pictures. Directly ahead of you are three deeply recessed sporty dials with metallic surround trims. And above them lies the 'Driver Interface Zone', an upper display that arcs over the main instrument binnacle and is viewed above the steering wheel rim, gathering essential information like speed at the natural point of eye focus. Complementing this layout, the driving position itself could hardly be better, aided by rake and reach adjustment for the wonderfully tactile leather-trimmed steering wheel and a beautifully supportive driver's seat. We'd also point out that over-the-shoulder visibility is vastly better than it is in a hatchback Civic model. On a less practical note, the Civic's signature drilled metal pedals deserve a mention, too. First, for being over the top. And second, for being exactly in the right place. Yes you can nit-pick and plenty of motoring writers do. It's annoying that the button for the active rear suspension is obscured by the gear lever at times. And it's certainly true that the choice of trim and materials, though now improved with nice white stitching details, still doesn't have the 'hewn-from-granite' feel you'd get in VW Group products. But the British factory in Swindon certainly screwed it all together very well and customer satisfaction surveys without number all suggest the cabin quality to be durable. There's plenty of practicality too: reasonably-sized door bins, a spacious glovebox, a holder for your sunglasses and space between the front seats for a couple of 1-litre bottles, plus a further couple of 350ml bottles.

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