Civic comfort

Press, 30 April 1981, Page 19

Civic comfort

Redesigned front seats in the 1981 Honda Civic make it a very comfortable car for a long trip. I discovered this recently when I was able to borrow a five-door model from the Motor Corporation and take it for a run to Kaikoura.

For the front seat passengers at least the Civic is a roomy car and the well designed seats give firm support. especially in the lumbar region. Compared with the Mazda 323 the Honda seems to suffer from a lack of glass, but vision is satisfactory. The new "soft feel” steering wheel proved slippery and not very easiy to grip, but other modifications to the interior from previous models were much more welcome.

I particularly liked the digital clock, which was always easy to read. The intermittent wiper control too was a sensible idea, as was the tailgate washer/wiper system, which came in handy after a few dusty episodes at road works along the way.

The changes made to the heater controls made it more flexible by day but very difficult to use at night. Better illumination of the heater controls would be a boon.

Handling was predictable and felt safe at all times, and a quick check on the fuel consumption showed a very creditable 14.5 km/litre, or about 40 m.p.g. (with careful driving, and using fifth gear a lot).

The automatic five-door Civic will sell for $10,450, $475 more than the fivespeed.—Theo van Dongen