Honda Civic Hatchback (2017 - 2022) Sport Plus 182PS VTEC Turbo 5d Owner Review

First thing you notice is the brilliant driving position,very low with the main controls all falling to hand nicely. The only small gripe is the spacing of the brake pedal to the throttle pedal, slightly too wide. Heel and toe can still be done ok to rev match without too much hassle, but closer would be better. Ride quality is good once a little speed is gained, it can be slightly brittle a lower speeds over likes of speed bumps and seams between road sections, but at speed it irons out compressions really well. This car is fitted with adaptive shocks and when in stiff mode it can ruin the ride at slower speeds and on motorways,but the only time I would use this is when pushing on,where it does add to the road holding to a degree,but there not really essential. Handling is up there with the best, possibly not as throttle controllable as say a Focus,but extremely well planted at speed. Steering is quick lock to lock, this lock increases faster at the road wheels relative to the steering wheel, which gives a great sense of turn-in. The thing that really surprised me was the staying power of what are a relatively conventional brakes. It uses the rear brakes a lot more than other all round disc brake set ups I've had in the last few cars I've owned. I think this aids the anti dive characteristics this car has under braking,I particularly like this trait. The secret to the brakes is the quality of the Honda pads, don't fit OEM spec aftermarket pads. Gearbox has a lovely action and definitely worth a mention. Now the not so good bits. Infotainment is probably a generation outdated already,it works but it is slow and has clunky graphics. Interior trim quality is ok, but nothing special. It's still rattle free for now though. The biggest thing that sticks out when driving this car, especially at speed, it the rev hang. Whether it's down to a big flywheel or in the ECU map, I couldn't say. If you're into running engines to the redline, which this engine doesn't mind at all for a turbocharged car (it comes on song around 5k revs) then this might be something that puts you off this car. There's a couple of reasons for it, emissions and driveline protection. It's sounds weird but it does smooth out gear changes when pressing on, so I'm living with it as it's protecting engine mounts etc. This car is a massive step up over the 9th gen car and is definitely worth putting in a test drive list.