• Plenty of room for four people, five a squeeze
• Large boot offers ample load-lugging credentials
• Interior is peppered with cupholders and storage areas

How much space is there?

The five-door Honda Civic has plenty of room for four people, with ample legroom front and rear. Five would be a squeeze as the rear seat isn’t particularly wide – but this is no better or worse than the Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra, for instance. What you will notice is how low the Civic sits, so getting in and out isn’t as easy as you’ll find in something like a VW Golf or Hyundai i30, but still better than a Mazda 3.

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Boot space and storage

The boot is certainly large enough for most families’ needs – with the rear seats up, space across the range varies between 420-478 litres (thanks to the central exhaust on sportier models taking up some room), eclipsing many other small family hatchbacks for space. There’s a wide, low lip and easy access too.

The seats don’t fold completely flat, but there’s still plenty of space when they’re down. Luggage volume grows to 1,209-1,267 litres (depending on model), which is above class average.

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There is a split level floor, so you can remove the boot liner, opening up to a much deeper luggage area; very much in keeping with the current trend among crossovers. Or you can use it as a cover to hide things away out of sight. Bear in mind, there’s no estate version, and Honda has confirmed that there are no plans to replace the old Civic Tourer.

Storage is a Civic strong point. Up front, there are the usual bevvy of cupholders, good-sized door bins and a large, lidded storage area in the centre console ideal for packing full of all the family’s kit and clobber. You also have a designated tray for a smartphone with an integrated wireless charging pad on higher-spec models. The USB sockets are also hidden on a lower compartment with a cable feed to your phone to keep things tidy, which is a neat touch.

The glovebox isn’t massive, which is quite normal in this class of cars, but the lid itself has a nice, high quality feel when you close it.

Is it easy to park?

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This Honda Civic is longer than both the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, but all Civics came with front and rear parking sensors as standard, while all models, bar entry-level SE, came with a rear-view camera as well.

How big is it?

View full Honda Civic specs

How safe is it?

• Re-assessed five-star Euro NCAP rating
• Lots of safety systems as standard
• Autonomous emergency braking standard on all models

Honda Civic Mk10 hatchback safety is good, but not as strong as we expected at launch, only receiving a four-star Euro NCAP rating in July 2017. However, following a modification to the design of the side curtain airbag, the Civic was retested before the end of 2017 and gained the full five-star quota.

Available on different models across the range (pick a higher-spec model for the full suite), the Civic can be had with the following safety and driver assistance tech: 

• Collision Mitigation Braking System
• Forward Collision Warning
• Lane Departure Warning
• Road Departure Mitigation
• Lane Keeping Assist System
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Traffic Sign Recognition
• Intelligent Speed Assistance

There are two Isofix points on the Honda Civic, found on the outer rear seats.