• Minimalist cabin is a model of clarity
• Physical controls for all major functions
• Improved touchscreen and digital dials

How is the quality and layout?

Hondas have been known in the past for having rather fussy, busy cabins, but ever since the Honda e things have been on the up. The new Civic continues this trend, and while it’s much more conventional than its electric sibling that’s no bad thing.

It’s dominated by a full-width honeycomb grille that covers up the air vents neatly and divides the dashboard in two. Below the central vents sits a climate control panel made up entirely of tactile, physical switchgear. This is a blessing, when so many of its rivals are adopting touch-sensitive or full touchscreen solutions for this which simply don’t work as well. Top marks for Honda here.

Build quality feels very good throughout and the cabin’s reassuringly free from any squeaks and rattles. Material quality is good for the most part too, though there’s an unusual texture of plastic around the cupholders and gear selector that to us, felt a bit cheap.

Infotainment and tech

The Civic’s 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system isn’t particularly flashy or clever, and its interface isn’t quite as clear or as easy to use as the best systems from Kia or Ford. That being said, it’s great that Honda hasn’t placed too many responsibilities onto it, and it does perform its main functions well.

It’s probably easier to simply use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to connect your smartphone. The former works wirelessly but we had to plug in to one of the Civic’s USB ports to use the latter. And it’s a shame they’re not USB-C, as is the latest trend.

Here’s what out long term test reporter Keith Adams had to say after many months at the wheel:

‘It’s very clear, sharp and easy to get your head round, and the only criticisms I have of it is that it’s not angled towards the driver, looks awful when covered in fingerprints and it’s mounted so high it means the fresh air vents are pushed lower down into the cabin. But at least the fresh air output is easily directed via natty little joysticks.’

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There are two different setups for the digital dials. Elegance and Sport trims have a 7.0-inch cluster, with a physical speedometer and a screen covering two-thirds of the area. Top-spec Advance cars, this extends out to cover the whole gauge cluster. Both setups are easy to read and configure regardless.

Comfort

• Supportive seats front and rear
• Lots of adjustment for drivers of all sizes
• Firmer than some models, but never uncomfortable

Long journeys in the Civic will be painless, with comfortable seats front and rear that support well and don’t leave you with backache. The Civic simply has one of the nicest driving positions of any car in its. We did find ourselves sitting pretty low, but that meant we were stretched out and in the optimal position to take weight off our spines.

There’s loads of adjustment in the seating position – electrical adjustment on top-spec Advance models – as well as the steering wheel, which moves for reach and rake. Refinement is good too,  though the low-profile tyres on higher models do generate a fair degree of road noise it’s well suppressed by good sound deadening.