2015 Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC Sport Navi UK first drive

What is it?

After facelifting its Civic for 2014, Honda has given its family hatch another refresh for the coming year.

This time around the changes are more significant. The most obvious are to the styling, which starts with new headlights, but also includes new bumpers, daytime running lights, side mouldings and rear spoiler.

Inside there are now chrome door handles, new door trims and new seat fabrics, but most notable is the inclusion of Honda's new Android-based infotainment system, Honda Connect.

Mechanically, the only changes are to the dampers, which have been slightly adjusted in favour of a more comfortable ride.

The Sport trim we're driving is new to the range for 2015, and adds black 17in alloy wheels and a colour-coded rear spoiler to help it stand out. It'll need to, against accomplished rivals such as Volkswagen's Golf, Ford's Focus and Seat's Leon.

What's it like?

Sport by name but not by nature. Honda has no plans to introduce a Type S model - as it did with the previous generation Civic - so this new Sport trim is intended to mimic some of the design of the forthcoming Type-R. 

The Civic's steering remains pretty uninspiring, providing little feedback for the driver and showing little urgency in changing where the front end is pointing. 

That said, there is a fair amount of traction to exploit, and the Civic keeps its body under reasonable control through a series of bends. Ultimately, a Golf, Focus and Leon all steer with greater precision and handle more sharply. 

Ride comfort has been slightly improved over the outgoing model. The improvements are mainly seen in initial bump absorption, which makes low-speed progress more settled. Build speed and a worsening secondary ride starts to reveal itself, with large bumps and expansion joints sending the Civic's body bobbing about.

Honda's 1.6 diesel engine remains a mixed bag. There's no disputing the competitivness of its CO2 and fuel economy figures, especially considering there's enough power and torque on tap to ensure brisk progress in and out of town. Engine refinement is no worse than the rival 1.6 diesels at high revs, either. 

However, its rivals' diesel engines pile on maximum torque lower down the rev range, so there's less need to work their gearboxes hard.

The Civic's dashboard is still on the busy side when it comes to its climate controls and three separate displays, but at least its new infotainmnt system is a vast improvment. The previous version's confusing set-up has been replaced with a more user-friendly system with fewer buttons. The Android-based system is easy to naviagte through, too, and the 7.0in screen itself looks pleasingly bright and responds well to touch.

Adults will find the Civic's rear seats cramped compared with a Volkswagen Golf's, and its tapering rear windowline makes it a more claustrophic place to sit. That said, boot space is still 477 litres, which is a considerable amount more space than the equivalent Golf, Focus or Leon's. 

Beyond the sporty tocuhes and Honda Connect system mentioned, opting for a Sport Navi Civic gets you a reasonable amount of kit, including Bluetooth, sat-nav, cruise control, a rear parking camera, front and rear parking sensors and climate control.