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evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach to evolving the Civic’s design. Externally, it’s a cleaner, more svelte and less fussy looking car, while inside there is a clear and simple dash layout that involves buttons in addition to the now seemingly obligatory digitisation. Prices start from £29,595 and peak at £32,995 - the entry level model comes with a plethora of standard equipment ranging from heated front seats and keyless start and go through to intelligent cruise control and high beam headlight assist. It’s a fulsome list! Three trim levels are all powered by a single engine
BEING A SELF-
CHARGING HYBRID IT ALLEVIATES ANY RANGE OR
CHARGING WORRIES AND FOR THIS WRITER THE BEST WAY TO DIP YOUR TYRES INTO THE WORLD OF EV MOTORING
choice of a 2.0-litre petrol unit that comes with hybrid power to deliver 184PS with the benchmark 62 mph passed in under 8 seconds and 60mpg, along with low emissions. The unit is mated to an e-CVT automatic gearbox – an often usual characteristic of this type of transmission is that the engine revs rise significantly
SKODA FABIA SE COMFORT S
MORE PREMIUM THAN ITS PRICE SUGGESTS
ometimes you find a car that, while ostensibly a rather ordinary means of transport, turns out to be something a bit special. Skoda’s Fabia has
long been a feature of the Czech manufacturer’s sales lists and in its latest form drives much more premium than its price suggests and is full of clever touches typical of Skoda. The Fabia range starts at £17,800 and offers decent
standard equipment and some rather good power units. All bar one are 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol units with power outputs of 80PS, 95PS and 110PS with the two higher power engine variants being turbocharged. Then there is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol unit developing 150PS, again 3-cylinder. Standard fare is decent on the entry level model and includes LED lights, Bluetooth, rear parking sensors, air conditioning, alloy wheels and a height adjustable driver’s seat. The previously mentioned clever little touches that set Skoda apart are such things as an ice scraper inside the fuel filler flap, clip in rubbish bags for the door pockets and an umbrella. My test model was the lead-in SE Comfort trim with
the lower power turbocharged 1.0-litre engine that develops 95PS and drives through a manual 5-speed gearbox. Inside there’s pretty much everything you need in
terms of modern creature comforts, although the rear manual windows are a surprise. Even on cost grounds it’s somewhat of a disparity when looking at the list of
other standard equipment included in the Fabia. On the road the Fabia is aimed more at comfort than handling but nonetheless is still capable of being very competently hustled along more twisting roads. My test model is priced at £18,350 and it feels more premium than the price suggests. Performance is modest but the Fabia doesn’t feel in any way hindered in its progress. This is helped by the 5-speed manual gearbox having well-chosen ratios and a light and easy shift. Push the throttle hard and there’s a characteristic thrum from the 3-cylinder engine that’s far from unpleasant. All this means that, despite the small engine capacity, the Fabia feels comfortable and long-legged. Looking at its competitors the Skoda stacks up very
well. Although it lacks the zesty performance feel of something like an Ibiza, it’s not necessarily a bad thing in a car that has to complete a myriad of travel duties. The Fabia is a car that I would be very happy to have on my driveway.
whilst you wait for your speed to catch up. A certain way of driving is thus required to get a less vocal performance, but the new Civic has a clever gearbox that’s primed to drop the revs as would happen in a normal gearchange. This leads to a more refined performance by the transmission. On the road the aforementioned
gearbox is a huge improvement on not just Honda’s previous efforts but on most other examples of this kind of gearbox. It handles well as you might expect from a Civic and has super smooth transitions
between petrol and electric power. Being a self-charging hybrid it alleviates any range or charging worries and for this writer is the best way to dip your tyres into the world of EV motoring. If you need your motoring to offer space and practicality
to ferry the family, but want something more interesting, a bit of a different and a more intelligent choice, then the Civic Hybrid could well be the transport for you.
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