Road Test: Honda Civic 1.6 i-DTEC S 5dr

This is a car that represents Honda's ascent from an onslaught of earthquakes, floods and even the vagaries of the 2008 financial crisis. It's a car that represents how Honda plans to climb out of what must feel like a plague of biblical proportions.

Whatever, this Civic Tourer - the first one since 2001 - is a manifestation of the company's renewed confidence. First comes this, then the Type-R hatch, then the NSX. Which means this capacious Civic has to be done correctly. It has to be... capacious.

And that it is. It gets a faintly ludicrous 624 litres of space with the rear seats in place, though if you fold them flat, that swells to 1,668 litres; that's as near-as-makes-no-difference the same as a BMW 5-Series Touring, a car from two classes higher up the food chain. Those rear seats not only fold flat into the floor, the squabs even flip upright, so you can carry tall items in the back and, all in, we're told you can transport 2,873 tennis balls. Way more balls than you can carry in the new VW Golf Estate (see bottom right).

Though here's where the new Civic Tourer falls down: bottom line, it's not as well rounded as that MQB-platformed VW. You can get a 1.8-litre VTEC petrol (140bhp) though most will plump for the 1.6-litre, 118bhp diesel that's frugal, clean and provides 817 miles of range. They just won't be the most entertaining miles.

The engine itself is punchy and smooth for the most part, but as with most smallish diesels, doesn't appreciate a good hiding (the petrol is obviously smoother and eager to red-line), but keep it in the torque band and all is unruffled. Same for the chassis, too. It sits on the same underpinnings - exactly the same underpinnings - as the hatchback, and offers three driving modes: Dynamic, Comfort and Normal. This cycles through various stages of damping for the rear axle (to counteract the payload on board) and steering, though none feel particularly up for a sprint. The steering is far too light in Comfort and Normal - as in, zero feedback - while Dynamic adds some artificial weighting.

That said, it's supremely relaxing, turning a cold shoulder to any road imperfections, the body control is decent (up to a point, mind), and overall it's just very comfortable. Being TG, we did ask for a Type-R estate - a watered-down version of the BTCC racer we'll see in 2014 - but it's not on the cards. Shame, what's not to like about a hot estate?