I ADMIRE adventurous styling in new cars – even when it doesn't work – because without it, there would be no progress.

Honda's cars have been at least good looking and at best beautiful down the years and the most recent Civics were a revelation of sharp, shark-like style.

As with all Hondas, British-built Civics have an excellent reputation for lasting and reliability and they retain value better than rivals so are a little more expensive second hand.

What you get is a car that drives beautifully in petrol or diesel forms, with very willing engines giving excellent performance.

There are 1.4 and 1.8 petrols but the 1.4 is hardly man enough for the weight. The 1.8 on the other hand, will give hot hatch performance if you want it.

The 2.2 diesel is hugely economical and very quiet and also has great performance.

Road holding and handling are superb, but the ride can be unsettled at times and uncomfortable on poor surfaces.

Interior

The driver has excellent seat and column adjustment and they come with climate, MP3 connection, split-fold rear seats, traction and stability control and an alarm.

But the beautiful sweeping lines mean rear headroom is on the low side, and the spoiler compromises the driver's rearward vision for some.

FAST FACTS

Honda Civic  

Price: Pay about £5,000 for an '06 06-reg S or £9,200 for an '09 09-reg ES

Mechanical: 138bhp, 1,799cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 127mph

0-62mph: 8.9 seconds

Combined mpg: 42.8

Insurance group: 21

CO2 emissions: 152g/km

BIK rating: 20%

Warranty: 3yrs/ 90,000 miles

Main rival: Renault Megane