The year of the Civic

The new roomy Honda Civic has set the benchmark for hatchbacks. Motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE reports.

The Honda Civic is the New Zealand Herald 2001 Car of the Year. There are two models, the European-styled five-door hatchback and a Japanese-designed sedan, both built on the same platform.

But the hatchback breaks design ground and has considerably more appeal than the conservative sedan.

The hatch opens up an interior designed to provide unprecedented passenger room, whereas space within the sedan, while still more than adequate, is blunted by the conventional boot.

Both have convenient flat-cabin floors, thanks mainly to Honda finding new places for intrusive exhaust and suspension components.

The hatchback sets a design standard for others to follow. It was the first kid on the block with the roomy, mini-MPV-like dimensions now evident in the Toyota Corolla and Peugeot 307, the 2002 European Car of the Year. (The 307 has just arrived in New Zealand and was too late for the Herald award).

The hatchback Civic is powered by a 1.7-litre engine producing 96kW and coupled to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

It is a sporty drive with the front, double-wishbone suspension and rear strut setup providing good road manners and predictable handling. The Civic costs between $25,500 and $32,990.

The best of the rest were:

Ford Mondeo

Ford's new corporate phrase, "We have ignition", arrived with the Mondeo. Ford wanted the catchcry to spark sales to the point where executives could yell, "We have liftoff." It did. The new Mondeo is light years ahead of its predecessor. It is longer and wider and its ride/handling mix is exemplary. The body shell is 60 per cent stronger. There is more room for luggage and occupants. The interior is all-new, with better attention to detail. The Mondeo comes with 2- and 2.5-litre engines and costs between $35,900 and $45,900.

Toyota Corolla

Toyota says the new car is a breakthrough model, sophisticated, advanced and as important in a global sense as the first front-drive Corolla was in 1983. Toyota has sold more than 29 million Corollas since 1966 - 170,000 in New Zealand. The new model has more interior space, a higher roofline and sits on a longer wheelbase. Its interior design is vastly improved. The rack and pinion steering is sharp, handling is predictably accurate, the ride is soft but settled. All 12 models are powered by a 1.8-litre engine. Corolla costs between $29,990 and $37,150.

Nissan X-Trail

Designer Masahiro Toi travelled the globe asking young buyers what they wanted in a soft-road vehicle. The X-Trail and its 2.5-litre engine is the result Push-button selectors on the dash allow the drivers to choose between three driving modes for road conditions: 2WD, part-time 4WD, or full-time 4WD. Lack of wheel-travel prevents the X-Trail tackling the serious rough stuff, but it can be coaxed over some demanding surfaces. The rear seats can be removed for added luggage or sleeping space on a scratchproof floorboard. Two drink bins in the dash keep drinks cool or warm. It costs between $43,195 and $44,495.

Alfa Romeo 147

It's the nose that does it. A classic hooter echoing the grille of a 1949 Alfa Romeo, the 6C 1500 Villa d'Este. The rear isn't bad either. Shapely and provocative. So, too, the car's lines: soft as Provolone cheese, smooth as olive oil. The Alfa Romeo 147, the 2001 European Car of the Year, is arguably the best Alfa Romeo yet, playing on Alfa's badge and sporting heritage. The three- and five-door hatchback sits on a reworked version of the model 156 chassis, the car that gave Alfa a new reputation for quality when it was launched in 1997. The 147 reinforces that new-found standard. It costs between $46,995 and $53,995.

BMW Compact

The car's 2-litre engine comes with Valvetronic, a system which makes the fuel-air mix burn better for improved economy and through-the-gears flexibility. BMW likens it to the way humans breathe - deeply for effort, shallower for less effort. Many BMW competitors were lost for breath when it released the entry-level price of the Compact: $39,990. The new car is much more sophisticated than the old one. It comes with sports suspension and BMW's revised rack and pinion steering system and is lively and hugely competent, typical of the brand. It costs between $39,990 and $73,990.

Jeep Cherokee

Spiritual successor to the original Willys, the model that accompanied The Band of Brothers into Germany in 1944. Army chaplains used the flat bonnets of old Willys for altars; GIs used them for poker tables. Cherokee owners will mostly use the vehicle for carrying groceries. The latest model remains a serious off-roader but offers more than its predecessor. Outside, it has greater presence, inside it has a classier cabin with more head, leg and shoulder room. Its steering is more accurate, its 3.7-litre V6 engine more powerful, its ride more comfortable. It costs between $57,400 and $62,900.

Audi A4

Sales figures showed the previous model scared the pants off BMW's 3-Series when it arrived in New Zealand in 1995. The figures are saying good things about the new A4, too, even though the model expected to be the most popular, the 2.4-litre V6, hasn't landed here yet. The A4 is longer, wider, taller on the outside than the previous model and inside has more head, shoulder and legroom. It comes with eight airbags, has a beautifully built cabin, a new ride refinement, sharper rack and pinion steering and better handling, thanks to suspension revisions. The A4 costs between $67,900 and $124,500.

Lexus ES300

Lexus' "relentless pursuit of perfection" creed and plans for the LS400, its first car and Japan's answer to the luxury carmakers of Europe, began in August 1983. Lexus has seven models these days and the latest ES300 follows after the entry-level IS200 and IS300. The third-generation ES300 is a delightful example of understated luxury, inside and out. The car's front-drive dynamics are up with the best and the V6 engine's variable valve timing gives the ES300 a new flexibility. It costs $82,000.

Subaru Impreza RS

Looks like a mirror image of the hotshot WRX, apart from the bonnet air scoop for the turbo. Also comes with an almost identical long-travel suspension setup to the WRX. The RS uses the 2.5-litre engine from the Legacy and continues the trend Subaru set some years ago of fitting larger engines to small cars. Inside, the RS comes with wraparound front seats similar to the WRX and a Momo leather steering wheel and gear-lever knob. Point to point, there's not much around that can beat it, not at $39,990.

Renault Laguna

The safest car on the market, says the European New Car Assessment programme. It is the first car to be awarded a five-star rating by the independent crash-test body. The Laguna is packed with technology, including a credit card-sized gizmo that takes the place of an ignition key. Insert it into a slot on the console and it unlocks the steering and tells the car's management system that everything is hunky-dory - all in micro-seconds. A push-button starts the car. The Laguna comes as a liftback and estate, or tourer, and powered by a 3-litre V6. A 2-litre petrol and 1.9-litre turbo-diesel is on the way. The Laguna is priced from $58,990.

* This is the last Weekend Drive for the year. It will resume on January 12.