YES, I am in the midst of a full-blown love affair, but fear not, my partner is fully aware, and she is giving me a 'hall pass' on this one, as our American cousins are wont to say...
My saving grace is the object of my affection is not a person, but a car company, so, all is mostly forgiven.
The object of my desire? A Honda.
Gone are the days of the company appearing lost in a sea of 'me-too' cars, as they battled to maintain a place in an expanding market, which was itself transitioning into one where SUVs were king, and more traditional sedans and wagons were becoming a thing of the past.
Fortunately, the decision was made that while Honda would expand and renew its range of SUV models, with revisions of the CR-V and HR-V and the release of the ZR-V, the Accord and Civic would be rejuvenated, with a return to old-school Honda sports luxury.
So, with that little preamble done, on with the show, as they say.
HAVING already sampled the upscale luxury of the Civic e:HEV LX, (maybe they need to work on the naming conventions!), we took a step backwards recently, and enjoyed time in the entry level e:HEV L.
Dressed in a beautiful pearlescent Platinum White, the L model looks as good as the upmarket LX, wearing 18" alloy wheels, with body-coloured door mirrors and bumpers, and devoid of any add-on aero devices.
While my time driving fast on racetracks has given me a love of wings and spoilers, the reality is that at Australian road speeds, they do very little for grip, and tend to add drag, which means more fuel burn, making the car more expensive to run.
Instead, the L sits 'naked', flaunting the slippery body shape Honda's design team envisioned when they sat down to create the new model.
That is not to say it is devoid of style, just that Honda chose to hide them in plain sight, without the use of a wild Time Attack-type body kit.
The front bar features a short 'lip' add-on which helps cut through the air, directing flow under the car, as well as functional upper and lower air intakes feeding air through the engine bay and exiting under the car.
Keeping with the clean look of the car, the wipers sit below the bonnet line when not in use, not only smoothing airflow up and over the windscreen and roof, but also reducing wind noise.
Similarly, the external mirror housings work to pierce the air, directing airflow out and around the doors, which also keeps the side windows cleaner, with dust and water pushed away from the glass.
The curving roof is the best hidden, but most visible, aero device on the Civic, slightly raised lips on the outer edges subtly channel airflow over the roof and down to the rear, pushing the whole car onto the road, but without adding drag or noise to the equation.
Finally, at the rear, the squared-off tail and integrated under-body diffuser unite the airflows from over and under the car, generating a small aero ground effect that helps keep the car stable at highway speeds.
Other touches include full length body lines running from below the bonnet to the tail, with a slight bulging of the lower sections of the doors creating an indent, again shaping and directing airflow, as well as giving the Civic a slightly aggressive appearance.
I am not normally a massive fan of white cars, but I find this shows off the Civic's design highlights best, while the pearlescent effect brings a touch of luxury to the overall package.
INSIDE, the feel of subtle luxury continues, driven in isolation, the L could be mistaken for a genuine high-end model, rather than the entry point to the Civic range.
The car is trimmed in soft vinyls and leather, the seats are generally comfortable and supportive, although I would prefer a longer seat base, to give me more under-leg support, especially on longer drives.
I love the chunky steering wheel, it is thick and grippy, perfect for when the road starts to get twisty, but still easy to use in every day driving.
Honda has developed a user-friendly dash layout for the driver, yes, I would have liked a Heads Up Display, but in its absence this is a pretty decent compromise.
A high quality three dimensional display with driver-selectable screens, it mimics a classic 1980s dash, offering a tachometer and speedometer, plus fuel, electric charge, coolant temperature, as well as instant and average fuel consumption.
These displays are arrayed around a central screen featuring a 3-D representation of the Civic, showing the surrounding roads and traffic, even distinguishing between cars and trucks.
The display is built from inputs from the numerous external cameras and sensors on the car, showing position and relative speed, for example if a car is closing in from behind or pulling away, as well as any lane changes.
Add to this the adaptive cruise control, with its radar tracking and maintaining road speed relative to the target vehicle, plus stability control and electronic brake systems and the Civic can literally drive itself out of an impending crash, faster than the human driver can process and react to emergencies.
Don't misunderstand, I am all for humans retaining overall control, we should always have the final say in what the car is doing, but having tested numerous versions of these systems, in cars right through to B-Doubles and Road Trains, there are things the electronics can do that are simply beyond the capacity of one person.
For me, allowing these systems to do their job, running the 'background' operations of the vehicle, lets me focus on the bigger picture of things the computer cannot 'see', for example a traffic jam 500 metres away, and plan my response in plenty of time.
The seating position is excellent, you slide in behind and under the wheel, it is almost like you put the car on, there is plenty of room for big drivers, I never felt crowded or cramped.
That said, the curving roofline does reduce rear seat headroom, taking my teenage son (all 180cm of him, and still growing) for a drive, his mullet was touching the head lining.
He had no complaints about the centre arm rest, complete with drink holders, it was the right size for his chocolate milkshakes, but didn't eat into the seat hip space.
He was also impressed by the two USB-C chargers in the back of the centre console, under the air-con vents, no self-respecting teenager is going to risk their phone going flat, so he found them most useful.
While the Civic is engineered as a five seater, as a small-medium car it is really only comfortable for four people, unless you have really small children, but even then, I would have my doubts about squeezing in more than two child seats, which are now required by law here in Queensland for under-7s.
My favourite in-cabin element remains the honeycomb pattern air vents and 80s throwback stick control, I think it finishes the cabin off nicely, and is a retro touch in an otherwise high-tech space.
And there is tech in spades with the Civic, a big central screen gives access to all major functions as well as displaying CarPlay and Android systems.
My only downside to this is the screen is so big, with so many functions, especially when it comes to car set up, things like climate control and vehicle settings, it can be distracting.
The best option is to do all the set-up adjustments when you first get in the car, or, if you have a passenger, let them handle it, it is easy for the driver to get drawn in flicking through screens.
One of my favourite displays was the energy readout and usage screen, which gives a cool representation of where the power is coming from, petrol engine or battery, as well as how much was being captured during driving, especially under braking.
Luggage space was decent, for the size of the car, we had no problem fitting in a week's grocery shopping, as well as a couple of bags for an overnight trip, although the downward curve of the roof does cause a problem for tall items.
While baggage might fit against the seatbacks, as the roof and hatch slope down, they cut down into the vertical space when you close the hatchback - I would suggest checking before bringing the hatchback down, to avoid squashing anything.
Unsurprisingly, the interior fit and finish is top shelf, even for an entry-level model, yes, there are plastics and vinyls aplenty, but they were all high quality, there was no feeling of cheapness anywhere in the car.
The e:HEV driveline is a combination of a 2-litre petrol engine and Honda's 2-motor electric system, producing peak figures of 135 kilowatts and 315 Newton-metres of torque.
The power is split between the two drive systems, heavy acceleration will use both forms simultaneously for quick getaways or highway overtaking, while 'normal' driving will draw the power as required, with a bias toward electric power for maximum efficiency.
This blending of power sources will be a major alternative to full electric drive in the future, and Honda has placed itself in a leading role, introducing these technologies into mainstream motoring.
More importantly, Honda engineers have made the switch seamless, so that it is nearly impossible, outside of full-power takeoffs, to detect the change in power sources, there is no audible shutdown or switching on of the petrol engine.
The power is plentiful, and modulated in its delivery, unlike the brutality of a full EV under hard acceleration, which can be neck-snapping as they rocket away from the line, the Civic is more refined, almost restrained, as it pulls away.
That doesn't mean it is slow, but Honda knows its market, and has created a high-end, small-medium car that does everything it is supposed to, without rolling your eyes backwards in their sockets.
Instead, the Civic is a car that can comfortably cruise until the driver, or passengers, need a break, soaking up the bumps and corrugations, while still providing a hit of performance when requested.
No surprises, given Honda's sporting pedigree, the Civic steers beautifully, the wheel is well-weighted, with increased assistance at parking speeds, firming up as the speed increases, allowing the driver to make the most of the SPORT mode.
In keeping with its semi-luxury status, the Civic L offers a supple and compliant suspesion, rather than a rock hard sports-focused tune, allowing it to deal with small- to medium-sized bumps and corrugations, although big potholes will, not surprisingly, still deal a pretty big bump to the occupants.
Another area where Honda impresses with the Civic is the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), it offers all of the benefits, with none of the drawbacks.
When cruising, the Civic was in energy-sipping mode, using the bare minimum to maintain speed, but if a sudden change of pace became necessary, there was no reluctance or delay normally associated with the technology, acceleration was completely in line with driver inputs.
This was partly a result of the electric drive, which provides instant power, but it was also a showcase of Honda's technical advances in powertrain integration.
Energy harvesting was also impressive, in EV mode while highway driving, the Civic was accomplished at the 'lift and coast' technique often referred to in motorsport circles, where the goal is to maintain speed while conserving energy.
In the case of the e:HEV, this extends to being able to capture electrical energy from the driving wheels, as well as through the regenerative braking system, simultaneously extending range while driving.
While range is affected by many factors, not the least the weight of the driver's foot on the accelerator - the lighter the touch, the greater the range! - as well as the type of driving, whether it is around town or extended high speed travelling, we found the Civic thrifty, without feeling as though one cylinder had been disconnected.
IN closing, Your Worship, we would like to point out the Civic is a worthy successor to the storied history of its forebears, or to put in plain English, the Civic is still a great car.
Yes, at approximately $49,000 for the entry level, it is not cheap, but it is good value for what you get, and there is a feeling of longevity about the whole package, this is a car that will go the distance.
Would I have one? Yes, I think I would, while it is not the total package for me, the reduced boot space and short seat base do count against it, I could still see one in my driveway.
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