Honda Civic

The Honda Civic first went on sale in 1973 – a year before the all-conquering Volkswagen Golf. Now in its ninth generation, the Civic is a well-specced family hatchback with a range of petrol and diesel engines and has established a hard-to-beat reputation for reliability.

The Honda's trump card is its record for reliability and its distinctive shape, which makes it look unlike anything else on the road. That said, this latest model, although not hugely different from its predecessor, does look a little less radical and so is perhaps more widely appealing.

There's a choice of 1.4 and 1.8-litre petrol engines (the 1.8-litre is available with manual or automatic transmission) and one super-frugal 1.6-litre diesel. This last engine is our pick for its 78.5mpg economy and zero road tax.  It also offers strong performance through the gears for brisk overtaking.

Not that the Civic is tuned for sporty handling. Instead, it's a competent car with a comfortable ride. The Ford Focus, in particular, is much more fun to drive.

However, that's set to change in summer 2015 with the rival of the range-topping Civic Type R. The 290bhp hot hatch, which bristles with technology, will cost just under £30,000 and compete with cars such as the Volkswagen Golf R and Ford Focus ST.

It is really pretty good to have a DVD player for Honda Civic, Honda Civic 2012 DVD navigation system, 8 Inch TFT HD touchscreen, GPS navigation system including 4GB SD card with evaluation GPS software and map, digital TV DVB-T (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 optional), Bluetooth for handsfree calling, Radio with RDS, Picture in Picture, USB port, micro SD slot, IPOD, CAN bus box to support Steering Wheel Controls.With the car DVD, Honda Civic will totally prefect.

The Honda Civic is a family hatchback whose rivals include that great all-rounder the Ford Focus, the dependable Toyota Auris and the brilliant Volkswagen Golf. It drives well enough, but the Focus and the Golf are better in his respect.