FIVE years ago Honda polarised opinions with its radical eighth generation Civic – and the forthcoming 2012 New Civic will do little to resolve these divergent opinions.

Visually the new five-door Swindon built Civic may be an evolution rather than another revolution but it is none the less forthright.

Body styling is the same sharp arrow head design with its two part rear screen – although Honda has taken into account some of the criticism of this controversial rear-end treatment.

The large and expansive horizontal rear divide, which now incorporates the tail lights and stop light has been lowered and re-shaped in a glass area that is also deeper. However, this does little to improve rear visibility or avoid the distraction of the split screen but at least there is now a rear wiper to keep the screen clear.

New Civic is lower and wider and has a bumper to bumper full length under tray adding to the wind cheating effect, while the concealed rear door handles give the Civic a coupé silhouette as do the rising shoulder line.

Inside Honda has taken on board complaints about the lack of quality of the previous generation and relocated some of the digital instrumentation and minor controls that made it look like something out of Star Trek.

However the digital age hasn't entirely disappeared. We are back to conventional looking analogue dials located behind the steering wheel but in a digital representation where the rev counter is dominant and speed displayed in digital form only above this.

Essential driver information and controls are located in a wraparound cockpit style arrangement while an overlapping cowl and central console houses the i-MID screen for controlling the infotainment systems and air conditioning.

In Civic's market sector, where the leaders are the Ford Focus and VW Gold, space is at a premium and here Honda holds onto its advantage, up to 110 litres of it, by retaining its 60/40 split Magic seats which have the ability to flip up, exposing a large, tall carrying area behind the front seats.

Alternatively, they can be folded completely flat to extend the already generous 401-litre boot (with an additional 76 litre under floor compartment) to 1,378 litres.

Honda has taken the opportunity to work on improving the ride quality by installing fluid filled compliance bushings for lower noise and higher dampening characteristics and it appears to work especially well as the ride quality is surprisingly good.

Handling gets a boost with a low centre of gravity and a retuned and more direct electric power steering that gives a more confident and stable feel at the wheel. Reassurance also comes from the inclusion of ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and the option of Collision Avoidance Mitigation Braking that warns drivers if contact with a vehicle ahead is imminent and helps with heavy braking while also tightening the seat belts.

Revised aerodynamics help to reduce fuel consumption as do refinements for the three carry over engines which produce lower emissions and more power.

The entry level 1.4 i-VTEC is more geared for economy than performance as seen by a zero to 62mph time of 13.4 seconds while fuel economy is attractive at 52mpg on the combined cycle and emissions at 129 g/km.

Mainstay in the line-up will be its more powerful 1.8 i-VTEC sibling which does better, the automatic version reaching 62mph in just over nine seconds while unleaded gets consumed at the rate of 48mpg which is ten per cent better than before.

Best for both performance and economy is the lone transversely mounted 2.2 diesel which is rather nippy getting to 62mph in 8.5 seconds while conserving fuel at the rate of 67mpg (20 per cent better) and it's also the cleanest with emissions down to 110 g/km which is a 29 g/km improvement – this results in free first year road tax.

This will be joined towards the end of next year will be a new 1.6-litre diesel which is already attracting a lot of interest.

To get even better fuel returns Honda offers an Eco Assist system that calculates the correct gear for any given situation and tells the driver how they are doing. There is also an Econ button that activates gentler throttle response and all manual transmission engines have Stop-Start technology which can save up to 5 g/km on emissions.

There are four trim levels to choose from SE, ES, EX and EX GT all get climate control ait conditioning and i-MID information system.

The most popular ES grade includes Bluetooth, folding door mirrors, cruise control with speed limiter, dual zone climate control, rear parking camera, automatic headlights and wipers, key operated windows and door mirrors and a six speaker audio.

Available to order now with first deliveries in February, the New Civic is priced from £16,495 to £26,595 – a hot Type R version has yet to be signed off.

Chris Adamson