A mate of mine had one of the first Ballades back in the 1980s; it was durable, comfortable and well made but had about as much character as a bowl of custard.
The new Honda Civic, however, is very much its own car; it looks vaguely science-fictiony from outside with its long roof, vast windscreen and ultra-short bonnet, while inside the designers have made the immensely deep fascia forced on them by the body shape into a styling feature by splitting it horizontally and putting the digital speedometer, fuel and temperature gauges in a second binnacle just inside the windscreen.
The big, central rev-counter, flanked by warning icons and readouts for the trip datacomputer, is mounted just above the steering wheel. All the instruments are strikingly backlit in blue with white numerals but remarkably easy to read.
The controls for the radio/CD player and automatic air-conditioning are set into the centre section of fascia but because of its slope they're more horizontal than vertical - a very logical set-up once you're used to it.
The range-topping VXi - our test car - comes with full leather trim and electrically adjustable front seats, with a height and reach-adjustable steering column. The seats offer more than adequate lateral support so it's easy to get comfortable in Honda's new C-segment sedan.
It has all the usual cup holders and storage nooks, including a generous glove compartment and pockets in the backs of the front seats. There's a CD storage box under the centre armrest and two cup holder/oddment trays in the centre console - under neat sliding covers, making the Civic's cabin one of the tidiest I've seen, even when it's in use by real people.
But seriously, whatever small valuables are in the centre console and armrest storage areas can't be seen from outside, making the Civic less of a temptation to affirmative shoppers.
Mechanically, the Civic is just as civilised; the 1799cc, 16-valve four-cylinder engine has a variable-length intake manifold and iV-TEC variable valve-timing for a broader spread of power and pulls well from 2500rpm. It runs smoothly and surprisingly quietly until all the valves kick in just after 6000 revs - then it gets a bit raucous up to the red line at 6800.
But you only need that extra 800rpm when you're in a real hurry; Honda claims that the 1.8-litre iV-TEC engine will pull like a two-litre mill on the fuel consumption of a 1.5.
The test Civic disposed of the standing kilometre in 30.62sec with a terminal velocity of 172km/h and whooshed on to top out at exactly 200km/h with 5200rpm on the rev-counter.
Seriously abusive launches
The clutch felt a little vague but stood up manfully to a number of seriously abusive launches as we tried for the best numbers. There are huge gaps from first to second, and second to third; the engine would fall below its torque band unless we revved it to six-five before shifting.
That was when we discovered that if you hoof it all the way to the rev-limiter at 7200rpm it will hit 100km/h in second in only 9.16sec from standstill - our average when we changed to third at 6500rpm was 9.77sec.
In third, however, it reached 144km/h at 6500 revs; for optimum overtaking it needs a longer second and shorter third gear. We recorded a best time of 8.28sec from 80-120km/h, but the Civic managed a more creditable 8.23sec from 100-140km - all without shifting out of third.
And after all that its fuel consumption over the week that we had it worked out to a fraction more than eight litres/100km.
The five-speed manual gearbox is light and very positive, if a little notchy at low revs; lever throw is very short and with a little practice ultra-quick changes are possible.
Its brakes, discs all round, are magnificent, pulling the Civic down from 100km/h in 2.93sec - and that's the average of five hard stops; the best was a nose-diving 2.63, with the brake pedal pulsing gently as the ABS and brake assist systems climbed in to help.
Firm suspension
The Civic's sophisticated suspension (Macpherson struts front, double wishbone at the rear) has been set up for precision rather than limousine-like comfort. You don't notice it in town but the ride is a little choppy on country roads.
Couple that with reassuringly accurate but slightly lighter than ideal power steering and you have a sensitive car that repays being driven with due care and attention, and a light hand.
If you're the kind of driver who enjoys driving well, believes apexes are there to be hit and concentrates even while commuting you'll enjoy the Civic's taut handling and impressive road-holding; it's sometimes disconcerting sensitivity to a crosswind and unexpected lack of engine braking won't faze you.
If, however, you believe that cars there to move people and large quantities of their worldly goods from A to B with as little fuss as possible you may find it a little demanding and its 389-litre boot less than generous.
Me, I like a car that talks to you.
The nitty gritty
The Honda Civic comes with a three-year or 100 000km warranty and a three-year or 60 000km service plan; it needs servicing every 15 00km.
Price:
R193 000.
- Test car from Honda South Africa.