Honda Civic e:HEV Advance: 'I drove WhatCar?'s family car of the year - I think others are better'

It will have been obvious to some of you that I enjoy driving. I have had just one speeding offence — on the rural edge of a leafy town in Cheshire.

I went back to check and almost sped past the same camera. The speed awareness course in lieu of points at Keighley rugby club was good humoured and useful.

My terrain is North Yorkshire, its roads just as demanding and as good or bad as yours, I’m sure. I once drove at high speeds on open roads.

I’d driven my Morgan +8 through Glencoe at a speed so high I almost had to slow down for one of its arched bridges.

I know better now, of course. Roads really were quieter and, yes, there was a lower risk of being caught.

Time to talk about Honda. My cousin Iain had a 2-litre Accord, not as quick as his later Alpina BMW, but anonymous in Pearl Harbour grey.

He came from Aberdeen to us in four hours. It is about 300 miles. It should take five to six hours.

The time was ratified by his mother, huddled in terror on the back seat.

Iain, like many Scots, loved fast cars, golf and Black Label, now being enjoyed by the kin he left behind too soon.

Honda is one of the great motor companies.

It makes cars and motorbikes and marine engines and lawnmowers and snow pushers, quad bikes and generators and jet engines and aircraft and rockets and solar cells. It pioneered petrol-electric hybrid engines.

Few people know that other Honda. On its own this is not a reason to buy one but Honda are quality engineers. Its cars do not break.

I’d like a bit more comfort in the suspension but then a Citroën doesn’t corner like a Civic. This recently updated Civic liftback is a fine car for enthusiasts. I think Iain would have loved it.

Super-hot Civics have smashed circuit records. Our self-charging hybrid is not one of those but trust me it is quick enough to enjoy at legal speeds.

Many open roads are still tempting but the law is the law and the cop with a camera is King or Queen. Sadly, too many wilfully dangerous drivers elude them.

The Civic is What Car?’s family car of the year. It has had minor detail changes.

The most evident is removing the front fog lights, a role now managed by the headlamps. It sports a new body colour.

In my bathroom art collection (by appointment only) I have a sublime aqueous, unsigned painting of the harbour in St Ives.

Fishing boats float on thick brushstrokes of blue and green and the shades they combine to make. Among them I found the colour of the Civic. Honda names it seabed blue pearl.

Prices start at £34,325 or £389 a month on PCP. Check with your dealer for incentives. There is only a £4,000 price lift from the entry level to the top level, which PCP will make unimportant.

The ocean bottom blue is £700. The only paint which is free of extra payment is called sonic grey pearl. The most expensive is a metallic red at more than £1,000.

These paint surcharges make me see red but are not confined to Honda. Why does the blue pearl cost £700 and the grey pearl is “free”?

The Civics have a petrol engine which charges the battery which drives electric motors which drive the wheels until you need lots more power when the petrol engine joins in.

Braking and slowing down recharge the batteries. It is all seamlessly delivered through a refined continuously variable automatic gearbox and at times gets near the uncanny smoothness and silence of a fully electric car.

Models are called Elegance (all you need), Sport (includes part leather seats, 18-inch wheels, heated steering wheel) and Advance (Bose audio, full leather, powered front seats, adaptive headlamps and a part-opening glass roof).

Minus the blue hue surcharge it costs £38,695. This was our car. The attraction for me would be the sunroof.

Animals need their leather, I don’t. Modern fake leathers give most of the advances without the death.

Talking points in the Camshaft Arms centered on its sleek shape, the parcel shelf which retracts laterally into a side pod and the honeycomb dashboard matrix which hides the air vents.

Three large knobs manage the flow and temperature. Some liked the blue, some didn’t. I’d have pearly white which reminds us that Honda grand prix racers were white.

Economy was good despite the superb torquey performance, showing 54mpg on my regular mixed routes and 57mpg overall.

Family car of the year though? Surely something higher off the ground merits that title: Honda has them.

And something with softer suspension and lower road noise. The roar from the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres was far too disruptive. Passengers in the back were particularly critical.

Honda’s big news is the return of the Prelude. I shall be reviewing it in July. Until then, here’s a fuel economy tip: cut down the miles.

Honda Civic e:HEV Advance: £38,695; 2-litre petrol hybrid engine; 181bhp and 232 lb ft; CVT automatic transmission; 0-62mph 8.1 seconds; Rated at 56.5 mpg (matched in testing); 8.8 gallons (40 litres) tank; CO 2 emissions: 114g/km; Braked towing limit 750kg; Length 180 inches (4.56m); More information at honda.co.uk