UK Edition
1974 Honda Civic driven: a tiny survivor with a big part in Honda’s success
At first glance the original Honda Civic looks like a typically tinny little Japanese car of the early Seventies. Cute enough, especially when compared with the majority of modern motors, but not necessarily the kind of car to inspire passion.
Look a little closer though and you’ll see racy-looking bonnet vents on the sides of the dual power domes, a promising wheel-at-each-corner stance and an uncluttered interior with even a flash of wood on the dashboard.
The technical spec is even more interesting, the Civic using a similar transverse engine and front-wheel-drive layout to the original Mini but, in typical Honda style, packed with sophisticated features such as independent suspension all round (still unusual on cars of this class) and a lightweight, overhead cam 1.2-litre engine.
Appropriately given that the modern-day Civic is now built in the UK, the version you see here is the car that launched the brand in Britain. This very example – a 1974 1.2 DeLuxe in Carnaby Yellow – featured on the cover of the brochure of the time and is among few survivors in such condition.
It’s part of Honda UK’s historic fleet and the chance to drive it along West Sussex lanes comes at an exclusive Goodwood-hosted event.
It’s certainly tiny compared with the modern Civic and, like many cars of its era, feels pretty basic inside with lots of painted metal on the doors and pillars. The wheel is huge and skinny, the dash simple and uncluttered and the long gearstick shows a classic H-pattern four-speed layout.
Hondas quickly achieved a reputation for reliability and, accordingly, the little engine fires on the first turn of the key and settles to a smooth tickover. With only 50bhp it’s no rocketship, the 0-60mph time of 15.1 seconds is leisurely and although a 60mph cruise is 30mph short of its official top speed you get the impression motorways would not be its forte.
In its favour the motor revs enthusiastically, is way smoother and more refined than anything in a contemporary Mini or early Ford Fiesta and its roadholding on dinky little tyres is similarly much more planted and composed. It’s a very easy car to drive, with light controls, positive responses and above-average handling for its time.
These qualities and the reputation for mechanical toughness have endeared generations of Civics to British drivers, Honda’s growth from niche choice to mainstream brand traceable in the way this core model has evolved over the years.
Finding an original Civic in this condition is a rare treat too, the realities of the classic car world being that mainstream hatchbacks and saloons often disappear completely while enthusiasts focus time and effort preserving and restoring the more exotic or iconic models.
But around the world the Civic was a hugely important car for Honda, establishing its presence here in the UK while in the US its specially designed CVCC engine provided an elegantly engineered and highly efficient solution to strict anti-pollution laws.
More recently the original Civic’s styling has inspired Honda’s much raved-about Urban EV Concept, its revival of the original car’s shape putting a modern twist on a format first seen in Honda dealerships over 40 years ago.
Honda has always been a quirky company with strong engineering ideals. In this little yellow car you see an early interpretation of values the Civic lives by to this day.
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