The Honda Civic Tourer’s most obvious selling point is boot space. There’s a huge 624 litres if you include the room beneath the boot floor. Unsurprisingly, we found space for each and every item in our typical holiday luggage.

Fuel economy is another strength, with an official combined figure of 72.4mpg. We tested the Civic Tourer’s economy when towing and found it achieved 28.9mpg towing a caravan around a mix of A-roads and motorways.

However, while it may not have been using much fuel, the Civic did tend to move around at 60mph and beyond, especially in breezy conditions. The lane-change test proved a challenge, with the caravan tugging hard at the back of the Honda.

In the hill-start test, the handbrake needed a firm pull to hold the outfit still, and a careful balance of clutch and throttle was necessary to pull up the 1-in-6 slope. After reversing a little way up the other side of the hill the clutch was rather smelly.

Go for the top-of-the-range EX Plus spec and there’s no shortage of standard kit, including a reversing camera with a good view of the towball. However, this does push the price up to the wrong side of £27,000, which is rather steep, even if Honda’s well-deserved reputation for reliability makes the Civic a sensible long-term buy.

2019
Category Winners
2019 Up to 1400kg

Škoda Octavia

Hatch 1.5 TSI 150PS SE L DSG

2019 1400-1549kg

Seat Ateca

2.0 TSI 190PS FR DSG

2019 1550-1699kg

Volkswagen Arteon

2.0 TDI 150PS Elegance DSG

2019 1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2019 1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 SDV6 HSE

2019 Best Budget 4x4

Dacia Duster

1.5 dCi Ambiance 4x4

2019 Best Plug-In Hybrid

Land Rover Range Rover Sport

P400e HSE Dynamic

2019 Best Ultralight Tow Car

Seat Arona

1.0 TSI 115 FR

2019 Fuel Economy Award

Ford Focus Estate

1.5 EcoBlue 120PS Titanium X

Previous Winners
2018
1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2017
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 Td6 HSE*

2016
1400-1549kg

Skoda Superb Hatch

2.0 TDI 150PS SE Business

2015
1400-1549kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI BMT 150PS SE Business DSG

2014
1400-1549kg

Nissan Qashqai

1.6 dCi (130PS) Stop/Start System Acenta Premium

2013
Up to 1424kg

Skoda Octavia

2.0 TDI CR 150PS Elegance

2012
1725–1899kg

Jaguar XF

2.2D Premium Luxury

2011
1425-1574kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI 170 Bluemotion Sport

2010
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery 4

3.0 TDV6 XS

2009
1900kg+

Volvo XC60

D5 SE Geartronic

2008
1575-1724kg

Ford Mondeo Estate

2.0 TDCi Titanium auto

2007
1575-1724kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI Sport 4Motion

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