After taking a look at the all new 2006 Honda Civic, I have to say that I'm most impressed. It's seems to have had a complete redesign job and I think it looks just fantastic despite the raw comments from the usual critiques. I'm just a Joe average and no real authority on the motor, but as a long and loyal customer of Honda cars, I think I have some valid remarks to make on this latest addition to the Honda family.

One of the fist things I noticed when I got inside the car was that it seemed to have more space than the previous models. There's also a smart looking all black 2 level instrument panel which I really like. Once you've got the ignition on, the lower dash area lights up and the upper layer displays the digital speedometer. Really slick and very easy on the eye. The layout is smart, clean, functional and convenient. It's also void of any distractions.

Being a family man I was looking at the 5 speed 4 door manual model with a 140bhp 1.8 liter engine. It seems as though electric windows are a standard feature now which is a nice touch. Other features and options worth a mention are electric door mirrors, front and rear air bags, side curtains, ABS and few other minor touches.

This is only a short review as I'm neither a professional critique nor a driver of all models but what I can say as an avid fan and owner of Honda Civics is that Honda has done us proud on this model.

The Hybrid, which is a class of its own, differs in a number of ways. Its engine is smaller to start with, but it has a big electric motor support it. The clever thing about the Hybrid motor is that charges itself, spending and saving fuel as the situations arise. The new Honda Civic Hybrid boasts an impressive 50 mpg and not at the expense of power either, as this clever design has the gas engine and electric motor working together in perfect harmony.

As always, Honda has brought out the Si which has a different engine to the standard models. I've not driven it but I'm assuming the performance of the Si will be as impressive as always.

In my opinion, Japanese cars have always been great all round value from money but for me, Honda rules. I've been lucky enough to have owned a total of 7 Honda cars now and haven't encountered any serious problems for any of them.