Honda Civic Tourer: New details

The Honda Civic Tourer will be revealed in full production form at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, and Auto Express has learned that the new estate will have the biggest boot in the family car class.

We spoke to senior engineer Adrian Killham at the brand’s R&D centre in Swindon, Wiltshire. He said: “When the VW Golf Mk7 estate appeared at Geneva [in March], it had 605 litres, then Skoda went one better with 610 litres in the Octavia. But the Civic will offer significantly more.”

Killham also confirmed that, like its rivals, the 1.6-litre diesel version of the Civic Tourer will “emit less than 100g/km of CO2”. And even though the Civic wasn’t designed to be developed into an estate, the conversion has added less than 40kg to the kerbweight.

The design of the Geneva show concept in our pictures will be toned down before the car hits dealers, but the swooping rear lights and wraparound glass will remain. And Killham told us the boot lip has been lowered even further to help boost practicality. “The Civic will be perfect for dog owners and towing,” he said.

It will keep the hatch’s flip-up ‘magic’ seatbases, too, while the higher roofline has apparently improved headroom in the rear for taller passengers too.

Engines will be carried over from the hatch, so there will be 1.4 and 1.8-litre petrols, plus 2.2 and ultra-efficient 1.6-litre diesels. But Killham was coy about the possibility of a hybrid, telling us: “That target [CO2] is always moving, and we might look at new technologies as they start to be available. But we’ll stick with the engines we have for now.”

He also revealed that top-spec Civic Tourers would stand out with a form of adaptive suspension that will be “very appropriate for a wagon”. And while he was vague on the exact details, it should act like a self-levelling system. The price is expected to rise by “between £500 and £1,200” over the hatch once it goes on sale in the UK in January 2014.