1.4 EXL

Comfortable, pleasant to drive, excellent use of interior space, some irritations

Bought this after going around the show rooms with a family member who was taken with the space available for carrying mountain bikes. Have done about 14 000 miles. Mpg is about 48 which is a little disappointing.
Features are a mix of excellent and useless. Magic rear seat fold is great. Heating & ac work well. Wiper on rain sensor works well. Lights on light level sensor are a liability: soon found that I was driving unlit in pouring rain on a motorway.
Biggest single annoyance is the absence of a spare wheel. I know that this common practice but I was caught out within weeks of buying the car. I accepted the notion of aerosol goo to temporarily repair a puncture, though at that stage I had not heard about the expense of cleaning a wheel after it had been gooed. After all, I haven't had a puncture in donkey's years. What I hadn't realised was how easy it is to push low-profile tyres off the rim. Not that I wanted such low-profile tyres; they seem to be an affectation on such a car. So, you hit a pothole in the dark. No big deal, until a tyre begins to make strange noises, because it has been unseated. Pull over at the first spot where a tow truck might get in. Tyre ruined and goo irrelevant. Buy new tyre, and £400 full size spare, and a tyre for that. Revise estimate of both Honda and the salesman - downwards. Interesting that car has a spare tyre well. Presumably for countries where Construction and Use regs are on the ball.
Footnote: bought car for wife from another maker/dealer shortly afterward. Dealer didn't exactly suggest that I should buy a spare wheel with the car, but very nearly. Cheaper than Honda, too.

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