by Brett Fraser
The daily grind of rush hours and roadworks can make driving seem like a chore at times, but you can still have a huge amount of fun, and experience the thrill of adventure, on British roads… You just have to know where to look.
To prove it we’re setting out on an adventure looking for driving freedom and epic scenery in the new Honda Civic Sport. We’ll take in some of the most rewarding, exciting and spectacular roads in the UK and get to know every facet of the new Sport model’s personality.
On the adventurous roads the Honda Civic Sport eagerly changes direction, smoothly accelerates and brakes
Where we went
It’s early Spring and sadly the weather isn’t playing ball. It’s grey and windswept but the gloom can’t dampen the enthusiasm inside the Civic Sport. We’re heading to the Peak District and then on to Snowdonia in North Wales. Rugged and wild, these areas seem even more incredible with the wind raging and the sky a leaden grey and they’re blessed with roads that are challenging and extremely quiet. The perfect place to exercise the Civic Sport.
We start on The Snake Pass in Derbyshire’s Peak District. This relentless but rewarding challenge is particularly beloved of motorcyclists because of its wriggling stream of bends and frequent changes of elevation. From there we’ll head west over the border into Wales and into the mighty shadow of Mount Snowdon.
There are hundreds of tributary roads throughout this beautiful country that rage and flow with the craggy landscape, but we’re heading towards the Pass of Llanberis. Tight, twisting and lined with granite walls on one side and the Snowdon Massif mountain range the other, it’s a breathtaking place.
There’s a raw, savage, breath-taking beauty to the Welsh landscape
About the car
The new British-made Civic Sport – part of a recently refreshed Honda Civic range – is the ideal steed for the jaunt. For starters, it looks the part. The Sport has a bold new front bumper unit complete with mesh grilles and low-mounted fog lights, and is reminiscent of the latest generation Civic Type R.
New halogen headlights with integrated daytime running lights add to the Sport’s striking frontal appearance, while a body-coloured, high-mounted, aerodynamic rear spoiler helps make for a very distinctive back end.
The Civic Sport also has its own exclusive design of 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 225/45 R17 tyres, which ensure sure-footedness even on a day like today and impart a real sense of agility.
The view of the Pass of Llanberis in north Wales
Special features
The Civic Sport features a system Honda calls Agile Handling Assist which, imperceptibly to the driver, applies a light braking force to individual wheels to maximise the Civic’s responsiveness and stability: which is another way of saying that it makes the car a hoot to hustle along these amazing roads. Precise and involving, the Civic Sport really does live up to its name.
Our Civic Sport is powered by the 120PS 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine, which is not only a punchy performer, but also merely sips at its diesel fuel. As it’s capable of up to 76.3mpg, we won’t be calling in on any filling stations between the Snake Pass and the Pass of Llanberis. In fact, thanks to a range of more than 800 miles, we won’t need to fill up afterwards, either.
View on the winding roads of the Pass of Llanberis in North Wales
What we did: round one
The Snake Pass is part of the A57 – one of the arterial roads linking Manchester and Sheffield – and is proclaimed by many to be one of the best driving roads in the UK. At the Snake Pass’s western extremity sits Glossop, from where the road promptly and precipitously rises as it spears east towards the picturesque Ladybower Reservoir and later Sheffield.
While its name aptly describes its serpentine progress across the glorious Peak District National Park, it is actually named after the pub that sits at its highest point – originally the Snake Inn, now the Snake Pass Inn.
As the road writhes from side to side, up and down, the Civic Sport reveals its playful side, eagerly changing direction, smoothly accelerating and braking. It breeds confidence and exudes an unmistakable sense of fun.
On the winding roads we were thankful for the Civic Sport’s revised electric power steering
What we did: round two
You access the Pass of Llanberis in north Wales just after Capel Curig, when the A4086 turns right and corkscrews towards Llanberis and eventually Caernarfon. There’s a raw, savage, breathtaking beauty to the landscape here, scree and rocks seeming to cascade off the surrounding mountains and threatening to overwhelm the road and all those who travel on it.
Not too much of nature’s debris actually blocks your path, but when we do encounter the odd stray rock or two, we’re thankful for the quick response of the Civic Sport’s revised electric power steering and for a driving position that offers such a close connection to all its controls.
It’s easy to be so awestruck by the view that you lose some of your focus on the road, but the Pass of Llanberis’ endless sequences of demanding bends and occasional extreme narrowness soon call an end to the sightseeing. The Civic Sport laps it up with a sense of focus, security and handling balance that belies its fantastic everyday usability. It feels for all the world like an uncompromised hot hatch when set free on these great roads.
View from the top: taking a break on our eventful journey
A British adventure
On the motorway home the car morphs back to a hushed, relaxing and super efficient tourer, simply adapting to the driver’s mood and the sort of journey being undertaken. It seems hard to believe that just a few short hours ago it was flowing and weaving over Snowdon’s wickedest roads.
It’s been a great day and a reminder that driving can still feel liberating and take you to extraordinary places if you’re prepared to look… and in the Civic Sport you’ll really want to.
