Best Mid-Size Car Under $28,000 - Honda Civic VTi

1.8-litre sedan 5-speed manual $21,490

Consistency across judging criteria keeps the ever-accessible Honda Civic at the top of its class for the second year running. Buyers looking for a mid-size car under $28,000 have never had it so good, with such a wide range of excellent vehicles to choose from. Any one of the top half-dozen or so cars in this class could have been a winner.

They all have individual strengths and appealing features. Separating them was a tough job for the judges, but when all the scores were in and the class weightings added, it was last year's winner, the Honda Civic VTi, that edged out two recent releases, Hyundai's all new i-30 and the latest incarnation of the faithful Toyota Corolla. Civic is the consummate all-rounder. It's not necessarily the best at everything but scores well across most criteria.

Accommodation wise, the Civic is a typical 4/5-seat mid-size sedan. An open cabin design with well-laid-out controls and appropriate frontseat shaping sets the scene for a comfortable driving experience. The unique two-tier dash features a clever forward-mounted speedo with a large, easy-to read digital display. Civic looks and feels like a more expensive car. By building it in Thailand, Honda has managed to keep the price very competitive, while maintaining the company's customary high-quality standard of manufacture. Mechanically, it's a refined package that is smooth, quiet and easy to drive.

There are a couple of stronger performers in the class, but the Civic VTi is still better than most. In traditional Honda fashion, the 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine is a free-revving, technically sophisticated unit that delivers reasonably energetic performance in a clean and economical manner. Its on-road ability suits the type of daily commuting a vehicle could normally expect to encounter. The ride is comfortable, yet well controlled over almost any road surface, while the handling is surefooted on the highway. It's just as much at home in city traffic or squeezing into a tight parking spot.

To identify a significant weakness is not easy. As the entry-level model in the Civic range, however, the VTi does take a few short cuts, including a single-piece folding bench seat, intruding boot hinges and the absence of electronic stability control. The level of standard equipment in the VTi falls short of many of the others in the class, but it still has most of the big-ticket items. Minor equipment updates for this year's model include a fully lined boot and auxiliary MP3 input for the audio.

In such a competitive category, where an affordable price is crucial and buyers still demand high quality, the Honda Civic has both sides of the equation well covered and is a worthy winner.

Finalists Hyundai i30 SX CRDi; Toyota Corolla Ascent

Source: www.australiasbestcars.com.au