The Honda Civic comes in a long way short of selling the same volumes as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf in the C-segment retail market, with their market shares at 24% and 21% respectively in the January to July period this year.

With a 6.4% share, the Civic is wrestling with the Vauxhall Astra and Toyota Auris at positions three to five in the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ latest figures. The Astra has a share of 6.8% and the Auris 5.9%.

So if this is the realistic three-way tussle in the market how does the Civic compare? I looked at the Auris 1.2T VVT-i Icon Tech and the Astra 1.0i SRi Nav 105PS Turbo S/S ecoTEC, similarly powered and priced cars. The smallest engine in the Auris range is a 1.2 and the Civic sits between the Auris at £20,755 and the Astra at £21,910.   

But while it’s in VED band C, costing the same as the Auris in D (£165), the Astra wins at £145 in band B. Its mpg figure is better than the Auris’s, (55.4 compared to 52.3), but behind the Vauxhall at 58.9. It’s also in the highest insurance group of the trio.

But when you move away from the small print, the Civic comes to life. Its standard safety and security spec (such as traffic sign recognition and whiplash lessening front headrests), leads the pack, for example. And it has the biggest boot by a considerable amount – 190 litres more than the Auris and 180 than the Astra –  so there is plenty of ammo for showroom sales execs fighting their corner. (Data sourced from comcar.co.uk)  jeremy bennett