I had one yesterday while the FN was in for a service.
Overall it was much better than I was expecting. Had I not known it was a 1.6 I wouldn't have known it around town. The engine had plenty of power when required - as long as you were in the turbo range. The lag was a little annoying if picking up in second after slowing a little. Having driven a 2.2 in the eighth gen guise I would say there isn't much difference around town. However I bet the 2.2 is better on a motorway. The 1.6 lost it's guts around 60.
The stop/start system worked well in conjunction with the Hill Brake Assist. The engine will stop if the gear stick is in neutral and you are off the clutch. The engine will then restart once you depress the clutch to select a gear. The HBA keeps the brakes on for a few seconds until you get move off from standing; meaning you don't need to use the handbrake and select a gear if using the start/stop. Overall very good system imo.
One thing I did find weird is the lack of engine breaking - there is hardly any! I'm not sure if it's a common feature with new diesel cars or if Honda do something special by keeping intake/exhaust valves open so there isn't any compression. Who knows.
Handling wise, a little sloppy but I am comparing it to the FN. It had 205/60R16's which were ok but not up to much - they were Fuel Saver tyres so had a low rolling resistance. That being said, being based on the same chassis as the one before it was nice to drive around town and on some A roads.
Interior is nice, seats comfy and dash set out well.
Having lived with my FN for over three years you can see the common parts between the two or where there have been little alterations to the design.
dandemoraliser wrote:dare i say the bmw mpg figure might be somewhat more difficult to achieve?
I got 55.6 out of the one I had, mixture of town and A roads with a few "how quick will it get to 30/40/50/60". It’s claimed to be 78 or something. The most I have ever had out of the FN2 is 40.4
Overall A really good car but I don’t think I’d have one - I doubt it would be good enough on a long run. But it certainly looks good for the R version…
