AT first glance the Civic Aero deck may not look a particularly momentous motor, writes DAVID DUFFY.

But the small estate is a significant car, both for Honda and for the Oxfordshire area.

Unlike its predecessors it is neither Accord-based, nor built in America. The Civic Aero deck is the first Honda exclusively designed and developed in Europe and the third model to be built at Honda's Swindon site.

It is a useful vehicle, but has been designed to offer much more than mere load-lugging practicality.

Based on the five-door, the car is not simply a roomier version of the hatchback, but blends traditional Honda qualities of build quality and style with the flexibility of increased loadspace.

If the car has any drawbacks it is its hefty price tag.

Honda has identified three target groups of buyer - couples aged 28-50 with and without children and single people aged 25 to 40.

The VTi model on test, more than any other, has been specifically designed to appeal to the fast-growing lifestyle and leisure market.

The VTi badge means high performance. Under the bonnet is a 1.8-litre, 169 horsepower engine with power peaking at an amazing 7,600rpm. At 70mph the engine buzzes along at less than half that figure.

Thankfully the engine has a chassis to match the power, with revised suspension, greater body stiffness, increased braking power and upgraded steering, giving superbly responsive handling.

The interior is sporty, yet discreet, with sports-type front seats trimmed in a leather/fabric combination and four-spoke leather-trimmed steering wheel. All models have wood inserts on the facia - grey maple on the VTi.

Fifteen inch five-spoke alloy wheels and a roof-mounted spoiler are among the external clues to the power on tap, along with rather over-large indiscreet decals.

As befits a lifestyle vehicle carrying such a weighty price tag, there are plenty of goodies, ranging from a high-quality stereo radio to air conditioning and sunroof.

Standard equipment on all models includes driver and passenger airbag, front seatbelt pre-tensioners and roofbars.

All models have green tinted glass fitted, but the VTi also has a shaded windscreen and dark shaded glass in the tailgate and rear side windows, giving an added element of loadspace security.

Practical touches abound, with an A4-sized sliding undertray fitted beneath the passenger seat and plenty of cubby holes for storage dotted around the cabin.

The flat loadspace floor is carpeted, with four chrome luggage tie-downs, a roller-blind luggage cover and a pair of rear speakers mounted in the roof.

Two handy side lockers are fitted behind the rear wheel arches which can either be used for storage or completely removed and stored in the spare wheel well to allow the full width of the loadspace to be used.

For buyers with fewer pennies in the piggy bank, Honda produces a choice of six other Aero deck models, starting with the 1.5 LS, which goes on the road at £14,800.

Honda has pumped more than £460m into its plant at Swindon, which also produces the four-door Accord and five-door Civic.

A further £240m is being invested within the next year or so on new model development.

The Aero deck is certain to be an export earner for Britain with about 75 per cent of production from the Swindon plant exported to continental Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Honda says more than 90 per cent of the car is sourced from Europe with 248 suppliers providing components.

Auto facts

Model: Civic Aero deck VTi

Price: £17,320 on-the-road

Insurance: Group 14

Top speed: 133mph

Fuel consumption:

Urban 25.0 mpg

Extra urban 38.2 mpg

Combined 32.1mpg

Fuel tank: 12.1 gallons

Comfort: Excellent

Luggage space:

14.6/29.3 cu ft

Dimensions: 174 x 67in

Story date: Tuesday 26 January

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.