Honda Civic five-door
Swindon's Civic, built in an old aircraft factory town.
The story
Honda began making engines at Swindon in 1989 and cars in 1992. The five-door Civic built there shared its design with the Rover 400. It earned a name for never breaking down.
Inside
Low-set seats, a slick gearchange and controls that fall exactly where you expect them.
In period colours
Tap a colour to respray the drawing.
The Swindon factory stood on the airfield where Spitfires were once built.
Meanwhile, in 1994
The Channel Tunnel opened, and the National Lottery held its first draw.
Best-selling single of 1994: Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet
Before you buy a 1990s car
- On petrol engines, check the cooling system and any sign of head gasket trouble.
- Ask when the timing belt was last changed, where fitted.
- Parts for mass-market cars are widely available; specialist and low-volume models can be hard to find.
General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.
Rivals of its day
Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.
See the real thing
These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.
Today's money: the launch price adjusted for inflation to 2026, using the Office for National Statistics price index.