HYBRID ACHIEVERS

These hybrid family cars from Honda and Toyota are among the best of their breed. Let's see which one graduates top of the class

It's all well and good being  What Car's Family Car of the Year, but all that attention is a double-edged sword. You get to enjoy the glory, but you also end up being the prime target everyone wants to beat. Indeed, it's barely been a month since our 2023 awards and the latest Honda Civic has to get back out there and defend its honour again.

This time it's up against the recently updated Toyota Corolla, a car that has a bone to pick with its compatriot. You see, until recently this family hatchback didn't have many similar hybrid rivals to contend with, so the Civic has very much muscled in on its territory.

Take a look at the Corolla and you'd be forgiven for thinking that we've photographed the wrong version. We haven't. We promise. The external changes are so limited that you have to look closely to spot the tweaked headlights and new mesh front grille pattern, which have been introduced along with a couple of new paint colours and fresh wheel designs.

We're testing both of our contenders in mid-range trims, with the Civic in Sport guise and the Corolla in Design. With the exception of the Type R hot hatch, the Civic comes with just one engine option: a 2.0-litre unit combined with two electric motors. A 2.0-litre engine is available in the Corolla too, but we've gone for the latest 1.8-litre version, because it's more powerful than before, with enough punch to make it our pick.

DRIVING

Performance, ride, handling, refinement