HONDA CIVIC SHUTTLE 1.5 5dr (1984)

Long lasting, although might be the end of the road about now

I've had my good old Honda Civic Shuttle for about 13 years, purchased second hand from a guy at work when it was I think already about ten years old, so it's a real trooper for going on this long. It's a bit rusty, and each MoT there are more advisory bits about rust. It seems to be going strong so far though. I have to say I don't really drive it much, we're more of a push bike family, and it's kept in the garage, plus we stay on top of all the servicing and other little things here and there.

First things first, yes it is an ugly duckling, and looks a bit like something you might have built in your garage. Up side to that is that nobody will ever think to steal it! They're also probably pretty rare these days so they'd be easy to spot. The problem with rarity is that the parts are probably a pig to track down nowadays. Thankfully this old Honda Civic Shuttle doesn't seem in need of parts, so we're smiling for now. I doubt I'd be able to sell it so we'll just run her till she don't run no more... then look elsewhere.

The best thing of course is the space, it's massive inside, front and back. Loads of lovely leg room and head room for everyone, courtesy of the box shape. The boot is big too, but more impressive is the way the back seats fold down to make it into a huge square space back there, easily enough for the little kids to jump around in.

It's no lumbering beast either. For a car that looks like this you might expect it to lurch round corners or slither about in the wet, but the Civic Shuttle holds the road very well and keeps its own.

We've had the odd repair need doing over the years, brakes, exhaust, a few bits of bodywork needing replacing, but really, over 20 years old and it's still fairly happy. I am a happy camper and I'll be returning to Honda whenever she finally gives out.