HONDA, that manufacturer of sound common sense cars, has been working flat out to inject the ‘Wow!' factor into its models.

Indeed it is now possible to take a drive on the dark side with Honda. Not a trip into deepest magic land, but the Civic Tourer Black Edition which has been designed for customers who just want more.

Everything is black and the car is full of individuality, style and sophistication.

Honda has combined Crystal Black pearlescent paint of the car's body with a gloss black front skirt, side skirts, rear spoiler, rea bumper trim and fuel lid cover.

The two finishes combine well to create a sizzlingly good looking car. Of course the model is based on the Civic Tourer which in my view is a much better-looking vehicle than the hatch.

And final touches include 17-inch Radium alloys with gunpowder black finish just to add a pinch of extra drama.

It is available with a 1.8 i-VTEC petrol engine with manual or automatic transmission or a 1.6 i-DTEC diesel manual.

This latter, which powered this car has superb fuel economy of 74.3mpg with sub 100g/km emissions which, at 99g/km brings obvious taxation benefits.

And only recently the Civic Tourer, generic model diesel won its MPG Marathon title with 97.92mpg over 330 miles.

It proved that Honda engineering is at the forefront of economy without sacrificing performance. Its 121mph performance and 0-62mph sprint factor says a lot for this car's all round ability.

The Black Edition also inherits what is to me one of the best folding seat sytems on the market from the generic Tourer. These are the Honda magic rear seats, aptly named for the Black, which fold completely flat to give an astonishing maximum load capacity of 1,668 litres.

Like all Civics, the Tourer is a smooth flowing drive with faultless handling. If you do put your foot down it takes corners as if on rails and is a very satisfying drive.

And the Black Edition is full of bells and whistles for its purchase price of £22,995.