IT’S been with the dealers for less than two months, but the new Swindon-built Honda Civic has already been recognised as the best car for value in the UK.

It was the number one in the Parkers Cost of Motoring New Car Awards 2012, coming out on top in the competitive medium hatchback category and it was also named as the overall awards winner.

Parkers is regarded as a motorist’s bible and the winning car was the Honda Civic 1.4 i-VTEC SE, which has only been in dealerships since February.

Engineers calculate the true “hidden costs” associated with owning and running a new car, including fuel consumption, depreciation, servicing, breakdown cover and road tax over a three year period. In a further boost to the Honda range, the Jazz 1.3 IMA HE Hybrid was awarded the Eco Car category title for the second year running.

Kieren Puffett, editor of Parkers, said: “The Medium Hatchback category is a hugely competitive market so to have a winner here is truly a tremendous achievement and that is why we are not only delighted to announce that the Honda Civic Hatchback 1.4 i-VTEC SE five-door wins the Parkers Cost of Motoring New Car Awards for the Medium Hatchback category, but is also the overall winner.

“The statistics for the Civic tell us it is great value for money and Honda should feel rightly proud, because the Parkers awards are based on statistical analysis of every new car’s running costs, rather than opinion.

“But it doesn’t end there. The icing on the cake is that the Honda Jazz 1.3 IMA HE Hybrid wins for a second year in a row the Parkers Cost of Motoring New Car Awards Eco Car category. It’s an outstanding performance by Honda all round.”

Dave Hodgetts, managing director of Honda (UK), said: “This is a fantastic result for the new Civic and the Associates in Swindon.

“The Civic has only been in dealerships since February and to have received this accolade so soon is a great achievement.

“What makes the award even more special is that it is based on fact.

“Thanks to Parkers’ very clever cost of motoring tool, we can officially say that the new Civic is the best value new car out there.”