The Europe-only Civic Tourer is due to arrive towards the end of the year and is being reintroduced to the range after a gap of more than 10 years.

The move means that the hot hatch version is being delayed until 2015.

Speaking to news agency Headlineauto, Jean-Marc Streng, the company's European general manager for car sales, said: ‘Would I like the Type-R before 2015? Yes. But now we are seeing an increasing focus on cars like the Tourer.’

He added: ‘First there was the monospace, or MPV, and then the emergence of the SUV. But the entry price of crossovers is difficult to access for many households, and they do not answer everybody's needs in terms of practicality. In the past cars like the Tourer suffered from not such nice designs, but now we feel we have found a solution.’

Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal are expected to be keenest markets for the Europe-only Civic Tourer.

The Tourer will offer a claimed best-in-class 624 litres of cargo space despite being just 235cm longer than the five-door Civic on which it is based.

The Tourer has the same face as the five-door but there is a bold line from the A-pillar back to the D-pillar which creates the impression of a floating roof, necessitating the replacement of the rear doors too.

Wheelbase is unchanged, as is the front overhang, with the additional length behind the rear wheels.

Engine options will be the 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel first seen in the new Civic hatchback or Honda's 1.8-litre petrol i-VTEC, although the diesel is expected to be the biggest seller.