Honda Civic review
Tweaks for the latest Honda Civic hatchback make for an even stronger package
Our opinion on the Honda Civic
In the ever-decreasing pool of compact hatchbacks, the Honda Civic makes a strong case for itself. It’s quick, rides well and delivers decent handling, while the hybrid-only engine line-up offers a seamless switch between petrol and electric drive and excellent fuel efficiency without the need to compromise your driving style. Overall interior space is good, though headroom in the rear is a little lacking, but this is made up for with excellent legroom. The main downside to the Civic is its price, because while the modest model line-up is well equipped, you pay more than you would for similar rivals.
About the Honda Civic
The Honda Civic has been a bastion of the Japanese firm’s range since it first arrived in 1972, and it has gone on to become one of the world’s best-selling name plates. While the Civic started out not much bigger than a city car, evolution saw it quickly grow into a supermini, then a small hatch and finally a compact model to take on the likes of the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla. The current Civic, the eleventh generation, arrived in 2022, and 2025 saw it benefit from a mild update.
Some facelifts are more subtle than others, and the changes for the Honda Civic in 2025 take a keen eye to spot. Most of the design tweaks at the front have been made possible thanks to updated and improved LED headlights.
Used - available now
2021 Honda
Civic
63,884 milesAutomaticPetrol1.0L
Cash £13,490
2015 Honda
Civic
16,026 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L
Cash £14,050
2021 Honda
Civic
11,727 milesAutomaticPetrol1.0L
Cash £15,228
2020 Honda
Civic
9,103 milesManualDiesel1.6L
Cash £14,999While the units are the same shape as before, new internals now house the foglamps, too, meaning that they’ve been removed from their previous position on the front bumper. This has allowed designers to tidy the front end, with a wider front air intake and slim vertical vents sitting to either side. The grille has also been altered, while a new alloy wheel design (18-inch items are fitted across all three trim levels) and a fresh paint finish round out the exterior changes.
But the tweaked styling doesn’t change the fact that the Civic is a very solid performer in the family hatchback class overall. Ride, handling, fuel efficiency and interior quality are all right towards the top of the segment, so there’s plenty of reasons to admire it.
While coupe and estate car bodies have been offered in the past, the current Honda Civic line-up is based around a five-door hatchback body, with the only variation being a more aggressive look for the top-spec Honda Civic Type R, although that model is due to be discontinued with the arrival of the 2025 update. All models bar the Type R come with a hybrid powertrain based around a 2.0-litre engine and automatic gearbox, while front-wheel drive is the only configuration offered.
Honda Civic prices and latest deals - subhead
The entry point to the Civic line-up is the Elegance, with Sport and Advance trims above that. There’s a starting point of just under £34,000, with a £1,600 jump to the next in line, and the top spec is £3,300 more than that. Browse Honda Civics available with the Auto Express Buy a Car service, and it’s possible to get behind the wheel for around £350 a month.
Performance & driving experience
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A supple yet agile chassis, slick steering and well-judged control weights all round mean that even though it’s not what we’d call thrilling, the Civic is one of the most accomplished cars in the segment to drive.
There’s only one powertrain available in the Civic hatchback, and it’s one that makes use of some fairly clever hybrid technology. While there’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet, it’s rarely used for driving the front wheels directly. Instead, it spends most of its time acting as a generator, with its energy converted to electricity that, via an inverter and a 1.05kWh battery, drives an electric motor that makes a healthy 181bhp and 315Nm of torque.
The one exception to this method is that once motorway speeds are reached, the petrol engine does drive the wheels directly rather than via the electric motor. This, Honda says, is the most efficient way of using the two power sources.
| Model | Power | 0-62mph | Top speed |
| Civic 2.0 eHEV auto | 181bhp | 7.8 seconds | 112mph |
Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed
In everyday driving, the hybrid powertrain works seamlessly, with only the merest hint of a vibration as the engine switches on and off, but the throttle response, acceleration and smoothness are as good as in most fully electric cars. The initial shove from the motor is very lively, and its relatively short 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds makes the Civic feel quicker than almost any of its conventional family-car rivals.
At around 60mph acceleration starts to tail off somewhat, but it’s still more than strong enough for the class. Hard acceleration causes a swell of revs and a noticeable noise as the petrol engine works its hardest to send sufficient energy to the e-motor. To make the sound seem a little more natural, Honda has engineered artificial steps into the engine revs, mimicking the gearshifts of a conventional automatic transmission. It still feels a little odd, but it’s more pleasant than the CVT-style drone that many Toyota hybrids have given off in the past.
Town driving, visibility and parking
The Civic is one of those rare cars which takes only a few yards to communicate to the driver that it’s very well engineered throughout. There’s a pleasing weight to the steering response and the brake pedal, meaning that the Honda is a fairly satisfying car to drive, even around town.
In the case of the brakes, a further bonus comes from the fact that the transition between deceleration via motor regeneration and through the mechanical brakes is as seamless as in any car on the market. Some rivals have a slightly tighter turning circle, but that aside, it’s a very easy car to move around at low speeds.
Country road driving and handling
On more open roads, it’s easier to appreciate the breadth of the Civic’s ability. Here, the controlled yet forgiving ride presents itself; it deftly shrugs off bumps while keeping a confident control of its mass. That ability brings a bonus when negotiating a twisty road, because the Honda has only minimal body roll. Combined with agile handling, strong grip and a neutral, predictable balance, it’s among the best cars in its class to drive.
Motorway driving and long-distance comfort
High-speed stability is up there with the best in the segment, too. One of our main Civic gripes comes at higher speeds, though, and that’s road noise. Roar from the tyres is more noticeable here than it is in many of the Civic’s rivals.
"I drove the Preluda on its international launch, and what fascinated me was that in trying to give e:HEV more personality with artificially stepped gear ratios, it’s actually slower than the Civic." - Alex Ingram, chief reviewer.
MPG & running costs
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The benefit of that clever hybrid tech is that the Civic is efficient. Our most recent test of the updated car saw us return just shy of 50mpg over the course of a week’s driving on mixed roads – a fine score considering the fairly strong performance that the Honda hatchback can offer up, too.
While some rivals will offer the option of plug-in hybrid power, the Civic is much cheaper than those alternatives, so even with regular charging to make the most of their EV ranges, it’ll take a long time to recoup the extra cost up front with fuel savings.
| Model | MPG | CO2 | Insurance group |
| Civic 2.0 eHEV auto | 56.5mpg | 113g/km | 27 |
Insurance groups
Depending on the trim level you choose, the Civic’s insurance groups range from 26 to 28. This is relatively high for a compact hatchback, because the Toyota Corolla has a top rating of Group 22 for the most expensive model in the range.
Tax
With all of the Civic range costing well below the £40,000 mark, it means that none of its trim levels is subject to the £425 luxury car tax levy. That means each model will cost £195 to tax annually from years two to six.
Depreciation
With so much attention on SUVs in the new-car market, traditional family hatchbacks tend not to offer particularly strong residual values. But compared with its closest competitors, the Civic maintains its value well, which is useful because its on-the-road price is a little on the high side.
Interior, design & technology
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In a class where so many cars are sacrificing physical buttons for large touchscreens, the Civic sticks with some older ways – and is all the better for it in our book.
Interior and dashboard design
Honda has hit a sweet spot with the Civic’s cabin design. While there’s a touchscreen and a digital driver’s display to make it feel fresh and modern enough, large physical buttons and dials remain. The climate controls are easy to use, and the rotary controls have a satisfying click in their operation. Beyond pure ergonomics, that tactile feeling is another thing that’s lost when manufacturers simply install a large touchscreen in the cabin.
Elsewhere, the dashboard is neatly laid out, and while it isn’t quite as stylised as the likes of the Peugeot 308, it’s tidy without being dowdy. The 2025 facelift has introduced some very subtle changes, with black headlining standard across the range, and there’s a new metallic finish for the air vent surrounds, too.
Materials and build quality
Fit and finish is hard to fault in the Civic. Any hard plastics that are present seem less obvious than in rivals from the Volkswagen Group, while the seats, steering wheel and switchgear all feel suitably well finished.
Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo
For 2025, the Civic didn’t just gain cosmetic tweaks, it also received a little more standard kit. The three trim levels – Elegance, Sport and Advance – remain, but the likes of wireless smartphone charging and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror are now standard on every variant.
The Elegance is very well equipped with keyless entry and go, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, heated front seats, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus adaptive cruise control included. That means there’s not too much reason to venture higher up the range, but those who do get a heated steering wheel and a 10.2-inch digital driver’s display in the Sport trim, and interior ambient lighting in the Advance.
There’s lots to like about the Civic’s cabin when it comes to functionality, and we’re very pleased that not everything has been confined to a touchscreen in the Honda. In this case, the display in question isn’t the best available in the family hatchback segment, so those physical controls are a plus for more than one reason.
While we have no objections to the modest nine-inch size of the display, the graphics are a little blocky. The touchscreen is not that quick either, with loading and response times for the Honda Connect system both behind the class best.
"The subtle facelift has, on the whole, made the Civic a cleaner, more handsome-looking car than it was, but there’s one detail which irritates. With the reshaped grille comes a new plastic surround that runs around its upper edge and above the headlights. On a light-coloured car, it looks really clumsy." - Alex Ingram, chief reviewer.
Boot space & practicality
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The Civic is a little longer than many of the conventional hatchback contingent, with a shape a little more reminiscent of a Peugeot 408 or a Skoda Octavia. That extra length compared with many of its more conventional rivals brings benefits to the Honda’s interior space, but in some areas, they aren’t as significant as we’d hoped for.
Dimensions and size
The Civic occupies a sizable footprint for a five-door hatchback. It has an increased wheelbase over the previous model to help create more interior space, while its overall height has been reduced to give a sleeker look.
| Dimensions comparison | |||
| Model | Honda Civic | Skoda Octavia | Toyota Corolla |
| Length | 4,560mm | 4,698mm | 4,370mm |
| Width | 1,802mm | 1,829mm | 1,790mm |
| Height | 1,408mm | 1,470mm | 1,460mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,734mm | 2,686mm | 2,640mm |
| Boot space | 415-1,220 litres | 600-1,555 litres | 361-1,052 litres |
Seats & passenger space
With the front seat and the steering wheel offering plenty of adjustment, almost any driver will find it fairly easy to find a comfortable driving position in the Civic. But most will struggle to see what’s going on behind. The rear hatch’s slanted angle means that, despite the decent size of the back window, the driver can’t see very much out of it. There’s a reversing camera to help with backing into tight spots, but its resolution is pretty poor compared with many rival systems we’ve tried.
Rear passengers who have long legs and short torsos are best suited to the Civic. That’s because although knee room is well above the class average, the space from the seat base to the roof lining is in relatively short supply. The seats are fairly comfortable, though.
Boot space
The Civic has a 415-litre boot, which is 34 litres more than you get from a Volkswagen Golf and 35 litres more than a SEAT Leon. However, a Skoda Octavia is 130mm longer on the outside, and it puts that length to good use, because it offers a vast 600-litre boot. The shape of the Civic’s boot floor is a little irregular, but the hatchback opening is huge, so it’s easy to load items inside. Fold the back seats down, and the total volume grows to 1,220 litres, highlighting the limitations of the Civic’s low roof line.
Reliability & safety
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Honda has long held a reputation for reliability, and that’s reflected in how satisfied most owners are living with the brand’s vehicles. In the 2025 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, Honda finished comfortably in the top half of the table, taking 10th place out of 31 manufacturers.
Euro NCAP tested the Civic in 2022, and it scored a maximum five-star safety rating. Forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist and traffic-sign recognition are all standard, although switching off the likes of the lane-keep system is rather fiddly compared with some rivals.
| Euro NCAP safety ratings | |
| Euro NCAP safety rating | Five stars (2022) |
| Adult occupant protection | 89% |
| Child occupant protection | 87% |
| Vulnerable road user protection | 82% |
| Safety assist | 83% |
Buying and owning
- Best buy: Honda Civic 2.0 HEV Elegance
With only one engine offered, it’s just the spec you need to choose. We’d stick with the entry-level Elegance. Sport and Advance trims only add a few bits and pieces over the base model, but we don’t think you’d miss them by choosing the Elegance model.
As standard, the Civic comes with a three-year warranty and three years of breakdown cover. While the warranty’s duration trails Kia and Hyundai’s packages, the 90,000 miles it runs for is worth considering if you’re the sort of driver who covers large distances annually.
All Honda models can be enhanced with a £799 five-year service plan, which represents great value for money. It’s even more tempting once you realise that, for another £299, it’s also possible to bump up both the warranty and the breakdown cover to five years to match, too.
Honda Civic alternatives
There have been changes to the compact hatchback class, with the likes of the Ford Focus and Kia Ceed either going or already gone. The Toyota Corolla and Volkswagen Golf are still strong rivals, and the uber-practical Skoda Octavia has the beating of the Civic for passenger and boot space. Other options to consider include the Hyundai i30, Mazda 3, Peugeot 308, SEAT Leon and Vauxhall Astra.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re fans of the latest Civic because it offers decent hybrid efficiency without detriment to its driving performance, while the cabin layout and interior space are easy to get along with.
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