2025 Honda Civic Road Test and Review

2025 Honda Civic LX sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Honda Civic has one of the best-known names in the economy-car business. Americans have been snapping them up for more than half a century, and it’s beloved for its famous reliability and fuel efficiency. 

But there’s a lot more to the humble Civic. The 2025 Honda Civic, newly updated this year, is an upscale yet family-friendly sports sedan in disguise. Its polished driving manners, spacious interior, and beautifully finished interior elevate the Civic above most of its competitors. And as we’ll discuss, the Civic also has an enormous model range – which just grew for 2025 with the introduction of a gas-electric hybrid version. To learn more about the Civic’s pros and cons, and to choose your favorite member of the Civic lineup, keep reading for our full review. 

Massive Model Range

You can get the Civic as a simple, affordable economy sedan; a roomy five-door hatchback; a fuel-sipping hybrid; the zippy Si performance model; and the wildly fast 315-horsepower Type R.

Let’s start with the base models. The least expensive Civic on sale today is the LX sedan that’s pictured here, which is priced at $24,250 (plus the $1,095 destination charge required on all Civics). Even this base model has some upscale features like adaptive cruise control, automatic climate control, push-button starting, and LED headlights and taillights. The next-up Sport sedan is a $2,000 upgrade at $26,250, and it gets a mix of style and function upgrades. These include alloy wheels, leather on the shift knob and steering wheel, blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, a rear-seat center armrest, and eight speakers instead of just four. The Sport trim level is also available in hatchback form, unlike the LX; the Sport hatchback costs $27,450. 

The LX and Sport use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 150 horsepower and 133 lb-ft of torque. Honda tweaked this engine for 2025, giving it slightly less power but making it slightly smoother and slightly more economical. It now manages EPA ratings of 32 mpg in the city, 41 mpg on the highway, and 36 mpg combined on the LX sedan – one of the three most economical cars on the market that use only a gasoline engine (tied with the Hyundai Elantra and just 1 mpg below the 78-hp Mitsubishi Mirage). 

Mileage dips slightly to 31 mpg city, 39 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined on the Sport sedan and 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined on the Sport hatchback. 

2025 Honda Civic LX sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The New Hybrid

Next up in the Civic lineup is the all-new hybrid. It uses an electric motor to take some burden off a gasoline engine, which saves fuel. Using the running engine plus recaptured energy from braking friction, the Civic Hybrid can recharge its small battery while you drive. It gets EPA estimates of 50 mpg city, 47 mpg highway, and 49 mpg combined as a sedan, while the hatchback like our test vehicle gets 50 mpg city, 45 mpg highway, and 48 mpg combined. We averaged 45 mpg in a weeklong test of mostly chilly weather that tends to reduce hybrids’ mileage. 

In addition to its mileage, the Civic Hybrid is also speedy. It replaces a turbocharged gas engine on upper-trim Civic models, and it’s a welcome upgrade. This powertrain makes 200 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque, and it delivers seamless power and quick, hearty-sounding acceleration. 

The Hybrid Sport sedan costs $28,750 with several upgrades over the gas Sport: a moonroof, heated front seats, and variable intermittent windshield wipers. (That’s right, you can’t choose your intermittent-wiper speed on the LX or Sport gas models.) The hatchback costs $1,200 extra. The Sport Hybrid Touring like our test vehicle adds leather upholstery, a power driver’s seat, a wireless smartphone charger, a 12-speaker stereo, and a bigger infotainment touchscreen. It costs $31,750 for a sedan and $32,950 for the hatchback. 

2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Maximum-Performance Options

The new Civic Hybrid is a pretty speedy car. But driving enthusiasts will gravitate toward the Si sedan ($29,950) or the Type R hatchback ($45,595). 

With 200 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque, the Civic Si – using a slightly more potent version of last year’s turbo engine – would lose a drag race to the hybrid. But that’s not the point. The Civic Si is a driver’s car with a slick six-speed manual transmission, upgrades to the suspension and brakes, and sport seats. After being less lavishly equipped in the past, it now has most of the same features as the Sport Touring Hybrid except for manually adjustable cloth seats instead of power-operated leather chairs. The Si gets an EPA-estimated 31 mpg using costly premium-grade fuel. 

Then there’s the hardcore Type R. Picture it as a Civic body on a premium performance car. Though it’s still front-wheel drive like other Civics, its 315 horsepower reaches the road seamlessly. And it has racetrack-ready handling limits despite remaining civilized on the road. It carries a steep price tag, even before considering that it gets just 24 mpg, but it’s a special type of vehicle. 

2023 Honda Civic Type R ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Every Civic Drives Well

The good news is that you don’t need a Civic Si or Type R to get a sharp-driving Civic. We also came away impressed from a week that we spent in the Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback plus a short drive in an LX sedan with the base gas engine. 

Driving the Civic is like driving a good luxury sports sedan. Honda sweated the details to create natural-feeling poise in the steering, suspensions, and powertrains – a clear step above anything else in its class but the much less economical Mazda3. We’re still talking about a comfortable vehicle, not a stiff-riding, hard-edged performance machine. But the Civic feels more like an Audi than a Toyota from behind the wheel. Some extra road noise is the main challenge to the premium ambiance. 

The base engine isn’t a thrill ride. It’s impressively silent at idle, and it feels willing and responsive under light and moderate-light acceleration. The competing Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra make lots of noise however slowly you're accelerating. Dig deeper into the base Civic’s throttle, though, and you aren’t getting a luxury experience. The modest power reveals itself before long, and the engine starts getting loud. We do at least prefer the Civic’s growl over these rivals’ harsher droning noises. 

As we mentioned, the hybrid is built to go fast. It’s peppy and quiet, and what you can hear sounds good. The electric motor and gas engine work together seamlessly to get the Civic Hybrid moving gently, in a hurry, or anything in between. 

2025 Honda Civic LX sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Beautifully Simple Controls

The Civic isn’t an exciting car to look at. The sedan is tidy and attractive but wouldn’t have looked out of place a decade ago. The hatchback looks a little snazzier, but it’s still not a head-turner except with our test vehicle’s Boost Blue paint job. To some eyes, the Civic is dull; to others, it shows a welcome display of restraint in contrast to swooshy, heavily creased competitors. This year, Honda revised the grille and front bumper for a more cohesive look that won’t turn heads but looks better to us than last year’s model. 

Inside, the Civic also doesn’t jump out. The dashboard has a simple layout and small touchscreens – a mere 7 inches on most models and 9 inches on the Sport Touring, Si, and Type R. And the graphics are nothing flashy, especially on the 7-inch unit shown here. 

But we love the Civic interior’s exceptional build quality and extra-simple ergonomics. Buttons, knobs, and other moving parts operate with a precision you won’t find in some luxury cars. And you neither have to rely on a touchscreen nor hunt amid a sea of buttons. Even the smaller screen supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, too. 

Honda also dresses up the dashboard with an intricate honeycomb strip that incorporates some of the dashboard vents. Our chief complaint is a small plastic area alongside the gear selector that’s prone to scratching easily. Otherwise, the Civic’s interior is top tier – at least for folks who don’t prefer more pizzazz or a more digital-focused experience. 

2025 Honda Civic LX sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Available Hatchback Versatility

Every Civic is among the roomiest compact cars, with adult-friendly rear seating and a big trunk. You sit low in the Civic – and there’s no height adjustment for the front passenger seat. But the front and rear seats are comfortable if you prefer (or at least don’t mind) being closer to the ground. 

The highlight for Civic functionality is the five-door hatchback. Its deep cargo hold provides 25 cubic feet of space behind the rear seat, which edges out the Honda HR-V crossover SUV. You can also fold the rear seat down to expand volume; while Honda doesn’t publish this spec, we estimate that you get at least 50 cubic feet in total behind the front seats. Once again, this number beats many subcompact crossovers (though not the HR-V). We also love Honda’s nifty retractable cargo cover, which deploys from the side of the car and isn’t in your way when you fold the seats down. 

The Civic sedan is also roomy for what it is. Its trunk measures 15 cubic feet, better than most compact sedans. And because it’s longer than the hatchback, it has a little more floor space when you’re not stacking your luggage high. But the hatchback is the true cargo champ for space and flexibility.

2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Highest Safety Status

The Civic’s roominess makes it a better family car than most compact economy cars. Its exceptional crash-test scores are another good reason. The Civic is one of just four compact cars to achieve the highest Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (the others are the Toyota Prius, the Mazda3, and the Acura Integra – the Civic’s premium-badged cousin). It also earns five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

The Civic is also packed with advanced safety features. Every model includes forward automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping steering assistance. And all but the LX include blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert.  

2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Civic vs. the Competition

The Civic drives like a much more expensive car than rivals like the Nissan Sentra, Subaru Impreza, and Toyota Corolla and, to a lesser extent, the Hyundai Elantra, Kia K4, and Volkswagen Jetta. As we mentioned, that’s especially true if you upgrade to the Civic Hybrid. 

Still, the Civic is more expensive than those models. That’s especially true if you start looking for features that Honda reserves for costly upper trim levels, like a moonroof, a bigger infotainment screen, and even variable intermittent windshield wipers. It’s also more expensive than the sporty, fun-to-drive Mazda3, though the Mazda has less room, worse gas mileage, and harder-to-use controls. 

Meanwhile, the Civic Hybrid is quicker, quieter, and more fun to drive overall than its gas-electric rivals – the Toyota Prius hatchback and hybrid versions of the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla sedans. The Prius and Elantra Hybrid get even better mileage, though, and all three cost less than the Civic. 

The Civic Si and Type R, meanwhile, face various performance versions of the Corolla, Elantra, K4, and Volkswagen Golf. They stand out for some of the same qualities that make every Civic great – including a spacious, high-quality, and user-friendly interior – plus excellent manual transmissions in a world with fewer shift-your-own options. But the competition tends to offer more speed for the dollar. 

2024 Toyota Corolla Hybrid SE ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Not a Mere Economy Car

Taken as a mere economy car, the 2025 Honda Civic has pros and cons. Especially after this year’s updates, it gets great gas mileage (either with its upgraded base engine or its new hybrid) and a steady reputation. But it comes up short on amenities for the dollar. 

But while the Civic might not be the bargain-hunter’s first choice versus a cheaper competitor, the Civic is more than a mere economy car. Its spaciousness and engineering excellence make it a less expensive alternative to a mid-size family car or a premium-badged sports sedan. It’s a can’t-miss compact car.  

2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt