Honda Civic Review & Prices

The Honda Civic is one of those cars that doesn’t get anywhere near as much love as it should. It’s a mid-sized hatchback that’s great to drive, impressively practical, good-looking and well-priced. That being said, its interior is a little behind the times, and there’s only one engine option on offer.

The Civic name has been around since 1972 but the latest, eleventh-generation model was introduced in 2021, before receiving a mild facelift in 2025. It’s a left-field alternative to the likes of the Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla, Vauxhall Astra and Skoda Octavia. However, it’s actually better than all of them.

You might not expect that from looking at it, though. Previous Civics have been a bit wild in the styling department but this latest model plays it safe. It has smooth lines, a low and rakishly curvaceous roofline, and a slightly forward-leaning fascia. You’ll need to look closely to notice what changed in the 2025 facelift - some new alloy wheel designs, the loss of the foglights and a couple of body-coloured panels between the headlights and the grille are about the size of it.

Handsome but understated describes the Civic’s exterior, and that’s pretty true for the interior too. If you like wacky shapes, huge screens and wow-factor then look elsewhere, but the Civic’s combination of solid build quality, plain and simple controls and a simple colour palette is easy to like.

Video group test: Honda Civic vs Vauxhall Astra vs Ford Focus vs Volkswagen Golf

Everything feels plush and solid, and it’s staunchly old-school in a few ways, too. As soon as you sit down you’ll be in awe of how low and purposeful the driving position feels (in contrast to the SUVs and tall EVs so common these days), and the glut of proper, clicky buttons for things like the climate control makes the main functions of the cabin really easy to use. In this respect, it’s a lot like the Toyota Corolla.

The same can’t really be levelled at the 9.0-inch infotainment screen, though - it’s easy enough to see, but the menu structure doesn’t make too much sense. While smartphone connectivity is standard, Android phone users will still have to plug in with a physical cable - how old-school.

Passengers won’t have any complaints about the space in the back of the Civic either. Legroom is really impressive, if not quite on the level of the Skoda Octavia, and even headroom isn’t compromised too badly by the sloping roofline.

Even the boot is big - at 410 litres in capacity, it’s bigger than the Golf, Corolla or Astra (though not the Skoda Octavia).

The real treat comes when you start driving, though. The Civic uses an interesting hybrid engine which acts more like an EV most of the time - it’s smooth, responsive, and very efficient too. Combined you get 184hp, which makes it feel very peppy, and it’s quicker than most of the non-performance variants of its alternatives.

Then you get out onto a good road and the Civic just comes alive. It’s the most engaging hatchback you can buy, feeling both satisfying in the corners yet comfortable over bumps. It’s quiet and refined on the motorway, a doddle to drive around town, yet is actually quite good fun when you get it on a winding B-road.

The Honda Civic does exactly what it says in the tin. It’s comfortable, fun to drive, practical and cheap to run, making it one of the best mid-sized hatchbacks you can buy. You’ll just have to live with the slightly dour styling.

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The Civic comes in at just under £34,000, which seems like a lot compared to the sub-£30,000 starting prices of alternatives. But, give those cars their hybrid engine options, and spec them up to a similar level to the Civic, and the playing field is much more level.

A less powerful Vauxhall Astra GS hybrid is just £140 cheaper than the Civic, and it’s nowhere near as nice to drive or as well-built inside. The same goes for a mild hybrid Golf or Skoda Octavia.

Equipment for the Civic is generous. Keyless entry, heated front seats, a digital driver display, a rear-view camera, adaptive cruise control and 17-inch alloy wheels all come as standard. The mid-range Sport adds black exterior trim and mirrors, a heated steering wheel, wireless charger, privacy glass and 18-inch gloss grey alloys, while the top-spec Advance model gets a glass roof, Bose audio system and matrix LED lights.

The Honda Civic is comfortable around town, great on a twisty road and comfy on a motorway, with occasionally groaning brakes the only real downside

In town

In town, the Honda Civic is effortless to use. Visibility is fantastic thanks to a low-set dashboard and a big windscreen, making it easy to see out of junctions and park too.

Light steering helps with that too, and it rides nicely over lumps and bumps in the road. You’ll find the Civic’s hybrid powertrain spends a good amount of time in electric-only mode which keeps it pretty quiet. In fact, the only real noise that might bother you is an occasional groaning sound when you’re crawling along - though by no means a dealbreaker.

As standard, every Honda Civic is equipped with a reversing camera, along with front and rear parking sensors.

Slightly annoying is the way that the Civic doesn't have any full-time regenerative braking. You can pull the paddles behind the wheel for a slowing effect, but this only lasts until you accelerate again making it more or less useless. A separate 'B' mode in the transmission, like you get in the larger CR-V, would be better here.

On the motorway

At a cruise, the Honda Civic remains quiet and composed. There’s little in the way of bumps coming into the interior and, despite running in EV mode a lot of the time, you don’t get much in the way of road noise coming in. You’ll get a little bit of noise coming from the engine under heavier loads, but nothing unbearable.

Adaptive cruise control comes as standard across the range as well. This allows you to set a speed, which the car will maintain while also managing a safe distance from the car ahead. It’s a really handy system for longer, more tiring journeys.

On a twisty road

You might think the town and motorway capabilities would hamper the Civic on a back road, right? Well, no. It’s absolutely fantastic when taking on the twisty stuff too.

The steering feels near-pinpoint, and the engine does a fantastic job of simulating a real automatic gearbox despite having none at all. Combined with the super-low driving position, it's a delight.

There’s real composure in the chassis, too. There’s very little lean through the bends and the suspension doesn’t send any jolts through to your hands.

Despite being a hybrid with a focus on fuel economy, the Honda Civic’s engine performs remarkably well when you’re giving it the beans, too. There’s no real delay to speak of in the throttle input, power delivery is really smooth and consistent - and there’s plenty of poke to it too.

The Honda Civic offers a big boot and a decent amount of space for your passengers, though taller occupants may desire more headroom

Space in the back seats

Thanks to the Civic’s growth in size, it’s now even more spacious in the back. Kneeroom is very good, and there’s lots of space to stretch out - though if you’ve got three passengers in the back, shoulder space against the doors can get pretty tight.

That sloping roofline does have an effect on headroom, though. Passengers over six feet won’t want to spend much time in there, but if you’re just ferrying the kids, there’s loads of space.

There are a couple of USB charging points of the rear as well as some decent-sized door bins. You’ll also have a central armrest with two cupholders integrated, along with ISOFIX mounting points for the rear seats.

Boot space

You’ve got 410 litres of boot space to work with. That puts the Honda Civic well ahead of the Toyota Corolla’s 313 litres, the Ford Focus’ 375 litres, the Volkswagen Golf’s 381 litres… you get the picture. It’s massive, and up there at the top of the class. The exception being the Skoda Octavia, which has a giant 600-litre load space with the rear seats in place.

It’s worth noting range-topping models with the upgraded Bose sound system do have the total space knocked down to 404 litres. This hit is taken in a small space on the right-hand side of the boot, where the subwoofer resides.

You do have to contend with a slight load lip, but it’s nothing ruinous. Just something to keep in mind if you’re regularly loading big items.

There’s a little bit of storage under the floor, although it’s recessed for a spare wheel — something you can’t get for the Civic in the UK.

You’ll also find a few tie-down points scattered around, along with a 12v socket to allow you to charge smaller electrical devices.

There’s no separate latch to fold the rear seats, but you can reach them easily from the boot to drop them down so it’s not a huge issue. However, they don’t fold completely flat - making it a little bit of a pain to pack in larger items.

The interior of the Honda Civic feels great and is packed with features, but there’s an argument that it looks a bit too dull

The interior of the Honda Civic isn’t much to get excited about visually, but the design is very neat and tidy.

There’s a strong use of high-quality, soft-touch materials throughout which give it a premium edge. It’s also worth noting that the Civic has separate, physical buttons for the climate control system — much appreciated in a world of manufacturers moving these into the infotainment system.

In another old-school move, the Civic's digital dials are configured only to show an analogue-style pair of circular readouts, rather than a more high-tech layout. It's easy to read, if a bit less configurable than some alternatives.

All versions of the Honda Civic are equipped with a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The base software is easy to use and comes with satellite navigation, though you’d be better off connecting your phone to take advantage of the standard-fit Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Annoyingly, while Apple CarPlay connects wirelessly, Android Auto requires a cable - and the system's very choosy about which cables it likes.

There’s only one engine choice for the Honda Civic. It’s a hybrid setup, combining a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor. Together, they produce 184hp, which is plenty for the car. Official tests have the Civic as returning 60mpg, with a week of mixed driving and plenty of long journeys giving us a figure of over 55mpg with ease.

For comparison, official tests of an equivalent engine Toyota Corolla hatch have it returning up to 57.7mpg.

Emissions figures weigh in at 108g/km, which mean low-ish road tax and company car rates - but a plug-in or full EV equivalent will be much better in this regard.

When Euro NCAP tested the Honda Civic in 2022, it awarded the hatchback a maximum five-star rating. It excelled in adult occupant protection, and scored highly across the board for child and pedestrian protection, along with its high level of standard-fit safety equipment.

Some of the Honda's safety equipment is a bit frustrating, though. We're referring mostly to the speed limit alarm, which is very loud and difficult to turn off,. The trick is that it's not listed separately within the menu system - to get it to shut up, you have to turn off traffic sign recognition wholesale. And you can only do that while the car's stationary.

This sort of feature may not sound like a dealbreaker, but it adds a convoluted button-pressing exercise to the beginning of every journey, which is frustrating.

Honda typically has an impressive track record with reliability, and the brand came tenth in the 2025 Driver Power survey, which is a good result. Honda drivers are typically very satisfied with their cars and tend to keep them for a long time.

Each Honda Civic is covered by a three-year/90,000-mile warranty from the manufacturer, which is the basic period but a longer mileage limit than most. Some, including Kia and Hyundai, offer as much as seven and five years respectively, though.