One could almost feel sorry for the new Honda Civic because it could easily be car of year were it not for the new Accord; the Civic is just another thoroughbred in a stable full of them.
Honda is on a roll lately-literally. Since the middle of 2016, the company has smacked back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs with world-class redesigns of the compact Civic, midsize Accord, midsize SUV Pilot and midsize pickup Ridgeline.
I'd be happy to have any in my driveway, and so would you, though doing so will cost a few dollars more on the front end. After all, the price vs. quality proposition suggests that when you build a better car than the competition, you can charge more.
So it is with the elegant little Civic, which sets the bars for comfort, equipment, powertrain, ride and handling, fuel economy, fit-and-finish and safety. Alas, the new Civic starts at $18,740, which is about $900 more than the fun-to-drive Mazda3 and $2,700 more than the very competent Kia Soul, which, in many eyes, is the class leader in value.
On the other hand, if ever a car proved the adage that you get what you pay for, it's the Civic, which is attractively designed, brilliantly engineered and competently screwed together. Even the base model comes well equipped, with a rearview camera, Bluetooth phone connectivity a 5-inch LCD screen, remote entry, automatic climate control and power windows and doors.
So if you're comparing possible purchases, pencil in the features you'd really like to have, plus those you have to have, like, Honda's Safety Suite, which includes front collision mitigation, blind-spot monitoring and active cruise control-life savers, all-and the price difference becomes small.
To get the safety suite in a Soul or Chevy Cruze, you have to buy a mid-range or top trim model and then pay more.
The outlier is the boring but solid Toyota Corolla, which makes its safety suite standard on all models. You can have a base Corolla for $18,500, while a similarly equipped Civic will start at $20,450.
Factor in residual values and projected reliability and the Corolla and Civic move to the head of the pack. Both of them are cars that a young professional could buy today and send off an unborn child to college in it 20 years down the road. Just keep clean oil in it.
As an aside, the last Honda we owned, nicknamed Tank, was still running strong after 15 years when it got rear-ended by a heavy-duty pickup. Even with the spare tire relocated to the front seat, the wrecker driver was able to start the accordion-like Accord and back it up the flatbed.
The insurance company declared it a total loss. More's the pity. I wanted to cut off the crumpled metal, straighten the crushed chassis and turn it into a Ridgeline. Boy Wonder, who drove and kept tank running, vetoed the notion.
Well, it would have been a short-bed Ridgeline anyway. Very short.
We recently spent a week in the company of a top-of-line 2017 Sport Touring Civic Coupe and came away with several pages worth of notes, all of them positive.
Great powertrain
All Civic models are powered by a turbocharged, 1.5L. 16-valve, DOHC, direct injected four-cylinder power plant. All have variable-valve timing control, one of the reasons the Civic leads the class in fuel economy, and drive-by-wire throttle control.
These engines are built to last. The foundation is a lightweight die-cast aluminum block with individual reinforced main bearing caps to minimize weight. Cast-in iron cylinder liners provide durability. Each journal on the lightweight forged-steel crankshaft is micropolished to reduce internal friction.
Lightweight pistons have a carefully optimized skirt design to minimize reciprocating weight, which minimizes vibration and increases operating efficiency. They are coated in a low-friction molybdenum coating applied in a dot pattern to reduce friction, another technique Honda engineers employed to lengthen engine life.
A 174-hp version of the engine is standard on LX, EX and EX-l Navi trim lines. Sport and Sport touring models get the same engine tuned to run optimally on premium unleaded fuel and turn out 180 hp. Maximum torque is the same on both, 162 lb.-ft. The higher output engine gets dual exhausts to add power.
Other than periodic inspections and normal fluid and filter replacements, the engines require no maintenance for the first 100,000 miles.
This year, a six-speed manual transmission replaces a five-speed gearbox on entry-level Civics. Most models, however, come equipped with a continuously variable automatic.
Auto writers, who fancy themselves race course raconteurs sent to enlighten more uninspired drivers, tend to discount CVT's as an insult to purism.
Nonsense. Instead of a set of planetary gears, CVT's operate like a chain around two pulleys, one of them movable, so that the device has an infinite number of ratios available. Toss in some slick computer-mediated logic control, and the result is a powertrain that is always in the right gear for both torque and efficiency.
A lot of companies build great CVT's these days, and Honda certainly is one. An evolution of the CVT offered earlier in 4-cylinder Accords, the new Civic CVT offers a more natural feel, eliminating the disconnected "rubber-band" feel common to the technology. Selectable driving modes and steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters make this a driver's car.
The EPA estimates fuel economy at 30/39/33 mpg1(city/highway/combined) when equipped with the manual. That actually moves up a notch with a CVT, to 31/40/34. The sportier engines' line with CVT is 30/36/32 mpg.
Comfortable Cabin
The interior is a testimony to Honda's advances in spaciousness, smart design, comfortable fit and intuitive control. The hatchback has a class-leading cargo capacity of 25.7 cubic feet (22.6 for Sport and Sport Touring)-spacious enough for several large golf bags.
A clever side-mounted tonneau cover helps conceal belongings from view and can be positioned on either side of the cargo area as desired. All trims feature 60/40 split and folding rear seatbacks. Cargo capacity expands up to 46.2 cubic feet* with the rear seatbacks folded.
Seating is comfortable, gauge clusters are laid out intuitively, and high quality materials are used liberally throughout.
A sliding volume control on the center touch screen as earned the ire of some critics, but an analog switch sits just below the driver's left thumb on the steering wheel, so those complaints really are much ado about nothing.
Indeed, with soft-touch switchgear throughout, the car has a high-quality feel.
Bottom Line
This is the 10th iteration of the Civic. Earlier versions may have been boring, but were always solid. This one is engineered and built at least as well, and is a looker to boot.