Overview & Reviews

Since its launch in 1973, the Honda Civic has been one of the most popular compact cars sold in America. Its success can be attributed in large part to its consistently high level of quality inside and out and its long-standing reputation for reliability and low running costs. Impressive fuel economy and engaging performance have also played a role in making the Civic a top choice for many Americans.

The competition has largely caught up with Honda, though, and there are now many excellent small cars vying for your attention. Still, we continue to recommend the Civic due to its ergonomic interior layout, wide range of models and high resale value. For small-car shoppers in search of a solid used vehicle, the Honda Civic is certainly a smart choice, as its long production run and many variants make it easy to find what you want.

User Reviews:

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  2006 Hybrid Civic - 2006 Honda Civic
  By Rick N - September 29 - 1:27 pm

  I have put 57,150 on this car and it has met all are expectations. Its handles like a sports car but give us the gas mileage. On all highway trips we get 55 mpg (75 MPH) and with a mix we average 43 mpg per tank. We have kept it dealer maintained getting all services as prescribed in the maintenance chart. If you drive a hybrid you have to learn to drive different then what you do a normal car to maximize the technology. Winter time the mpg only went down 1 mpg with winter tires. The only thing I wish they would re-design is the emergency brake which hits my knee (5’9”). I would also prefer the 5 speed over the automatic if they made them anymore.

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  Miss it - 1995 Honda Civic
  By Tom - September 29 - 6:27 am

  It was slower than a sick elephant and needed third gear to get up steep hills but still a blast to drive. So light and low that it cornered at 25-30 mph with no squealing from its cheap little tires. Loved the styling inside and out. Still looks cool even though the design dates to 1991. Shame its cosmetic quality wasnt the same as its mechanical quality. Never cost me a dime other than regular maintenance but the paint job was bad and it started rusting like crazy around 10 years of age. Mine was an automatic, which didnt do the tiny engine any favors and sucked gas. A car this small should get better than 25 mpg in the city. But so cheap to own and run and so fun at the same time.

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  Amazing little car! - 2012 Honda Civic
  By rngade - September 29 - 4:29 am

  We were originally going to get an Accord, but decided to take a good look at the 2012 Civic, because it was redesigned and just seemed to offer a lot for the money. It doesnt disappoint! One of the complaints often heard about the last gen Civic was road noise. They have addressed that with the 2012 model. The overall ride is superb, we thought we would need an Accord before getting this level of quality. It does not feel like an economy car at all!

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  I love my new Civic EX-T, but it can get better - 2016 Honda Civic
  By Chris McConnell - September 28 - 12:32 am

  The style both inside and outside of this car are great and a huge improvement. The engine is the best one in the segment and delivers impressive power for 1.5 L motor in an economy car. The CVT is also far less annoying than previous iterations of this device (Im a fan of a manual trans, but I deal with too much traffic to want to drive a stick in my everyday commuter). The car handles well and is fun to drive. It comes well equipped with a decent stereo, a decent infotainment system, heated seats, moonroof, etc. Forgive the run-on paragraph, this website wont accept carriage returns. There are some areas with room for improvement. The infotainment system needs a proper software update to simplify the menu structure, allow seamless handsfree sending of text messages. I tell it send a text to my wife that Ill be home in xx minutes, and it starts spewing back random numbers. Installing Android 7 in my S-7 did enable it to reply handsfree to a text after I receive one and the system has read it. No hardware needs to be modified, this is purely a code upgrade. The brakes offer good performance unless you head down a long steep hill behind pokey traffic. I managed to fade them pretty badly coming down Old Priests Grade. I now use low range on the CVT if descending such a long steep hill, especially behind traffic. Honda should fix these two issues right away as they are safety issues. I have three other suggestions for improvement that would be easy in a mid-cycle update of the 10th generation Civic: 1. Volume knob (clearly you know this as the new CR-V has one), 2. Add more padding to the seats, and extra $.58 of foam would help tremendously. At the front edge of the hood is a small narrow extension of the hood above the grill. This separate piece hurts the clean lines of the front of the car, just extend the hood and make it work (I could do it, I know you can too), The extra small features catch the nap of the wash mitt I use every time I clean my car and its annoying.

• 

  I love my new Civic EX-T, but it can get better - 2016 Honda Civic
  By Chris McConnell - September 28 - 12:32 am

  The style both inside and outside of this car are great and a huge improvement. The engine is the best one in the segment and delivers impressive power for 1.5 L motor in an economy car. The CVT is also far less annoying than previous iterations of this device (Im a fan of a manual trans, but I deal with too much traffic to want to drive a stick in my everyday commuter). The car handles well and is fun to drive. It comes well equipped with a decent stereo, a decent infotainment system, heated seats, moonroof, etc. Forgive the run-on paragraph, this website wont accept carriage returns. There are some areas with room for improvement. The infotainment system needs a proper software update to simplify the menu structure, allow seamless handsfree sending of text messages. I tell it send a text to my wife that Ill be home in xx minutes, and it starts spewing back random numbers. Installing Android 7 in my S-7 did enable it to reply handsfree to a text after I receive one and the system has read it. No hardware needs to be modified, this is purely a code upgrade. The brakes offer good performance unless you head down a long steep hill behind pokey traffic. I managed to fade them pretty badly coming down Old Priests Grade. I now use low range on the CVT if descending such a long steep hill, especially behind traffic. Honda should fix these two issues right away as they are safety issues. I have three other suggestions for improvement that would be easy in a mid-cycle update of the 10th generation Civic: 1. Volume knob (clearly you know this as the new CR-V has one), 2. Add more padding to the seats, and extra $.58 of foam would help tremendously. At the front edge of the hood is a small narrow extension of the hood above the grill. This separate piece hurts the clean lines of the front of the car, just extend the hood and make it work (I could do it, I know you can too), The extra small features catch the nap of the wash mitt I use every time I clean my car and its annoying.

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  06 Civic EX 2-dr Coupe Best Car - 2006 Honda Civic
  By Kathy - September 27 - 6:53 pm

  OMG! This is the best car Ive ever owned! I love it! Id buy another one I plan to buy one more before I retire. The ride is smooth, it looks great, fabulous gas mileage. I love this car!

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  nice car for the $ - 2005 Honda Civic
  By jj - September 27 - 11:26 am

  Nice car over all, bought it brand new. now 2008 have about 49k miles. No problems. Havent changed brakes yet, but its coming. Great car overall.

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  review - 2002 Honda Civic
  By mark1234 - September 27 - 10:00 am

  great car!

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  why i love my civic - 2001 Honda Civic
  By jadam - September 27 - 10:00 am

  I just do! its the perfect price range for a struggling college student with friends and clothes to haul back and forth. its cute yet stylish. somewhat sporty (fast and the furious)but elegant. i feel very safe in it and have lots of room to get comfortable when we go on road trips.

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  Great little car - 2005 Honda Civic
  By jdi - September 27 - 1:50 am

  The Honda Civic LX 4dr Sedan seems to be the perfect car for my small family or young adult on the move. My fuel mileage is 39.5 mph which is a little higher than the 38 mpg on the sticker and Hondas reputation for quality and reliability speaks for itself