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:

• 

  Very reliable - 1998 Honda Civic
  By Lynn - March 30 - 1:41 am

  I am the second owner of my Honda Civic. Ive had it for over 3 years and I have never had to get repairs. Very dependable and great for fuel economy.

• 

  Bought my Civic used in 1998 - 1994 Honda Civic
  By Wayne Lewis - March 28 - 3:49 pm

  The most annoying part of this little 4 door sedan is the automatic transmission.Though it has been trouble-free, it is underpowered from ramp speed up to highway speed. It will cruise nicely at 120 kilometres an hour just over 70 miles per hour. I bought the car used privately with 110,000 kilometres (65,000 miles). I have had few problems with it and it now has nearly 300,000 kilometres or 180,000 miles. I plan on keeping it another 2 years and with the Krown rustproofing the car has seen since it was 4 years old annually, it still looks great! The car has had an axle and upper ball joint replacement on one side front- end. The remainder has been normal maintenence!Great car!

• 

  What a Value!! - 2006 Honda Civic
  By Sarah - March 27 - 7:56 am

  This car is perfect for anyone, ages 16-60+!! I have not found any one detail that I would change of this car to date. Honda reliability, Honda sportiness, Honda legend. Safety features pouring out of ever square inch of this *roomy* new version of everyones favorite car!

• 

  Brilliant! - 1997 Honda Civic
  By Train2219 - March 26 - 3:22 pm

  I purchased my 97 Civic LX 5 speed when my 87 Pathfinder died w/170k on it. I purchased it used 83k on it. This car has been everything that I need it to be. Flawless reliability, outstanding fuel economy, and surprisingly fun to drive despite only having 106 horses to work with. The 5 speed manual makes all the difference in this car. Its a total dog with an autotragic transmission. I have just turned 100k and have no doubt that it will run for another 100.

• 

  Good, but not as good as everyone says - 1999 Honda Civic
  By gsemike - March 25 - 10:00 am

  This is my second Honda and its good, but not as good as everyone says. Its extremely reliable and the build quality is excellent. Ive never fixed it and the maintenance schedule is very easy on the wallet. Unfortunately, there are a few little things that irk me. The cup holders have no teeth so drinks can fall over in turns, the shifter is runnery, and when there is no memory on the seat. When you let someone into the back, the seat returns to a position that is 90 degrees to the floor.

• 

  What a great car! - 2003 Honda Civic
  By MrWright - March 25 - 10:00 am

  Maybe I am still in the honeymoon phase, but I love this car! I cant say enough good things about my civic hybrid. The styling is very attractive, it is loaded with many standard features that would have been options in other cars, ie. all power windows, locks, cruise, power steering and brakes, a cd player, even floor mats! The MPG is phenominal. I average 47 MPG on my daily 90 mile commute to San Francisco (over the Altimont Pass!) Had my first oil change and found out that it costs more for hybrids--even at the dealership--because of "special oil" and a little extra labor time. It was only a few bucks more, which I save on gas anyway.

• 

  EX-T First Impressions - 2016 Honda Civic
  By mc - March 24 - 1:30 am

  Ive only owned it for a few days, but so far I am very impressed. For me, it was a tossup between the EX and EX-T. I drove both, and to be honest, the turbo model did not give the night-and-day difference I was somewhat expecting. Thats not to say acceleration wasnt noticeably improved with the turbo, but I guess based on what I had read, I had assumed this thing would take off like a missile and pin me back in the seat. As it turns out, the boost is more moderate, and I believe is geared more towards giving the ability to have a smaller displacement engine (for better efficiency) while also offering good performance when needed. I first drove the EX-T, then the EX, and then took the EX-T out again to get a better feel (with more realistic expectations) for what the turbo provided. I found that although acceleration of the EX was fine (an improvement over my 2012 Civic), the engine would have to rev higher, giving the impression (real or imagined) that it was straining. The EX-T, on the other hand, answered "no problem" when I hit the pedal, and did indeed accelerate faster. After driving for a few days, I think my favorite thing about the car performance-wise is how it seems to be almost completely unaffected by inclines. My previous Civic, when going up an overpass would slow despite pushing the pedal more. It would eventually, in sort of an exasperated "FINE!" manner, downshift and allow me to get back to my desired speed, but it was always a bit frustrating. The 2016, on the other hand, pretty much just goes. This may be a result of the CVT, turbo, or both. Similarly, when speeding up to pass on the highway, the 2016 is noticeably more responsive. Cabin noise is also lower. The infotainment system works pretty well (from what I understand, there were some major bugs at first, but Im assuming my vehicle has had the reported fixes applied, as its been trouble-free). Probably my biggest complaint here is that there doesnt appear to be a way to hide audio sources from the selection list. You can cycle through the available audio inputs... FM, AM, SiriusXM, iPod, Apps, CarPlay, etc., and I know that in my setup, Im only going to be using FM, AM, and CarPlay... I wish I could hide the others. I love how my iPhone interfaces with the car via CarPlay, displaying the map, music, phone, etc. I never liked Hondas way of handling iPhone audio (via Bluetooth or USB), as it always seemed hard to find the music I was looking for. I also hated how the car, when you got in and the phone was connected, would automatically start playing music, even if nothing had been playing the last time I drove. It was sometimes quite startling (and embarrassing, if I happened to have a passenger) for music to suddenly start blaring from the speakers. While Im not sure if Hondas system still behaves this way, CarPlay thankfully does not. The lack of a physical volume knob is a minor annoyance. Same with a fan speed knob for the climate control system (fan speed changes need to be made on the touchscreen display, but at least there is a dedicated Climate button to bring up this page instantly). The EX-T has driver/passenger temperature control, which is nice, since my wife and I are at opposite ends of the desired temperature scale, especially in winter. A built-in garage door opener was something I was a little surprised to see was not included. The backup camera and passenger side mirror camera are very handy. Even after just a few days, Im now worried about having to drive the other cars in our family that dont have the side camera. I do wish, of course, that they had included a driver-side camera as well. I paid $20,700+TTL, which included the trunk tray, mud guards, and floor mats that most dealers seem to package with these cars. Id seen a few people who paid $19.5K, but it was an grueling task to get this one for $20.7K, and the TrueCar estimate (FWIW) was about $1000 more, so I feel ok about my price. I also got 0% financing. Though this is a dealer-specific issue and perhaps not relevant to a review on the car itself, Ill mention anyway I was disappointed to discover when I got home that the dealer name front plate thing had been SCREWED IN to the front bumper, leaving two small (but sloppy) holes when I removed it (our state only issues rear plates). Ill probably add a decorative plate to hide this, but my preference would have been to just have a plain (but unmarred) bumper. Poor judgment on the part of the dealer. In summary, my overall impression of the car is very favorable. Its comfortable, performs well, and looks nice. For me, as a guy in his mid-forties, its a perfect balance of a reasonably sporty car that is very fun to drive, while also being somewhat understated in appearance (though certainly more aggressive looking than the prior Civic sedan), so it does not scream "mid-life crisis SPORTS CAR!". I can see how it would appeal to younger drivers as well though.

• 

  Love it - 2007 Honda Civic
  By handyhonda - March 23 - 1:46 pm

  Love my Honda Civic EX coupe 5 speed. This is the best Civic ever built. It beats all the competition. Honda legendary reliability. Gas mileage. I have been averaging about 35 mi/gal. Awesome. Fantastic styling. Best color is black. I love everything.

• 

  260k miles and going strong - 1993 Honda Civic
  By mike c - March 23 - 3:23 am

  I am a Honda person for life now!! 260,000 hard miles, uses no oil and not a single major repair. Over 40mpg highway and 35mpg city. I suggest sending the fuel injectors in for off car cleaning every 100k miles (NONE of the bottle stuff works, I tried it all) and do yourself a favor and install a high flow airfilter and muffler. It does NOT have to be a loud "coffee can" to improve performance AND mileage. My exhaust manifold developed a crack around 200k and I replaced it with a header because of lower cost. I would never go back. There was no downside and my engine was more responsive at all rpms. I use a 50% mix of synthetic and regular oil this made a noticeable improvement in hp & mpg.

• 

  Teach me oh MPG gurus - 2008 Honda Civic
  By Linda - March 22 - 12:36 pm

  I loved my Mazda 3, 5-door w/ leather, but I wanted better gas mileage than the 20 mpg I was getting. I was on waiting lists for the Prius and the Civic. The Civic was available first. I like (do not love) its styling. I am disappointed in my mpg, however. My first two tanks were 40 and 38 mpg. My current tank reads 33.5 mpg. I need fuel economy lessons. My friend hates to ride with me because I drive so slowly. I just dont know what Im doing wrong. The only time the gauge has me getting good gas mileage is when my foot is off the gas pedal. My mpg is better than in my Mazda 3, but Im not sure if it was worth the switch.