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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  happy honda civic ex owner - 1996 Honda Civic
  By r b - September 10 - 2:00 am

  i bought this car brand new in 96. it has been a joy to drive and very reliable transportation mode. through aaa i landed the best pricing with their no haggles pricing agreement. ive kept consistent with the maintenance schedule in the owners manual and havent had a single extra- ordinary problem with this car. what a wonderful car.

• 

  Great Little Car - 2005 Honda Civic
  By Carl - September 9 - 11:00 am

  Bought an 05 SE LX with 5spd. Got 40 mpg on trip from VA to NJ with air on, and pushing each gear out of each tollbooth. Looking at 41-42 after car is broken in. Now have 500 miles on it. Handles great local and on highway. Has some wind noise at highway speeds and road noise on grooved road. And I fit well for a 62", 235lber.

• 

  HARDY HONDA - 1997 Honda Civic
  By John on Long island - September 9 - 2:00 am

  So Far I have 148,000 miles on my Civic DX. So far. The only money I spent on it are for Oil Changes, 2 sets of Brakes. and I just changed into my 3rd set of tires. (I could still get 20K more out of them. but always play it safe to make up for the lack of ABS brakes). Other than that.. CANT ASK for a BETTER CAR.

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  No regrets!! Its true love :) - 2008 Honda Civic
  By lamb - September 8 - 2:13 am

  I test drove numerous cars. I wanted great MPG! I test drove the EX before I knew the EX-L was going to be produced. I thought the seats were horrible. Long story short, went to test drive the CRV again and while waiting on the salesman I looked around the showroom and saw the leather. The seats were incredible. I had no idea about the "extras" that this model had until reading postings about the LX and EX. The car has a lot of room for being a compact car. A lot of storage areas.

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  2008 Honda Civic Sedan - 2008 Honda Civic
  By R-U-Cirius - September 7 - 5:30 am

  1st time I drove this car, I was impressed but not sold. After I test drove the Mazda3(base model, manual trans.) 3 days later, I was leaning towards it. I collected my tribe later that day and since wed be driving past the Honda dealer on the way, I decided to give the Civic another look. Boy Im glad I did! We were all fairly impressed with the Civic, particularly the backseat leg room. After the 2nd test drive of the Mazda3 (auto trans this time) we made a unanimous family decision. The styling, particularly the ugly taillight design, tight legroom and general ho-hum design, led us back to the Civic. I couldnt be happier after buying a Civic. Great value, in my opinion the best in class!

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  Quality Control Lacking - 2016 Honda Civic
  By David W. - September 6 - 4:00 am

  Never buy a first year model is something you hear a lot but never expect to have to worry about with a Honda. However the car looked good upon delivery and I was happy to drive home w apple car play duel climate zones and a sunroof! Not to mention the thought of saving at the pump w good mpgs. Maybe I should have looked at the car more closely but with a new car you dont expect to have to go over the car with a magnifying glass or the white glove treatment esp. w a Honda...I pull in the garage with my new car and discover the front bumper is not lined up on the driver side it is poorly placed and I dont think should have passed inspecting in the factory but it did! also the chrome trim is made up of 3 pieces above the front grille and 2 of the 3 were not on correctly either. The radio also froze on me once. The good is that the dealer fixed or seemed to fix the radio and chrome trim. After 4 trips for the front bumper and having to call customer service and the dealer would not willingly give me a loaner car they only made that problem worse chipping the seemingly thin paint. This was a brand new car w 5 miles on it when I drove it. It also developed a window rattle or some rattle around the car that was never investigated as I decided to return the car for an Accord...problem solved? No because the Accord was also new in dark blue gray trim and I was happy until at home again I found missing paint on the car it was down to bare metal on the A pillar w no paint no rust just silver metal no under coating etc. a poor paint job which had blemishes and other imperfections on the hood and various places. I think drive the car around town and with only 200 miles the cars air bag lights go off and according to the owners manual mean no airbags are working now and I should not drive the car....I called Honda who towed the car to the dealer and exchanged it for now my 3rd car all of these were new. So far almost 4k miles on it and no issues other than the black roof trim that runs along the roof is coming up slightly on the passenger side and the glove box does not appear to be completely lined up correctly basically bad panel gap from the great and mighty Honda. Quality control seems to be lacking at the moment and I dont plan on buying another Honda however they did give me a 500.00 gift card for my troubles from corp. the dealership was not very helpful in actually being able to fix the issues I just had to argue for a 3rd car in a matter of weeks and sell the civic back at a loss. The Accord was just exchanged as they hadnt even processed the paperwork for the blue one due to it being on a weekend lucky me and discovering all of its issues with in a matter of days!

• 

  Quality Control Lacking - 2016 Honda Civic
  By David W. - September 6 - 4:00 am

  Never buy a first year model is something you hear a lot but never expect to have to worry about with a Honda. However the car looked good upon delivery and I was happy to drive home w apple car play duel climate zones and a sunroof! Not to mention the thought of saving at the pump w good mpgs. Maybe I should have looked at the car more closely but with a new car you dont expect to have to go over the car with a magnifying glass or the white glove treatment esp. w a Honda...I pull in the garage with my new car and discover the front bumper is not lined up on the driver side it is poorly placed and I dont think should have passed inspecting in the factory but it did! also the chrome trim is made up of 3 pieces above the front grille and 2 of the 3 were not on correctly either. The radio also froze on me once. The good is that the dealer fixed or seemed to fix the radio and chrome trim. After 4 trips for the front bumper and having to call customer service and the dealer would not willingly give me a loaner car they only made that problem worse chipping the seemingly thin paint. This was a brand new car w 5 miles on it when I drove it. It also developed a window rattle or some rattle around the car that was never investigated as I decided to return the car for an Accord...problem solved? No because the Accord was also new in dark blue gray trim and I was happy until at home again I found missing paint on the car it was down to bare metal on the A pillar w no paint no rust just silver metal no under coating etc. a poor paint job which had blemishes and other imperfections on the hood and various places. I think drive the car around town and with only 200 miles the cars air bag lights go off and according to the owners manual mean no airbags are working now and I should not drive the car....I called Honda who towed the car to the dealer and exchanged it for now my 3rd car all of these were new. So far almost 4k miles on it and no issues other than the black roof trim that runs along the roof is coming up slightly on the passenger side and the glove box does not appear to be completely lined up correctly basically bad panel gap from the great and mighty Honda. Quality control seems to be lacking at the moment and I dont plan on buying another Honda however they did give me a 500.00 gift card for my troubles from corp. the dealership was not very helpful in actually being able to fix the issues I just had to argue for a 3rd car in a matter of weeks and sell the civic back at a loss. The Accord was just exchanged as they hadnt even processed the paperwork for the blue one due to it being on a weekend lucky me and discovering all of its issues with in a matter of days!

• 

  Fun to drive! - 2004 Honda Civic
  By Crash1207 - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I bought the Civic Si after also looking at the Nissan SPEC V and the Mazda3. I cant really pinpoint the exact reason I chose the Honda, it just felt better. Ive had the car for two weeks now and it is running great. Im not seeing the fuel economy yet but that will come in time. The only blip Ive found so far is that the visor on the passenger side vibrates and is noisy at around 45+ mph. The factory stereo leaves A LOT to be desired.

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  Very practical car - 2004 Honda Civic
  By gjman - September 6 - 2:00 am

  The only reason why its not rated high on the Fun to Drive is coz I am moving to a civic from a jetta turbo and compared to Jetta 1.8T the Civic is quite torqueless. But I didnt buy it for its sportiness. I bought it for its realiablity, fuel economy and overall functionality. Its a very practical car...far more practical than out Jetta, far more reliable than the Jetta and far more fuel efficient too.

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  97 civic lx - 1997 Honda Civic
  By marcelo - September 6 - 2:00 am

  This car just hit 100000 and has never been in a shop unless for oil change and maintenance.