Honda Civic Sdn
Key Takeaways
- A benchmark small car that's led the industry for decades
- Still solid, reliable transportation despite being outclassed by newer competitors
- No longer the entry-level Honda model
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What We Think
A perennial benchmark in the small-car class, the Honda Civic has grown progressively larger in recent years, losing some of its charm in the process.
Launching in the U.S. market for the 1973 model year, the Honda Civic has been an industry best-seller for almost as long. The Civic arrived just as Americans were clamoring for fuel-efficient small cars, and they gained a following despite notorious rust issues on the first-generation cars.
Civic established itself as the entry-level subcompact car in the Honda lineup throughout the 1980s and 1990s before a 2001 redesign moved it into larger compact car territory.
In its current iteration, the Honda Civic finds itself in unfamiliar territory: Lagging the competition. Cars like the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra have gotten very good while the Civic has remained a capable commuter, lagging the competition in technology, price and sheer driving fun despite a recent redesign.
