2022 Honda Civic

Sedans may be losing ground in the sales race to crossovers, but the Honda Civic still dominates the small-car market. Honda sold 260,000 of them in 2020 despite both Covid-19’s disruptions and the basic car being half a decade old. For 2022, the Civic gets entirely redesigned for its eleventh generation, shedding the previous models’ odd boy-racer looks for a sleek and mature shape and a more user-friendly, stylish interior.

With the Honda Fit now discontinued, the Civic is again the entry-level to Honda’s lineup for the first time since the mid-2000s. Drivers of older Civics may be surprised to learn that at 184 inches long, the car is now about the same size as a mid-1990s Accord. They’ll be happy to discover its roomier inside than that old midsize and that it retains all of the traditional Civic virtues. Even in base model form it’s fun to drive, comfy to be in, and value-packed. 

Honda knows that the Civic is, as always, popular with first time buyers and therefore puts a great deal of effort into hooking those customers on a lifetime of Hondas. The company is also conscious of just how good the Civic’s main rivals, primarily the Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3, have become in recent years. 

The redesign puts the car firmly at the top of the compact car class, although it’s a little less performance-oriented than the Mazda. Even demanding drivers will be satisfied with the new Civic’s engaging handling no matter the powertrain. LX ($22,915 including destination) and Sport ($24,315) models use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque. 

EX ($25,915) and Touring ($29,515) Civics use a turbocharged 1.5-liter four with 180 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, both slightly up from last year. The EX-L hatchback ($27,615) also uses this engine but has some interior upgrades. The performance-themed Civic Si ($28,315) uses a 200 horsepower, 192 pound-foot version of the 1.5 mated only to the manual transmission. Fans of the hot-rod Civic Type R will have to wait until later in 2022 for that model to be replaced.

As before, there are two body styles, four-door hatchback or sedan. Both come wrapped in a much more pleasing shape than the previous decade of Civics, and hatchbacks still cost a little more. The interior is filled with logical controls and thoughtful design touches, while Honda’s generous suite of standard active-safety gear also makes the Civic one of the cheapest cars you can buy with standard adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist. That said, many of the most desirable options, including heated seats and blind spot monitoring, are reserved for the top-tier trims.

Performance: 13/15

The more powerful LX, Touring and especially Si models are faster and more responsive, but all 2022 Civics are fun to drive thanks to the car’s responsive handling and communicative steering. While not as overtly sporty as the Mazda3, the Civic is as reassuring and adept at carving up a twisty mountain road as it is heading to the grocery store. 

In sedans, both engines drive the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), but Sport and Touring hatchbacks can be ordered with a six-speed manual. The Si comes exclusively with the manual and makes performance tires a (worthwhile) $200 option. The CVT is a smooth and capable shifter, with little or none of the buzziness or sluggishness of some CVTs. Few will be unsatisfied with it, but for enthusiastic drivers, the manual and Si will have considerable appeal. 

Fuel Economy: 13/15

2.0-liter Civic EX sedans return 31 mpg city, 40 highway and 35 combined, with Sport models at 30 city, 37 highway and 33 combined. The more powerful 1.5-liter EX sedan returns 33 city, 42 highway and 36 combined, with the slightly heavier Touring netting 31 city, 38 highway and 34 combined. The Si weighs in at 27 city, 37 highway and 31 combined. 

Hatchbacks lose 1 to 2 mpg in most measures, and 3 to 4 mpg with manual transmissions. The Civic lineup earns 32.9 combined mpg on average, besting the Mazda3 and Subaru Impreza but falling just shy of the Elantra and Volkswagen Jetta. Honda doesn’t offer a hybrid Civic (that role is filled by the Insight sedan), so it can’t come close to the Elantra or Toyota Corolla Hybrids, but the Civic is quite fuel-efficient by class standards and uses regular gas.

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 15/15

The 2022 Honda Civic earns a Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Part of IIHS’ rating stems from the Civic’s extensive list of driver-assist gear. The standard Honda Sensing suite includes forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam and lane-keep assist, lane departure warnings and traffic sign recognition. Blind spot monitoring is included on the EX and Touring trims, but only the latter can get rear cross-traffic alerts, and neither feature is available on the lower trims.

Comfort & Room: 14/15

The Civic’s larger exterior size doesn’t translate to any additional interior room versus the 2021 model, but both front and rear passengers have generous accommodations, with rear legroom, at 37.4 inches, falling only fractionally short of the Elantra (38 inches) and tying the Jetta among its rivals. Subaru’s Impreza has marginally more front legroom, 43.1 inches to the Civic’s 42.3, but few will notice. 

Head room (39.3 inches in front, 37.1 in back) is nearly best in class. The seats are comfortable and supportive, and six-foot adults won’t mind sitting in back, though base models get few backseat amenities. Power front seats and leather trim come only on the Touring model, but EX-L hatchbacks also get leather seats.

Infotainment: 13/15

LX, Sport and EX Civics get a 7-inch touchscreen with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability and a single front USB port, while Touring models get a 9-inch screen with wireless versions of both, a wireless charging pad and two additional USB ports in the rear. All models use colorful, easy-to-read digital gauge displays, a 7-inch standard unit and a 10.2-inch one on the Touring. 

Interestingly, the LX and Sport come with no native infotainment system, only audio and basic vehicle setup controls. Honda figures most budget buyers will use CarPlay or Android Auto for these functions, including navigation. This keeps costs down and, having tested the system with both, works just as well. The screens are easy to use but Honda has also retained many physical controls, so there are few functions in the car that aren’t intuitive within a day or two of driving. 

Cargo Space & Storage: 14/15

As with passenger space, the 2022 Civic doesn’t gain any cargo room from its added size, but it’s already near the top of the class. The Touring sedan gets a 14.4 cubic-foot trunk while the lesser trims get 14.8 cubic-feet. That’s appreciably more than the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 or Impreza sedans (13.1, 13.2 and 12.3) and slightly more than the Jetta (14.1) or Elantra (14.2). The Civic hatchback gets 24.5 cubic-feet behind the rear seats, but Honda has not yet quoted the volume with the seats folded. The Civic Hatch is considerably more cargo-friendly than the Corolla hatch, and has more cargo room than the Mazda3 hatchback. The front of the Civic’s cabin has good small-item storage spaces, but the back is a bit lacking.

Style & Design: 9/10

The 2022 Civic is a complete visual break with the past while remaining distinctly a Honda, and that’s no bad thing. The restyled looks suggest a scaled-down Accord, clean and sleek with a sloping fastback roofline and clean, muscular sides that resemble the subtle sculpting Audi does so well. The bob-tailed hatchback is a little less harmonious, but still big improvement over its Gundam Wing-looking predecessor. The interior looks more upscale than previous Civics but uses a little too much piano black trim, which is hard to keep clean. It isn’t as premium-looking inside as the Mazda3, but matches the Elantra and Jetta well.

A $1,418 HPD package, available on all Civics, adds a cool-looking spoiler and other cosmetic touches that increase the visual “sport” quotient. A similar, but slightly more sophisticated look is standard on the Si.

Is the 2022 Honda Civic Worth it? Which Civic is the Best Value?

For value-conscious buyers, the Civic Sport sedan offers a good looking and practical package at a low price point with no real need to ladle on any options for an out-the-door price under $25,000. The best values overall, however, are the EX and EX-L, which offer better performance than the lesser Civics and the non N-badged Hyundai Elantras with better equipment levels and nicer features, including heated seats and blind spot monitoring. For those who prefer more power over heated seats and prefer a manual, the Si costs only a little more and is a sure ticket to fun.

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the 2022 Honda Civic?

The Civic isn’t an expensive car to insure. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with clean record can expect an average annual premium of $1,807, though this averages all 50 states. That compares to $1,798 for the Mazda3, $1,938 for the Nissan Sentra, $1,810 for the Jetta and $1,857 for the Elantra. To get a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, visit our car insurance calculator.