Since its introduction in 1972, the Civic has consistently been associated with fuel savings, earning this reputation right from the very beginning, thanks to the 1973 oil crisis. The current generation of Civic is no exception, building on everything that made its predecessors great.
The Civic received a redesign in 2012, adding features and standard equipment across the DX, LX, EX and EX-L trim levels. The Civic Sedan and Coupe retain the same 140-horsepower, 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine as the previous generation, while the Si model receives a larger 2.4-liter engine, producing 201-horsepower. Although these are relatively modest changes to the powertrain, given the reliability of the previous generation, this is definitely a case of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” These powertrains should serve customers well, and help contribute to Honda’s well-known resale value.
Thanks to the success of the Civic, the compact car market is a crowded field. Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Hyundai, GM, Nissan and virtually every manufacturer out there has at least one model that competes directly with the Civic. While many of these can also boast of fuel efficiency, reliability, safety or any one of the Civic’s other characteristics, few have been able to bundle them all together in a single package like Honda has.
