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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  Great all around car - 2013 Honda Civic
  By horrowitz - January 7 - 9:05 am

  I bought this car new in May of 2013. I now have 10k trouble free miles on it, only requiring two oil changes. The car starts, drives, and runs flawlessly. Gas mileage around town in the winter is not great, but highway mileage is excellent. Maneuvering and parking in NYC is a breeze in this car. Interior is comfortable, and instruments are well laid out. The stock tires are fine for spring/summer/fall driving, but leave much to be desired for winter driving in snow and ice. get a second set of wheels with dedicated winter tires and you will be fine. This has been/is a great car. It is comfortable, economical, and adequately powerful. I consider it a good buy.

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  Reliable, Fun, Fuel Efficient, Cheap, VTEC yo - 2009 Honda Civic
  By shadetreegiant - January 3 - 11:08 pm

  I own a 2009 Honda Civic EX Sedan (automatic transmission). The 1.8 Liter VTEC engine is the centerpiece of this car. The VTEC allows this engine to have two "personalities". While cruising on the highway, the engine is composed and fuel efficient. If you step on the gas pedal a little more aggressively, the VTEC solenoid kicks in and uses a second set of cam lobes that makes the engine more powerful. So, it is literally a two-faced engine that can be both fun or economical. The transmission will stay smooth as long as you change the fluid on schedule (every 30k miles). The rest of the car is also well designed, but you need to remember that the Civic is still an economy car.

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  A Good College Car - 2008 Honda Civic
  By andrew_kaber08 - January 3 - 3:19 pm

  My 2008 Civic Si Coupe was a great car but it was just a college car. It was fast, quick on its feet, had an amazing audio system, and popular with the teenage and young-twenties crowd, but it always felt unrefined. The engine provides a surprising bit of power, but only high in the rpms, and had no down-low power. Driving it in stop-and-go traffic was a chore due to very low torque, but once you got in the 6,000 to 8,000 rpm range, it FLEW. This car is an amazing college vehicle, especially with the standard sunroof and subwoofer, but its just unrefined. Lots of wind noise, road bumps, and interior quality hiccups (such as a ticking CD-player) prevent it from being a "professional" car.

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  Still fun and practical - 2002 Honda Civic
  By lrxst - December 12 - 6:06 pm

  Ive had this car longer than any other by far (over 8 years now). It handles predictably, and has held up pretty well over the years. Its not a common model, so people look at it and kind of scratch their heads. The clutch lasted 90,000 miles, and was a little over a $1,000 to replace at an independent shop. Other than that, its been mostly routine maintenance. Unlike earlier models, this engine has a timing chain instead of a timing belt, which is a great benefit on upkeep and the little 2.0 seems pretty much bulletproof. The shifter is different than most cars, but Im not sure why other cars dont have it there in the center. Typical Honda, carefully laid out, and it all still works.

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  Good at everything - 2014 Honda Civic
  By fronteeer - December 4 - 6:18 pm

  The 2014 Civic is a really inexpensive car. The mid-line EX with the fog lights option, has everything a premium car has, for under $22K, except leather. Its not as sporty as the WRX or Lancer, but its sporty enough and way less expensive. Its not as powerful either, but its more than powerful enough, even with Econ on all the time.

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  Fun reliable car with minor fixable issues - 2006 Honda Civic
  By nunoa - December 3 - 9:17 am

  Ive owned this car from 40k to its current 80k mileage. It is fun to drive, especially above 5k rpm, and has been very reliable. The major maintenance Ive done is replacing the battery (~40k miles), brakes (~65k), and tires. There was an issue with the engine running roughly when warming up in the winter, but an ECU update for ~$40 fixed that issue. A common problem with 3rd gear was entirely fixed by replacing the manual transmission fluid with Amsoil at ~50k miles. The upper rear control arms have some excessive negative camber (around -2*) and this has caused increased tire wear on the rears, but rotation would fix that problem.

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  Probably not the target SI buyer! - 2014 Honda Civic
  By rjgcyder - December 2 - 3:41 pm

  My wife bought a new CRX in 1989. When kids arrived in 1993 we part exchanged it for a more sensible car - much to her disappointment. The kids are now in college, so we looked around for a fun car, principally for my wife to commute, but also for the kids to use when the others are taken. Everyone wanted a manual transmission, so that limited the choice. We tried the GTI, BRZ, Mini Cooper and Mazda 3. My choice was the BRZ, but was overridden on the grounds of practicality. In the end my wife chose the SI as she found it the most fun to drive - once you have had a screaming Honda 4, nothing else quite has the buzz...

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  Best bang for your buck - 1996 Honda Civic
  By fishboy88 - December 1 - 10:12 am

  I bought my 96 civic DX 5M when I was 19 with 130,xxx miles, it was the first car I bought and I am now 26 and the car is just about to role over to 200,000, it is still my daily driver, all in all its been the best investment Ive made, now there are a lot of little things that have gone wrong with the car over the years but nothing catastrophic (nothing over $500) and considering that I have ran the s*#t out of it ie driving fast,hard accelerations, burnouts, E-brake turns, just having fun, it has held up and still gets great mileage. I have drove it to Michigan twice and both time clocked my mileage and averaged 40-41MPG with two people and the car fully loaded for a camping trip.

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  Gas mileage and NAVI not as expected - 2014 Honda Civic
  By nicastm - November 25 - 1:03 pm

  The gas mileage is definitely not as I expected. My 2006 Civic EX that I traded in had better gas mileage with over 100,000 miles on it. I have it set with ECON all the time and I feather the gas petal to a point that I almost get in an accident for slow acceleration, and still only get 34-36 MPG at best. I have yet to get over 380 miles on a tank full. I use to get 425 plus on my 2006 Civic with the same gas tank size. Also, the NAVI system is terrible. No spoken street names for a 2014 model???, are you kidding. Plus it is not very intuitive and cant make changes as you drive. Big waste of money. The only good thing is there is no other GPS device mounted to the dash.

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  Why do people buy GM when they can get civic for the same price? - 2012 Honda Civic
  By bergolive - November 18 - 11:28 am

  I wonder why people buy GMs, fords and chryslers when they can get a Civic. As far as reliability goes, I think there is enough data out there to prove that Civics are way better than most American cars. Same thing for resale value. I read somewhere that there is more American content in a Civic than in a Cruze. I dont know of this is true, but I know Civics are built in America! Anyhow, I had an Aries K when I was student and this was a constant problem (when it would start). When the engine blew up, I bought a Civic and have always been satisfied since. I drove all four of them up to about 160 000 Mi without any major trouble and managed to get a good trade-in value every single time.