Honda Civic hybrid review

Make and model: Honda Civic Sport
Description: Mid-size five-door liftback, petrol-electric hybrid
Price range: £36,495 (plus options)

Summary: The Honda Civic blends sharp steering, proper physical controls and excellent fuel economy into one of the most satisfying family hatchbacks on sale.

For a broader ownership picture, see our full Honda Civic Expert Rating.

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Introduction

Some cars impress you gradually. Others make their point within the first few metres. The Honda Civic falls firmly into the second camp.

After stepping out of Honda’s electric e:Ny1 and into the Civic, the difference was immediate. The steering felt alive. The controls felt intuitive. The whole car seemed to respond with a clarity that’s becoming increasingly rare. Within a few hundred yards, it was obvious that this felt like a “proper” Honda.

On paper, the Civic doesn’t shout. It’s a mid-sized family hatchback in a market dominated by SUVs, and it’s not priced as a bargain alternative. But after a week of everyday UK driving, it proved to be one of those cars that quietly wins you over.

Price and equipment

The current Civic is offered exclusively as a petrol/electric hybrid (the basic, unplugged variety), which simplifies the range but inevitably pushes the starting price higher than some petrol-only rivals. It isn’t a budget hatchback, and Honda doesn’t pretend that it is.

Equipment levels are competitive rather than extravagant. You get the essentials most people expect, and you’re not forced into a maze of expensive option packs to make the car feel complete. It’s sensibly specified, and there’s a reassuring sense that the money has been spent on engineering rather than gimmicks.

In a market where many cars are trying to impress you with screens and lighting effects, the Civic takes a more restrained approach.

Inside the car

Climb inside and the first thing you notice is how refreshingly normal it feels. There’s a central touchscreen, of course, but it doesn’t dominate the dashboard in the way so many modern systems do. Below it sit proper physical controls for climate and key functions — real dials and buttons that you can adjust without taking your eyes off the road.

It might look slightly retro at first glance, especially compared to the giant screens in some rivals, but after a few days you realise it’s simply better. It works. You press something, and it does what you expect. There’s no digging through menus to turn the temperature up by one degree.

The hexagonal metallic trim stretching across the dashboard is a particularly nice touch. It disguises the air vents within the pattern and gives the cabin a distinctive identity without resorting to piano black plastic or fake wood. It’s subtle, but it’s thoughtful.

The digital instrument display is clear and legible, although it does feel slightly crowded with information. You never struggle to find your speed, but it could afford to be a little calmer in presentation.

Wireless Apple CarPlay worked well during our week with the car. The wireless charging pad, however, did not. Like the one in the e:Ny1, it struggled to hold a charge reliably and felt more decorative than useful.

Front seats are supportive and comfortable over longer journeys. Rear space is decent for a car of this size, although taller passengers may notice the roofline encroaching on headroom. The rear seats themselves are reasonably comfortable, and the boot is well shaped, with clever touches like a sideways-retracting luggage cover that feels properly engineered rather than an afterthought.

On the road

The first few metres tell you almost everything you need to know about the Honda Civic. After stepping out of the e:Ny1 the week before, the difference was obvious straight away. The steering feels alive in your hands. It’s light, but not vague. There’s a clarity to it that most modern cars seem to have forgotten.

You turn into a corner and the car responds exactly as you expect. There’s no hesitation, no artificial weighting, no sense that software is deciding how much feedback you’re allowed to feel. It just does what you ask. That alone makes the Civic more enjoyable to drive than a large number of its rivals.

Ride comfort is well judged. It’s firm enough to keep the body under control but never crashy, and it deals with everyday bumps in a calm, grown-up way. On a longer motorway run it settles into an easy rhythm, and wind and road noise are kept nicely in check. It’s not whisper-quiet, but it’s certainly refined enough for regular long journeys.

The hybrid system works smoothly in the background most of the time. Around town, it often runs on electric power alone, and the switch to petrol power is subtle. You don’t have to think about it — which is exactly how it should be.

If you press on a bit harder, the automatic gearbox (which uses a different system to a conventional automatic with fixed gears) can feel slightly elastic. When you accelerate briskly, the engine note rises and holds steady rather than stepping neatly through gear changes, and that can feel less connected than a traditional automatic. It’s improved compared to similar systems from other brands, and in everyday driving it’s perfectly fine. But if you’re in the mood for something more engaging, you do notice it.

Fuel economy over the week averaged 53mpg in mixed driving, which is excellent for a car of this size and performance. That makes the Civic easy to justify as a sensible daily car, even if you still enjoy the way it drives.

The one frustration, which has become increasingly common across the industry, is the constant stream of warning chimes. The speed alert sounds at just 1mph over the limit and can’t be permanently disabled. On paper it’s there for safety. In reality, it becomes background noise you’d rather not have to deal with.

Even so, when the week was up, this was a car I genuinely didn’t want to hand back. That doesn’t happen often. The Civic manages to feel modern without losing the sense that it was engineered by people who care about how a car should drive. And in 2024, that feels quietly refreshing.

Verdict

The Honda Civic isn’t the loudest voice in the room. It isn’t chasing trends or trying to reinvent the family hatchback. Instead, it focuses on getting the fundamentals right.

It steers beautifully. It feels thoughtfully engineered. It offers strong real-world fuel economy and sensible practicality. The interior prioritises usability over spectacle, and that pays dividends in daily driving.

It isn’t perfect. The CVT gearbox can feel slightly detached when pushed, the driver assistance warnings are intrusive, and rear headroom could be better. But none of these overshadow the broader impression of a car that has been designed by people who care about how it actually feels to drive.

After a week with the Civic, handing the keys back was genuinely disappointing. That doesn’t happen often.

For a broader ownership assessment, including safety, running costs and reliability data, see our full Honda Civic Expert Rating.

Similar cars

If you’re looking at the Honda Civic, you might also be interested in these alternatives.

Current models: Citroën C4 | Hyundai i30 | Kia Ceed | Mazda 3 | Mini Countryman | Peugeot 308 | Renault Megane | SEAT Leon | Skoda Scala | Skoda Octavia | Toyota Corolla | Vauxhall Astra | Volkswagen Golf

Discontinued models: Alfa Romeo Giulietta | Citroën C4 Cactus | Fiat Tipo | Ford Focus

Key specifications