In This Story
Economic system automobiles usually are not precisely identified for being enthralling driving machines. For essentially the most half, they’re meant to deliver you from level A to level B as effectively and with as little fuss as potential. However, typically an economic system automotive is usually a entire lot greater than that. Enter the 2025 Honda Civic Hatchback Hybrid.
Honda determined to position its sensible little dual-motor hybrid system from the Accord and CR-V into the Civic Hatchback and Sedan for the 2025 mannequin year, and the result’s a automobile that simply is likely to be one of the best NPC-mobile your hard-earned cash should buy. Truly, the Civic Hybrid is so fantastic it has damaged freed from the NPC allegations. What Honda has here’s a handsome, sensible, economical, well-equipped hybrid that can win over nearly anybody — together with lovers who look to the Si because the budget-focused enjoyable possibility.
Full Disclosure: Honda flew me all the way down to Nashville, put me up in a swanky resort and handled me to every thing the Music Metropolis needed to provide, all so I may drive the Civic Hatchback Hybrid.
I’ve pushed a hell of numerous hybrids in any respect completely different value factors from all kinds of producers, and I’ve gotta say, the Civic’s is nearly one of the best within the biz relating to slick operation and actually strong effectivity. What we’ve received right here is Honda’s “Two-Motor” hybrid system that makes it essentially the most highly effective non–Kind R Civic ever made. The naturally 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4 is connected to a two-motor sequence hybrid system. There’s no actual transmission, regardless that Honda says it has an “eCVT.” This little energy unit produces a complete of 200 horsepower (the identical because the Civic Si) and a very sturdy 232 pound-feet of torque that’s accessible from 0 RPM. By itself, the gasoline motor makes 141 horsepower, and the AC Synchronous Everlasting-Magnet Electrical Motor makes 181 horsepower.
The entire bundle makes for a very peppy driving expertise whereas nonetheless returning improbable gas economic system. Honda says the Civic Hatchback Hybrid will get 50 mpg metropolis, 45 mpg freeway and 48 mpg mixed. Granted, I couldn’t obtain these numbers on my 45-mile take a look at loop, however I used to be driving like a goofy goober by means of the backroads exterior of Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve little doubt that if you happen to drive this factor extra gently in Economic system mode you’ll hit these marketed numbers after which some.
The issue is that the Civic Hatchback Hybrid is so goddamn enjoyable to drive that you just received’t need to drive it like a boring commuter automotive. Like all Civics, it’s a superb handler. Certain, it weighs a bit greater than the Civic Si — Honda says it’s someplace within the 3,400 pound-range — however the returned suspension, a 0.4-inch-lower heart of gravity and wholesome energy figures means you’ll be able to have enjoyable when the street will get twisty. The Hybrid’s steering really feel can be wonderful, as you’ll have anticipated from the engineers at Honda.
There’s no actual method to management the “transmission,” but it surely does make faux shifts pretty much as good as any CVT I’ve pushed. Truthfully, it feels loads like a very well-tuned automated with actual gears. Driving the Civic laborious isn’t precisely horrible for gas economic system, both. There’s selectable regenerative braking with 4 modes managed by paddle shifters, and once you put the automotive in Sport mode, the regen stage you chose will keep the place you left it (it defaults to 0 regen in Regular and Econ mode). I used to be capable of virtually utterly recharge the automotive’s battery utilizing regenerative braking whereas in Sport mode, which was fairly neat to see. The Sport Touring trims additionally get an Particular person drive mode that allows you to customise your drive setting.
Like all Eleventh-gen Civics, the Hybrid Hatchback is a great-looking automotive. Not an excessive amount of has modified on the surface, however for 2025 the Civic will get a extra aggressive grille and entrance fascia, borrowing from the Civic Si. The Hybrid additionally loses the tailpipes out again for a extra eco-conscious look. Different minor tweaks embody new 18-inch wheels, black window trim, black facet mirrors, and physique shade trim for the grille encompass, entrance spoiler and again bumper insert. The automotive is inconspicuous, for positive, but it surely’s nonetheless extraordinarily good-looking. In case you ask me, it’s the best-looking of all of the compact automobiles you should buy proper now.
Inside it’s an analogous story to the surface. Not an excessive amount of has modified, however the updates actually do make a distinction within the total bundle. I drove a totally loaded Sport Touring Hybrid with a $34,500 as-tested value; the bottom Sport Hybrid begins at $31,045, together with vacation spot. In your cash, the Sport Touring Hybrid has mainly each in-car characteristic you can hope for, together with a brand new 10.2-inch absolutely digital gauge cluster and a 9-inch infotainment display screen (each of that are tremendous straightforward to make use of and have a slick operation), improbable adaptive cruise management and lane-keeping help (amongst a slew of different Honda Sensing security options), dual-zone local weather management, heated entrance seats, two USB-C ports up entrance, Google Constructed-In with a 3-year knowledge plan (solely accessible on Sport Touring), a 12-speaker Bose audio system, leather-based seats, a sunroof and, after all, wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
What extra may you actually need from a automotive that prices greater than $17,000 lower than the common new automotive? You’ll be hard-pressed to seek out one other sub-$40,000 automotive with a nicer inside. It’s simply laid out so rattling effectively, every thing is strictly the place you anticipate it to be.
There are not any gimmicks contained in the Civic, and that’s a very good factor. Construct high quality can be actually good for such an inexpensive automotive. There are many nicer-than-the-price-would-suggest supplies, particularly on high-traffic touchpoints. The within of this automotive provides numerous higher-end autos an actual run for his or her cash.
Honda is launching the Civic Hybrid in each Hatchback and Sedan varieties, and if you happen to’re keen to pay the additional cash for the hatch, I actually recommend you do. Overlook the appears and all of that great things, the hatch merely has extra room on the within on your stuff and your issues. Honda says this little automotive has 99 cubic toes of passenger quantity and 24.5 cubic toes of rear cargo room. That’s on par with numerous smaller crossovers. Rear-seat passengers may even be handled to 37.1 inches of headroom and 37.4 inches of legroom, each the identical because the Civic sedan. At 6-foot-1, I may pretty comfortably sit behind my very own driving place. That’s not one thing I can do in lots of similar-sized automobiles.
Proper now, hybrids are extra widespread than ever, so it is sensible for Honda to deliver this automotive to the market. There’s stiff competitors on the market from the likes of Kia, Hyundai and Toyota. Vehicles just like the Prius and Corolla Hybrid are each compelling packages, however they fall in need of the brand new benchmark the Civic Hatchback Hybrid has set. For comparable costs, there’s simply no beating the Civic’s improbable mixture of appears, efficiency and practicality.
After I was first assigned this journey, I used to be principally excited to drive the 2025 Civic Si. Nevertheless, after spending a day with Honda’s little hybrid, I’ve received to say it received me over in a giant manner. Regardless of its economy-focused underpinnings, this Civic is an actual performer, and I’ve received a sense it’s going to win over the hearts and minds not solely of oldsters who need strong efficiency however individuals who might have been a crossover. To be trustworthy, the Civic Hatchback Hybrid is so compelling, I can’t consider a motive you’d select an much more NPC-like compact crossover over it. It simply might have reset the benchmark for economic system automobiles in all places.
