Honda Civic hatchback review - CarBuyer 

Had my Civic for two months and it's great. I don't have a problem with the rear visibility nor has anyone complained of limited head room in the back. I'm finding the car handles well plus its comfortable, practical and economical.

I owned one of these when I lived in Europe, and I sold it when I moved back to the US. It was a great car. I still have fond memories of it.

The Civic 1.6 diesel is a great car, much nicer I think than the boring Golf and Focus plus the best I've had so far based on proper brim to brim calculations is 77 mpg (using super diesel, a bit less with normal diesel). The rear vision is fine, they've all jumped on this band wagon when reviewing this model Civic, the bar across the screen actually shields from headlights at night and it's pretty nippy too.

'secret under-floor storage area' - also known as the space where typically the space saver wheel would go but now, unless you're happy with the tyre gunk, you have to pay extra for such luxuries...it's the way most cars are going but it's a shame.

I really like the design of this hatchback. The Front looks neat.

I have this car for 6 years now and I still enjoy driving it !

I get a bit of a biased feel from his review. Simple things like when talking about space in rear he says he's 5 ft 10 and in the Ford Focus review he says he's 5 ft 11. In both reviews he seems to have the same amount of room but says the civic is tight for space!? Doesn't mention that the steering wheel can be adjusted and doesn't admit that there are plenty of cars out there with a lot worse rear visibility. Too many car reviews seem now to be based on not upsetting the big two of Ford and VW. Check out reliability surveys ask current owners and take a test drive yourself in any car.

Always the hard vs soft thing.. we don’t care about reliability, we just want to review the car daily by pressing the soft and hard interiors, Turing to our passengers “ hard, hard, hard…. Soft! Look at that!”

After 8 years and 250.000km I can say, that it is a very good car. The power and torque of the 2.2 i-dtec engine is amazing and great to drive. There are only two things that I don't like about it: the very low groundclearance and the headlights. If you want to change a lightbulb you will nearly break your hands.

i just bought a 2012 that have only 20 k miles on it full spec sport , 1,8 i vtec it is all red and black full leather , and i love the car , a joy to drive , and it comes from a former VW owner , need some practice to drive it it is not like a diseal with a turbo , but pretty quick over 4k :)

i just bought one....I love it

rear spoiler limits lights blinding you from drivers in the back. i actually love this in civic

We run 2, 1.6 dtec and overall unbeatable cars . Performance comfort practicality reliability, and off the scale fuel economy. Economy cars used to be boring but though not a ball of fire , they are an excellent drive.

Since we have the previous version of the civic hatch I understand people will expect more for the new civic, When I see it for the first time I wasn't really happy with it. It doesn't wows me like the previous version but in fact the new version is way more better as they are more piratical. They have the magic seat. larger interior and improved the interior of the driver seat. the material is better as well. for the looks, I am quite into it now just give it a bit of time and actually try to see it physically. It's different than what you would expect. The only thing I don't like for it is the petrol engine. The petrol engine is seriously so underpower. Honda, you got some work to do.

bought it in 2014, now almost 100'000 km done. absolutely fantastic car. the only thing i miss, is a bit of power. it's very much enough in the city, the engine has enough torque, however on the highway or uphill well.... you just hope you had more :)

Honda sells different models in different regions of the world ( american, european & asian) but they also release newer models at about the same time in every region too. Also if you were to buy this car you would have to pay in british pounds or in euro which essentially means that you will pay a lot more money for the same brand. Here in Germany the basic model sells for € 16.950,00 ($ 22.410,00), in America sells for $ 15.995,00 not to mention the conversion that would be around $ 2.500,00.

Having driven vans with bulkheads for decades, the lack of rear vision doesn't bother me. I'm used to living in my wing mirrors.

I have a UK 2012 1.4 petrol civic...lovely looking car and quality build. If i had a choice this engine is a bit underpowered though i get 50mpg with the 'economy' button engaged. 6th gear is a little too close to 5th gear. ...other than that...nice to drive and run.

Maybe the nicest looking civic, after all these years...

You can use 3.5mm jack to RCA 10M lead wired in along the door trim for a sound system

The interior is a step back from the previous gen, I deslike most of all the climate control layout with all the tiny buttons... The Mazda 3 has a much better interior anyway. Other than that, I still like how this car overall looks. The Previous one simply looks even better to me :p

I have mine since 4 Days and love it! Great suspension and the 2.2 i-dtec has good power and torque! My Civic is lowered and has 8x18 wheels on it - looks great! The interior quality is way better than in my FN2 TypeR before!

they are. I have the previous model and it has never gone wrong

Just bought this car and LOVE it. Just an amazing car to drive.

I agree with you there, the design would be too challenging for the USA market, perhaps stick to your Corolla and we'll keep the Civic.

I love the styling on the new Civic, I'd much rather have a car that looks like that than be seen in a boring Focus or Golf

Ordered ours yesterday, Pearl White with the 18inch Krypton Alloys. Was considering Hyundai Veloster, Hyundai i30, both excellent cars. We love the look of this new model and it will be a welcome departure from the usual mundane cars on NZ roads.

this looks older than the previous model which imo was a design classic. I dont see the need to upgrade from the mk8. Dont bother with turbo diesels unless your doing very high mileages daily, anyway soon diesel is being banned more and more to many things go wrong with them. Im happy with my 1.8i vtec , good economy for a petrol 48-50 on long runs and 42-46 mixed driving. plenty of poke when needed and fun when you rev it which it likes , the vtec doesnt kick in until 4000rpm then the engine just goes up another gear, best engine ive ever owned , bulletproof reliability too.

WTF this looks totally different to the previous model what is he talking about

I just bought one in Australia! YAY!!!

You should try driving a van with a bowl kid you can’t rely on visibility outback windows all the time yourself awareness and mirrors you should know what’s behind you every time you speed up and slow down you should check your mirrors

2015 edition is amazing search it up

Nice looking car.

These reviews also put the reviewer under the spotlight. I come to this in 2021 and I've just bought the 2017 model. While Matthew's review is pretty fair (no I don't know why they had to put the spoiler across the back window either) his criticism of the back seat headroom is way off. Unless they've changed the shape since this review (!) my 5 foot 11inch frame fits very nicely into the back with respectable headroom and knee room with the front seat in my position and I'm a big guy. I'm over the moon with my purchase, I love it.

I'm European, I think its Kick ASS. They just need better Alloy Wheels and Body Paint Colours.

900+ kms-pedal to the metal when could-the torque of the engine was unbelievable!my wife thought we were going 150...when i was going 220 on the highway back home full-luggaged....sticks to the road and is uber-quiet...i appreciate japanese machines but GERMAN PRECISION&Craftsmanship is something else...plus,honda&generally dealerships and services aren't what they used to be...trust no-one...so,i don't want to misjudge civic because i also love it now that i'm going for a new machine i'll

is still an everyday car used by everymember of the family[and my son pushes it A LOT!] and except for oil service&exhaust change[when it got 20] nothing has bothered me[except a burned dashboard lamp?!maybe?!],sticks to the road at top speed... instead of my type-r which was a more powerful car[2002 model] but had issues with electronics,engine,fuel consumption...and would be very light and unstable at high speeds[238kms]...my father in law bought an a4 2.0 tdi...i travelled with it for almost

Vw Golf: perfect allrounder if you don't mind to see your car on every corner. Seat Leon: flamboyant, sporty but cheap inside Audi A3 a bit firmer than a Golf but has a posh interior French ahm I don't know. The have some reliability issues so I wouldn't recommend them. However: Hot-hatches only Renault! Toyota has no appeal to me. It has nothing to offer accept the hybrid but todays diesels are as efficient as any hybrid. Kia/Hyuandai well made, impressive warranty but dull to drive.

Looks awesome. Anykind of silver color will look top in this Civic.

Of all the things Mat and Rebecca touch on I'm their reviews I have to say I most look forward to Mat saying the driving position is "spot on".

my friend, you need to look at all the stats re car reliability, sad to say many euro cars don't rate well, Toyota, Honda and Lexus are at the top, that is a true measure of engineering excellence and also most Japanese cars are exceeding the 5 star NCAP tests. We have had our Civic for over a month now (our 4th new Honda), absolute brilliant car and superb build quality and refinement.

Finally a good and decent car-review, TOP GEAR go home!

Shame about the performance of the smaller petrol engines, seen a really nice 2016 plate vtec sport in space silver with black alloys and other sporty features, but it’s a 1.4 and the figures suggest it can’t live up to what you’d expect and for the looks which this version and the newer ones I find ugly with the style of lights, the rear lights specifically for this version.

strongly agree i have had 3 honda civic to date love the previous edition looks alot better and more sportier im not sure who design this honda civic but its 100 percent the worst looking honda civic made since the 1990's was offered a test drive by honda and turn it down its that bad i usually atleast test drive the car but wont even give this one a chance unless im 60 years old and want some economic and i half blind and cant see what im paying for yes i know pretty harse currently i have the previous edition type S GT best car ive own to date not forgetting the smart roadster which was my best drive for a car just pure amazing . extremely terrified to see what the type r edition will look like in this shape and i really hope Honda sacks the designers and bring back the guys that designed the previous shape

Oh dear Honda....WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! Had the last generation, will I buy this one? No way! They have taken all the styling I loved about the old one and just threw it all away!

im 6'7 and I was in the backseat yesterday and it wasnt that bad probably because im used o it though

i get compliments on my 2012 sport, and i understand why a top spec would match an Audie a6 in price since i had one , it is not the same thing ,i like them both , but Honda is more fun ....right now :D

Are those the 225/45 R17 tires? Will 225/40 R18 feel much stiffer or be too sensitive to potholes?

British gallon is bigger (30 UK MPG is around 25 US MPG and the European cycle is very optimistic. I drove an Avensis 1.6 as careful as I could following the cars instruction to gear up very early, used momentum up hills and planned my way forward so that I didn't need to brake/accelerate much and averaged 5.3l/100km on rural roads in Denmark. The official numbers state 5.4 in extra urban driving so that's how they seem to think you should be driving :P

Honest review, I agree with you.

Perfect timing, 5:00-5:30 is great Mat!!

But there is no snow in UK? Or at least in your filming place.

those plastic bits at the back are also on the petrol version as well.???

Honda should offer this design in US n Asia.. So much more appealing than the current one we have.

It's really expensive in UK when you first buy it but running costs are really low.Even 2.2 diesel engine can do 67mpg which is great for such an engine...

Mmm... If the Civic still had the same desing as before but with the new suspension and chasis settings, I would defenitely go for the new one, but as it doesn't turn round to be that product, I would still get the old one (which, by the way, I own ;P)

The snowboard explains where he's been for the past two weeks... :)

1:59 😅cant believe nobody took the joke yet

its for a bass box in the boot and other speakers and amps when linked amps togther

The front and side looks ok but JEZ did they reverse the back into a wall??

ive got one and its epic

I can’t understand why Honda gave out the yellow one for review, I have a White one with black sports trim and alloys and I can say its MUCH sexier looking than the old one.

I don't understand why only the diesels get the little fins to reduce emissions/consumption. I mean, a little help for the petrol version too shouldn't be too much to ask for

Beautiful

@TheDM75 Precisely.It's not well priced.This is an affordable compact car.It shouldn't be priced lika a Small luxury car.But I agree civics are always sensible cars.

Thanks for the review!! a shame its not selling in Japan.

Honda should have never stopped production of the EG Civic. It was the best Civic ever built and probably the best FWD car in the world. Honda what's wrong with you since 2000?????

I was actually really liking this car until Matt pointed out that rear vision isn't so great.

Did he just say that the car he test drove was similar to the price of an A6?! In the US the Civic is an economy car and the A6 is a luxury sedan.

Can you do a Lexus CT200H review please? Thanks you =)

great review, and nice watch btw.

Does anyone with a Civic carry bikes upright in the backseat footwell by raising the magic seats? I had a Jazz before and it was a bit tight, but wondered if the civic would manage it better?

Thinking of buying the 2.2 diesel with 100k on it ???heard about dodgy diesel engines tho so dunno

you guys in the UK got ripped of, the US version is a sedan and looks much better.

Where's the spare tyre? You got that hidden storage, but the tyre?

Sorry, you are wrong! I own a 2012 Elantra and Civic Euro. The Elantra interior is excellent in terms of tactile surfaces however the Euro Civic is better again, absolute premium interior.

You must be incorrect with your height?! I'm a long legged 6ft and I have plenty of leg room in the rear seat, but admittedly I do understand the problem with head room, as my head touches the roof too

And Sir Watson, You have done it again :D :p

5:10, then 5:11. Now back down to 5:10.5! Good review

Is it better to get this BMW 2009 series or a new Ford Focus/seat leon/etcetera....?

good review but at end it stil civic means realiblty and good engine take my word because i driven many cars no one can beat honda at realiblty :D

I like that he always keeps referring to the Fords when it comes to handling and how fun it is to drive :D

Hatchbacks are ubiquitous in Europe because that's what we mostly prefer to buy. If the option was removed we'd start appreciating them.

Why can't the USA have hybrid diesel Civics? Put in a smaller diesel, like 1.2L and make it a hybrid. It would beat the Prius in MPG and still be more fun to drive.

@c3vzn why you saying the Brits won't like this car then? I for one thinks it looks pretty nice.

u won a hatch or sedan, in ma country India civic comes only as a sedan so i just wanna kno how the hatch is in terms of space or can u compare it to a golf citrogen too we dont have it in india,

Personally I think it's beautiful! Too bad they didn't fix the rear window spoiler problem.

Is he saying that the full options model costs same as a 2L diesel A4 AND same as an A6 ? A4 costs same as an A6 ?

Depends on which Bimmer you mean. 1 Series?

In the back of the car we got a spare tyre in there so no extra space why is there none in the UK ?

Mat you look so young always check you and Yianni on car wow

3 door and type R and this could have been a great car.

"the horror...the horror..." "this is the end, my only friend, the eeeend..."

C02 is good, which is why we pump our greenhouses with it.

Do all these car companies think Americans wouldnt like their European versions? I WISH our Civic was as well equipped. Those backseats are great.

why do we not have this in Canada?.... + a diesel civic would be amazing

Were you driving the ex gt

Most people that buy a brand new civic don't carry back seat passengers and can't drive linearly.

EP2 Sport and EP3 rulez. and EK4 DOHC VTEC ;)

Yes, I think the looks are a bit ill defined and it's not advanced enough. As ever, great review though :o)