2017 Honda Civic
The 2017 Honda Civic won this year’s Small Car Best Buy Award because it simply blows away everything else in its class. And for the second year in a row, it takes the Overall Best Buy trophy for the same reasons: The 2017 Civic so dominates its class, it was an obvious choice.
The Honda Civic has the compact car basics of course: it’s affordable, gets excellent fuel economy, and offers a compelling mix of features for the money. But to that recipe it adds clever packaging resulting in a roomy interior, including a spacious and comfortable back seat that rivals those of some midsize sedans. The Civic is also fun to drive, whether you choose the most basic or most expensive model.
But the Civic is more than a fun-to-drive value. We noted last year how the Honda Civic raised the bar in its class with its attention to detail and world-class drivetrain. That all remains true, but with a year under its belt, we can see just how much the Civic alters the compact car landscape by the fact that there’s still nothing quite like it on the road. The Civic sedan looks like nothing else out there, and this year it’s joined by equally compelling coupe and hatchback models. And with the upcoming Civic Si, there will be a Civic for virtually every taste.
All these models share the same fundamentals that have put the Civic on top. There’s the excellent 1.5-liter turbocharged engine or the base model’s 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, both of which connect to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that even haters admit is excellent at its job. The suspension, from the base model to the sportiest, is supple when it needs to be, yet sporty enough that the Civic always feels eager to chase through a corner. Dial it back to cruise mode and this Honda is an adept road-tripper — especially with the available Honda Sensing suite that includes active cruise control. Part of that is thanks to a high-style interior that doesn’t sacrifice utility for design. If anything, the excellent seats, ergonomic controls, plentiful storage space and roomy back seats all feel like they’re straight out of a car costing thousands more. Then there’s the technology, which includes things like available anti-collision features, active cruise control, blind spot detection, and a rear-view camera with adjustable views. To make your road trip better, there’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto providing seamless integration with your smartphone.
Finally, there’s the Civic’s real ace in the hole: Despite offering as much or more equipment than its competitors, the Civic continuously pencils out with a lower sticker price than many of its competitors. Not only that, when you factor in longer-term variables such as resale and cost of ownership, the Civic’s value vaults it ahead. It’s that combination of style, functionality, fun-to-drive nature and value that make the 2017 Honda Civic our Overall Best Buy.
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