Honda has given its popular Civic compact car a styling update and some new interior technology for 2025. But the bigger news is the appearance of a hybrid powertrain option.
Honda has sold a Civic hybrid many times over the years but dropped it with the car’s last major redesign. With Americans newly enthusiastic about hybrids, it’s back.
The hybrid powertrain effectively replaces a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine option offered in the Civic on dealer lots today; that powertrain drops from the lineup for the 2025 model year.
Honda hasn’t revealed pricing for the 2025 Civic. The 2024 model starts at $25,045 (including the $1,095 destination fee), but a hybrid drivetrain will no doubt cost more.
The updated 2025 Civic sedan will reach dealer lots next month, so we expect to know pricing soon. Hatchback models will arrive later this summer.
Styling Refresh
This isn’t a thorough redesign of the hot-selling Civic, which again was named our Compact Car Best Buy Award winner for 2024. It’s just a styling makeover of the kind automakers often do at the halfway point of a design’s production run. The Civic is still available as either a sedan or hatchback.
The updates are confined mostly to the front fascia. They give it a slightly sportier look, with a larger 6-sided grille and new folds that deemphasize the fog lights.
Hybrid models get a body-color lower front lip and headlight surrounds.
Inside, everything looks visually the same at most trim levels. But buyers of the high-end Sport Touring Hybrid model now get a new 9-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It runs Google built-in, adding features like Google Assistant and Google Maps.
That requires a data plan, but the first three years are included in the purchase price.
All trim levels now get USB-C ports up front.
200 Horsepower, Near 50 mpg Hybrid
The base 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine carries over for gas-powered Civic models. It makes 158 horsepower and passes power to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission. A 6-speed manual option has disappeared from the order sheet, though the sportier Civic Si and track-oriented Civic Type R still offer a stick.
The Civic hybrid is anticipated to match the Si model’s 200 horsepower, while beating it in torque with 232 lb-ft (vs. 192 lb-ft in the Si). It mates a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine to a pair of electric motors. Honda predicts it will get “an EPA combined fuel economy rating nearing 50 mpg.” The EPA hasn’t weighed in with an official figure yet.
Even standard, gas-powered Civic models are also quite thrifty, with the LX sedan currently rated at 35 mpg combined.
“To further amplify Civic’s legendary fun-to-drive spirit and class-leading ride comfort, the ride and handling dynamics of Civic hybrid have been optimized with unique spring and damper tuning, and a specifically-developed tire,” Honda says. The company claims it’s also the quietest Civic.
Reintroducing the hybrid Civic gives shoppers a new option in a dwindling class of compact sedans. Interested shoppers should also look at its longtime rival, the Toyota Corolla, and its hybrid edition, as well as the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid. Alternatives like the Mazda3 and Subaru Impreza lack hybrid editions, and major domestic rivals have gotten out of the sedan game entirely.
