After months of teasing a prototype, then one production photo, and then an interior sketch, the 2022 Honda Civic has finally been revealed in full. We already know the 11th-generation Civic will spearhead Honda’s new interior design direction, but what else does the updated compact still have to offer?
The Honda Civic is the automaker’s longest-running nameplate in the U.S., selling 12 million of the compacts over the last 48 years. After a few unenthusiastic offerings disappointed fans in the last few years, Honda is taking no chances with the 11th-generation Civic with a similar premium overhaul to what the Honda Accord got a few years ago.
Unfortunately, there is still no update on the upcoming Civic hatchback, with Honda instead still pushing the new Civic Sedan, for now. It will be available in LX and Sport trims with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque linked to a CVT. The Sport trim adds Sport and Eco drive mode options, paddle shifters and black alloy wheels over the LX trim, which gets covered steelies. The Sport also weighs slightly more at 2,935 lbs. versus the LX’s 2,877 lbs.
The new Honda Civic EX and Touring trims get a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 180 HP and 177 lb-ft of torque at a slightly lower redline than the 2.0-liter unit, still connected to a CVT. The Touring trim adds drive mode selection, paddle shifters and 18-inch grey-tone wheels wheels over the EX’s 17-inch alloys with black inserts. All four trims get all-season tires.
All four Civic sedan trims come with Honda Sensing tech, 10 airbags and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The EX gets wireless phone connectivity and a blind spot information system, and the Touring adds onto that package with a cross traffic monitor warning, low-speed cruise control with auto-braking, 12-speaker Bose audio setup and a 9-inch touchscreen. The other three trims get a 7-inch screen.
Read About The 2022 Honda Civic Interior Design Direction
The Civic’s driving dynamics have been altered by an extended wheelbase that’s grown 1.4-inches and is now more rigid, “with an 8 percent improvement in torsional rigidity and 13- percent improvement in bending rigidity versus the previous generation,” according to Honda’s press release. The MacPherson struts up front now have low-friction ball joints and front damper mount bearings which should translate into improved ride comfort.
You may worry about the CVT, a transmission which is notorious in some circles for poorly programming manufactured “shift” points in the acceleration of the car. It’s not just Honda, they come on various models from tons of automakers and Subaru has some bad ones, to name names.
Most have improved over the years, and Honda claims it has revised the shift patterns on the Civic for sportier response. The new engineering also helps reduce load and friction on key components with an upgraded electric hydraulic pump and secondary shaft now with ball bearings. We’ll see if it helps, but a manual transmission option, which even Mazda offers on its 3 hatchback, would have been very welcome on this Honda. Maybe it’s still to come on the hatchback.
Fuel Economy has supposedly improved across the board for the sedan so far:
- 2022 LX – 31 city, 40 highway, 35 combined.
- 2022 Sport – 30 city, 37 highway, 33 combined.
- 2022 EX – 33 city, 42 highway, 36 combined.
- 2022 Touring – 31 city, 38 highway, 34 combined.
This seems like a solid overhaul on first impression. If those fuel economy figures hold, paired with the new standard features and revised dynamics, it would definitely translate to an improvement in value over the outgoing car if it holds reliable. Unfortunately I can’t yet be sure, as pricing details will be announced later this year.
The only mention of the hatchback in today’s release is this, for those curious:
The 11th-generation will continue that legacy with production of the Civic Sedan in Alliston, Ontario, Canada, and for the first time, the Civic Hatchback will be manufactured in the U.S., at the company’s Greensburg, Indiana plant. All Civic production in North American will use domestic and globally-sourced parts.
It’s coming.
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