The 2025 Honda Civic Is a Love Letter to Hybrid Cars

We’re in a golden period for hybrid automobiles. They’re the right step into our totally electrical future as a result of they work seamlessly with American infrastructure, making hybrids each environment friendly and handy. 

The 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid makes the hybrid method its personal, producing a glossy, smooth-driving sedan that will get 49 miles per gallon mixed and laughs within the face of inflation. It’s the right automobile for our time.

The 2025 Civic is a refresh of the current-generation mannequin, and it is out there in each sedan and hatchback varieties. The 4 sedan trims are priced as such (together with the $1,095 vacation spot payment): LX ($25,345); Sport ($27,345); Sport Hybrid ($29,845); and Sport Hybrid Touring ($32,845).

The underside two trims have a 150-horsepower fuel motor, whereas the highest two hybrids make 200 hp and 232 pound-feet of torque. The sedans go on sale in June 2024, and Honda says energy figures are preliminary estimates. 

The highest-trim Civics have a 2.0-liter, inline-four-cylinder engine paired with a two-motor hybrid, and the battery expenses whereas the automobile drives—that means the Civic doesn’t have as a lot electrical energy as a plug-in hybrid, however it additionally would not need to be plugged in. Honda says the hybrid will make 49 mpg mixed, and that it’s additionally “probably the most highly effective non-Kind R Civic ever.”

The comfort of hybrids is their key power. Individuals who drive or personal electrical automobiles often get previous vary nervousness—the worry of working out of juice as a result of there’s not a charger on each nook—rapidly. However with hybrids, consumers can reap a few of an EV’s economic system rewards with no trace of vary nervousness.

Throughout 3 hours with the brand new Civic Hybrid, my driving by no means made a dent within the gasoline gauge. It felt good. 

Professionals: Good Worth, Refined, Environment friendly

The automobile can be extra reasonably priced now than it was 20 years in the past. The Civic Hybrid debuted in America in 2003 with a base worth of $19,550, which might be about $34,000 in the present day, and it solely acquired 40 mpg mixed. The brand new Sport Hybrid trim begins at $28,750 and will get 49 mpg. 

The Civic’s inside and exterior designs are stylish however not over-the-top, and whereas producers often fill their interiors with shiny piano black trim (learn: a grease and mud magnet), my tester had virtually none. As a substitute, there was a shiny, dark-gray herringbone sample all through the automobile, and I ran my fingers throughout it to see the way it held up. No grease or mud. 

Driving the Civic Hybrid made me really feel relaxed. The steering and pedals had sufficient weight to them, and at low speeds, the automobile was quiet and orderly. The engine by no means grunted or struggled, and after I put the accelerator to the ground, the Civic Hybrid zipped up to the mark. 

You may really feel highway bumps and dips in any automobile, however the Civic Hybrid’s suspension sucked them up and smoothed them out—together with the cobblestone streets in Montreal. Visibility was good, the seats have been comfy, and Honda’s lane-keep help made driving on highways stress-free.  

One in every of my favourite options in hybrids just like the Civic is that, instead of a tachometer, there’s a “energy vs cost” gauge in entrance of the motive force. The gauge tells you when the automobile is charging the battery through regenerative braking, in addition to how a lot gasoline you’re utilizing while you hit the accelerator pedal. It is a reside look into what you’re saving or spending, and it’s enjoyable. 

I could not discover a lot fallacious with the Civic Hybrid, and that’s a product of each the restricted drive time and the automobile itself. I stated “Wow” out loud throughout the first 5 minutes of the drive, and after I met up with the opposite reviewers afterward, they echoed my response.  

Cons: Questionable Entrance Fascia, Tons Of Highway Noise

Because the Civic Hybrid turns into extra extensively out there over the subsequent few months, individuals like me can have extra time with the automobile to seek out any faults it could have. For now, I solely have two dislikes: the entrance fascia and highway noise at excessive speeds. 

First, the fascia: Automobiles want redesigns to evolve, however the underbite on the brand new Civic’s nostril makes it visually heavy—like if Lightning McQueen by no means put his tongue again in his mouth after sticking it out to win that race. There was a technique to redesign the entrance with out making it look awkward, and I don’t assume this was it. 

Take a look at the brand new Civic Hybrid subsequent to the pre-facelifted model: 

However the Civic’s largest weak level, to me, is highway noise.

I drove about 62 mph on a stretch of {smooth} freeway within the hybrid, and the highway noise was intrusive. There was a hum from the wheel wells, and it felt like there wasn’t sufficient sound deadening across the tires. There wasn’t plenty of natural wind noise, however when a automobile glided by, I might hear its whoosh loud and clear.  

The excellent news is, the professionals far outweigh the cons—and you may drown out the highway noise with music. 

Hybrids aren’t all the time the attractive alternative; they acquired a foul status within the gas-guzzling 2000s for being boringly eco-conscious. However the Civic does its finest to spice up desirability with nice design, a great engine, and interesting highway manners. We’re residing in an period of peak hybrid: reasonably priced, environment friendly, and very handy. 

The brand new Civic simply provides to that legacy.