2018 Honda Civic

The 2018 Honda Civic EX-T trim is the one we recommend starting at an MSRP of $22,595. It is powered by a turbocharged 1.5L engine that not only has good performance on offer but also delivers a good fuel economy. The Civic EX-L trim also has all the necessary equipment to enhance the interior experience. The Honda Sensing package is a must-have and would be worth spending another $1,000 for.  

The 2018 Honda Civic is available for sale in a total of 6 trim levels: the LX, EX, EX-T, EX-L, Touring, and the Si. The Honda Civic is also available in coupe and hatchback body styles which gets separate reviews. The price range for the 2018 Civic lies between $19,835 and $27,695 after the $205 price hike this year. While the CVT automatic transmission is available across the lineup, only the base 2018 Honda Civic LX and the affordable Honda Civic EX-T models get an option for the manual. 

The standard features list is pretty decent with the 5-inch center screen with rear-view camera, automatic climate control, and Bluetooth connectivity. But it is the Civic EX trim that adds plenty value to the sedan with added driver aids and technology on offer for a price jump of just $1,600. The EX-T trim on the other hand gets you the potent 174 hp turbocharged engine with additional creature comforts and larger 17-inch wheels. 

The EX-L adds a handful of more interior features while the 2018 Honda Civic Touring is the only trim that gets the Honda Sensing safety suite as standard. In the optional equipment, every Civic 2018 gets the Honda sensing safety package as an optional feature, which adds a thousand dollars more to the final price. The Honda Sensing suite includes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning & assist, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking. Also, the EX-L trim gets the optional navigation as well.

"Pedestrian to punk rock, the 2018 Honda Civic has a wide variety of powertrains to satisfy. There's a common thread: a very capable and quiet ride." TheCarConnection

The 2018 Honda Civic sedan is powered by a 2.0L I-4 engine that outputs 158 hp and has a torque output of 138 lb-ft. The sedan comes mated with a 6-speed manual as standard while there is also a CVT automatic available across the lineup. The Honda Civic EX-T, EX-L, and Touring trims get a turbocharged 1.5L I-4 engine that has a power output of 174 hp and 167 lb-ft torque. The 6-speed manual offers refined and slick shifts. The CVT too is precise with shifts, and does not have any major lag with the base engine but tend to lag with the turbocharged 1.5L engine.

The 2018 Honda Civic handles like a charm, irrespective of the engine and gearbox combination. The ride quality is smooth, thanks to the soft suspension setup of front struts and rear multilink. The handling is sharp. Turns are met with immediate responses, with supreme control over the chassis which helps inspire more confidence. The steering is well weighted as well with good enough feedback offered through the front wheelss. The 11.1-inch front & 10.2-inch rear brakes perform well too, the pedal feels firm and responsive and has enough bite for both city & highway commute or the emergency stop. 

The 2018 Honda Civic powered by the base 2.0L naturally aspirated engine does not perform anything like its turbocharged counterparts. It takes a decent 8.5 seconds to reach 0-60 MPH and covers the quarter-mile in 16.5 seconds with the manual. The CVT is slower, with a 0-60 MPH time of 9.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 17.1 seconds. The higher models with the turbo-4 engine can do 60 MPH in 7.8 seconds with the CVT while the manual is the quickest at 7.5 seconds. The brake setup on the other hand efficiently helps the Civic 2018 stop from 60-0 MPH in a braking distance of 127 feet.

The Corolla does not match its rivals in terms of output power and torque and hence is the slowest of the lot. The Chevrolet Cruze is the only car here with a turbocharged engine offered as standard and is also the most affordable car here. The most power output is on the Civic, whereas the Cruze has the most torquey engine, and peak torque kicks in as early as 2,000 rpm. The Mazda sedan offers agile handling as the Honda but it is the surge of torque low down the rev range that makes Cruze the quickest. 

"The most fuel-efficient models are those with the 1.5-liter turbo-four engines mated to an automatic transmission. They return 32 miles per gallon in the city, 42 mpg on the highway and 36 mpg combined." -Autoblog.com

The 2018 Honda Civic with the 2.0L engine and 6-speed manual returns 28 MPG in the city, 40 MPG on the highway, and has a combined mileage of 32 MPG. With the CVT, the city mileage improves by 3 mpg to 31 MPG and combined mileage sees an improvement of 2 MPG. The 1.5L powered Civic returns 31/42/35 MPG in city/highway/combined conditions as per the EPA with the manual. 

The CVT-powered version improves city fuel economy figures further by 1 MPG. That said, the fuel tank capacity of 12.4 gallons on offer with the 2018 Civic is less than most of its rivals. It allows the sedan to offer a range of 347.2 city miles and 496 highway miles with the standard engine gearbox combination. The maximum range is limited to 533 miles on the highways with the turbo-4 engine. 

Except for the Mada 3, all cars have the same combined mileage at 32 mpg. The Cruze is the least efficient in the city, at 27 mpg. The Toyota Corolla has the least highway mileage of 36 mpg, whereas the Civic and the Cruze shine with their 40 mpg highway mileage. The most range is seen on the Cruze, with a 370 miles city range and a highway range of 548 miles. The Civic has the least range thanks to its smaller fuel capacity.

"Rethink what you know about the Honda Civic- its no longer the small car you may remember." -TheCarConnection

The interior of the 2018 Honda Civic is well-finished, with the excellent build quality and solid fit and finish levels. You will find many plastic bits in and around the interior, but they get along in the interior with the premium finish surfaces. The cabin is done very smart, with a lot of thought going into the placement of buttons and features. This has helped with better control and reach for the driver, with nearly zero adjustments. The driving position can accommodate all types and sizes of drivers, and there's loads of adjustability on offer as well. While the lower trims get basic cloth upholstery, and EX-L and Touring trims get leather upholstery, and there are 3 interior upholstery color option on offer. 

The interior is very roomy, and five people can fit in here comfortably. Overall, the seats have good cushioning and decent support. The front seats are comfortable for tall people as well, despite the padding being slightly on the thinner side. The rear seats have good comfort levels, and there's ample legroom and headroom in the back. In terms of visibility, the front and side view is good, but the rear side is slightly comprised due to the sloping roof. The 2018 Honda Civic has a cargo capacity of 15.1 cu-ft. This is one of the best in class cargo spaces, and this can be extended as well with the fold-down seats. The seats don't fold down full flat, but the available space is more than enough then.

All the cars in the comparison seat up to 5 people. The Civic is the roomiest car of the lot. Proportions-wise, these cars go neck-to-neck with each other. The Civic boasts of the most front-seat headroom, whereas front legroom proportions are similar in all four. In the rear, the headroom is similar in all four but the Corolla's rear has tons of legroom. The Mazda 3 has a tight rear space while the Civic has the most cargo space among these four cars. The Cruze has nearly the same space but is 0.3 cu-ft less. The Toyota has a decent space of 13 cu-ft, whereas the Mazda 3's 12.4 cu-ft storage is slightly less in terms of class standards. 

The 2018 Honda Civic sedan gets a 5-inch information display screen as standard. The higher trims get a 7-inch touchscreen. There's not much problem with the standard setup, but the 7-inch display is not the easiest to use. The touch responses are on the slower side, and navigating through the complex setup can take a while. The voice control system does not come with natural speech detection, and the phone's voice commands are better. The audio quality has scope for improvement as well. Standard features include AM/FM stereo, Bluetooth, a USB port, and a four-speaker system.

Some interior features of the 2018 Civic are:

• Leather Upholstery
• Dual-zone climate control
• Heated front seats
• 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks
• Voice controls & Navigation
• Satellite radio
• HondaLink w/Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• 10-speaker audio system

"Honda took chances with the design of the 2018 Honda Civic and they have paid off.' - KBB

The 2018 Honda Civic sedan gets no changes to its exterior for 2018. This design on the sedan is one of the most unique and sporty-looking designs in this class. The car's front is aggressive, has a low front profile, and has a wide body that gives the Civic an outstanding profile. The lower part of the front bumper on higher trims gets foglights. From the side, the gracefully arched roofline meets the rear seamlessly, and the low profile and tall wheels make this car look bigger than it is. The rear features C-shaped taillights and a sharply styled boot lid that enhances the Civic's overall appeal.

The Civic is sporty by looks, but there's grace and elegance to it as well. In terms of dimensions, the Civic is among cars that are changing dimensional definitions for compact sedans. The Civic still features steel wheels on base Honda Civic LX trim, but the EX trim upgrades to a set of alloys. The EX-T and EX-L trims get larger 17-inch wheels while the Touring model gets you a striking set of 18-inch wheels. These although look good, affect ride quality marginally. Honda also offers 8 exterior paint color options for buyers to choose from. 

The four cars are not very apart in terms of their dimensions, and differences would not be easy to find when placed side by side. The cars have a similar width of 70 inches, and the height revolves around 55 inches for all. The Civic however sits the closest to the ground at 5.9 inches, giving it a comparatively lower profile. Surprisingly, all cars have the same wheelbase. The Civic is the lightest of them all, whereas the Cruze is the heaviest. While many might consider the design of the Civic quirky, it attracts most eyeballs on the streets. 

Some of the 2018 Honda Civic exterior features are:

• Foglights
• Sunroof
• Alloy wheels
• Heated side mirrors
• LED headlights 
• Automatic wipers
• Chrome grille

The 2018 Honda Civic scores excellent in the crash safety tests conducted by the NHTSA and the IIHS. The NHTSA gave the Civic sedan an overall score of 5-stars, with the same rating in all departments as well. The IIHS rated the Civic with their highest rating of 'Good' in most departments. Standard safety features include airbags, traction control, stability control, seatbelts, and a rearview camera. The Honda Sensing package is available on all Civic models for an extra $1,000 and adds driver assistance features. Some noteworthy safety features on the Civic are:

• Forward collision warning
• Lane departure warning
• Tire Pressure Monitoring system
• Remote Anti-Theft Alarm system
• Automatic emergency braking
• Adaptive cruise control

2018 Honda Civic vs 2018 Toyota Corolla

The 2018 Corolla is a very practical car aimed at mostly daily commuting. The Toyota gets a less powerful engine, has slower performance run times, the handling feels lost, and can do much better in the braking department. It, however, does have a smooth ride quality, a better range, and a decent economy. Coming to the interior, the Corolla will not appeal as much as the Civic will, thanks to the Corolla's lower quality of materials and a bland interior. The Civic also looks much better than the Corolla.

The infotainment system on the Corolla is simple and easy to use. Coming to safety, the Corolla is the clear choice due to its better safety ratings and a better safety equipment list. The Corolla also has the reliability benefit as a Toyota and is $340 cheaper than the Civic in the base trim.

2018 Honda Civic vs 2018 Mazda 3

The 2018 Mazda 3 sedan is a lot like the Civic in a lot of ways. Both the cars have powerful engines, superb handling, precise steering, and a respectable fuel economy. In terms of outright acceleration, the Civic is the quicker car. The Mazda however can use better brakes. The Mazda also benefits from its longer range. The Mazda 3's interiors are great, but the Civic's interiors are better finished, have more appeal, and are premium in a few ways. The Mazda 3's infotainment unit is the better one, due to its simple layout and ease of use.

The Mazda 3 as well as the Civic both get top safety scores and a good reliability rating as well. The Civic's rating is better compared to the Mazda 3. As a result, a choice between these two boils down to who's driving characteristics suit you better. The Mazda 3 is also more affordable as compared to the Civic sedan.

2018 Honda Civic vs 2018 Chevrolet Cruze

Being affordable is not the only big positive for the 2018 Cruze when compared to its strong competitors in the compact sedan segment. Chevrolet also offers a strong turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is quick off the mark and yet returns impressive fuel economy figures. Together with the large gas tank, the driving range offered is also one of the best in the segment. While both the Civic and Cruze offer very similar interior passenger and trunk space, Chevy feels more premium on the inside. 

The impressive reliability and safety ratings are what attract most buyers towards the Civic but the Chevy doesn't do too bad in this regard as well. While it may not get you as impressive resale value as the Honda, the Chevrolet Cruze is a great choice if budget is a constraint for you. 

The 2018 Honda Civic offers a very balanced proposition in most of the departments. Right from the base trim to the top trim, the Civic offers something for everyone. Performance seekers and mile-munchers will both find content in the Civic, as there's no compromise in either sector at all. The car's spacious and well-finished interiors, and the big cargo capacity make it a great family sedan as well. And with such strong safety ratings, there's no drought of safety in this beautiful car. At $19,835, the 2018 Civic as a package is worth all the money and definitely worth checking out before making a final decision.