2023 Honda Civic

The 2023 Honda Civic EX is the one we would recommend as the pick of the lot. Not only would you get access to the spritely 1.5L turbocharged engine but the trim also brings in a few sensible features to the table like heated seats, dual-zone climate control, blindspot detection, rear seat armrest, heated exterior mirrors, and even a one-touch moonroof. All this for a mere $2,000 from the trim it supersedes makes it come out as the best deal of the bunch. 

The 2023 Honda Civic Sedan, like the previous iteration, is limited to 4 evenly spaced trims in the price bracket. The range kicks off with the base LX trim with starting prices estimated to begin from $23,645 including the $1,095 destination fee. This trim gets equipped with the standard 2.0L powertrain which gets coupled with a CVT unit. Basic amenities like a 7-inch infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, push-button start, automatic climate control, LED exterior lighting and a standard suite of Honda sensing features come as a part of the standard package. 

The 2023 Civic Sport trim shares most of the mechanicals but gets some visual bling including big 18-inch alloy wheels, blacked-out exterior elements, and a slightly uprated interior with a better stereo. The Honda Civic EX trim is when the brochure starts looking better with the powerful 1.5L turbocharged mill and features like heated seats, power moonroof, dual-zone climate control, blind spot monitoring, and heated exterior mirrors start taking the stage.

The range-topping ‘Touring’ trim goes for over $30,000 and for that additional 4 grand over the EX you get fancy features like leather upholstery, wireless phone connectivity features, wireless phone charger, a premium audio system, rear USB ports, and front/rear parking sensors. The 2023 Honda Civic Sedan has a few additional packages on offer namely an all-season protection package I ($420), all-season protection package II ($370), a protection package ($300), and an HPD exterior sport-design package ($1,425). 

Release Date

There are no official statements on the release of the 2023 Honda Civic Sedan. However, going by the trend, we should see the manufacturer shift the model year sometime mid-third quarter of this year.

The 2023 Honda Civic sedan, with its base 2.0 naturally aspirated inline-4, is no performer. Pushing out a mediocre 158 hp and 138 lb-ft, you will need the tacho pointing north to even feel the thing moving. The CVT, as always, eats most of the juice the engine churns out, essentially taking the car across 60 mph in a lavish 9.5 seconds. However, we got to say that the unit is butter smooth and people would love driving around in the city pace owning to this extremely refined nature. If you got to even mention performance, you absolutely have to opt for the 1.5L turbocharged mill. 

Agility has always been one of the strongholds of the Honda Civic and it still continues to be the same with the 2023 model year. Even though the entire platform is a tweaked version of the outgone generation, we have to say that it still has got what it takes to be the champ in dynamics. Although we were a bit disappointed to know that this version was in fact slower than the one it replaces, but the 1.5L turbo-4 engine produces 180 hp and 177 lb-ft which pushes the Civic 0-60 MPH in 7.6 seconds and crosses the quarter-mile mark in 16 seconds flat with a higher top speed of 139 MPH. 

Though it won’t bring a day and night difference in performance metrics, the 20 hp advantage and the meaty torque band give the car some much-needed life. Let the turbo spool up and the 2023 Civic will pull with relentless enthusiasm till the needle hits the red line, quite a bit surprising for an economy engine which it is basically designed to be. Though this exact unit is tuned down from the previous generation, it does give the car some life and feels like something that has been built to be pushed hard. The paddle shifters do add an extra bit of fun, but most of the time, it does not respond to downshifts as it has been tuned for gearbox life than outright performance. 

The 2023 Honda Civic, being one of the light and powerful sedans here offers mediocre performance in a straight line. The new Toyota Corolla has been rated for a better output with a new standard engine this year, although with no exact details on offer we expect it to be the quickest one here. The Mazda 3 does come close to the Corolla thank to the 6-speed automatic transmission despite the power and weight disadvantages. The Hyundai Elantra with the least output unsurprisingly is the slowest of the pack as it is about half a second slower than the Civic.

Since we are talking about an economical sedan here, fuel economy does come of prime interest and would probably even end up as the factor for most choosing the car. The 2023 Honda Civic, fortunately, does not disappoint. Managing a combined economy of close to 35 MPG and close to 40 MPG on the highways, the Honda Civic does come excellent in terms of fuel economy figures. 

However, the small 12.4-gallon gas tank compromises the maximum range to under 500 miles. Opting for the 2023 Civic EX or Touring models with the turbocharged engine gets a 33/42/36 MPG in city/highway/combined conditions respectively as per the EPA. Together with the same fuel tank capacity, it offers a highway driving range of about 520 miles. 

The 2023 Honda Civic, though pretty efficient on its own, is not the most economical car in its class nor gets the best tank range. The individual efficiency king here is the Hyundai Elantra while the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda 3 get the biggest fuel tanks. However, the comparatively low gas mileage on the Mazda pulls it to the back of the pack when it comes to range, while the Corolla takes the top position for the best achievable tank range. The Elantra has the best overall trait here while the Civic doesn’t manage to break the magic 500-miles marker owing to its tiny fuel tank.

Even though the 2023 Honda Civic carries over everything from last year, the insides look fresh, premium, and clutter-free as ever. We are absolutely in love with the honeycomb-style grille that runs across the entire length of the dashboard, but really doubt how one will maintain it from dust in the long run. The semi-digital driver’s display (fully digital on top trim) has been integrated well and if you ask us, looks cleaner and legible than some of the fancy and confusing units out there. However, premium amenities like leather seat appointment, heating, power adjustment, and even second row-armrest are only available from the EX trim onwards.

There are also only black and grey interior color options available for sale in the 2023 Civic. Talking about the second row, though a foldable bench is standard, the 60/40-spilt option is only available on the top trims. The trunk, which measures 14.8 cu-ft, is one of the largest in its class, by the way. In this era of big touchscreens that fill the entire dashboard, a 7-inch unit honestly looks dated and out of place on an otherwise slick car. We love the floating integration of the, but the small screen with rather big bezels at both ends with physical buttons looks rather odd and low-spec. Even the bigger 9-inch unit doesn’t make anything better as we thought it would, aesthetically at least.

Even though the 2023 Honda Civic is not the biggest sedan in its class, the impressive management of space has helped it to excavate some of the best seating space in its class, both for the front and rear passengers. It easily offers the best shoulder room and legroom, only falling behind the Elantra in the rear legroom. The Civic also gets the biggest trunk for the class, measuring close to 15 cu.-ft. the Hyundai Elantra follows suit with the best headroom and the second-best trunk area, with 14.2 cu.-ft. of room on offer. The Toyota Corolla and the Mazda 3 is almost identical in cabin room, with the Mazda offering slightly better shoulder room.

Some standout interior features of the 2023 Honda Civic Sedan include:

• Part Digital instrument cluster (fully digital available)
• Heated and power-operated front seats w/Leather upholstery
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• 7-inch infotainment system (9-inch available) w/Android Auto and Apple Carplay connectivity
• 8-speaker and 12-speaker audio system
• Honda satellite-linked navigation (available)
• Wireless phone charger

While the previous generation of the Honda Civic was called out by many for its boy-racer silhouette, the latest generation of Honda Civic just rewrote that whole design chapter in recent Civic history. Gone are the quirky headlamps and overdesigned tail end for something that is significantly cleaner and surprisingly sophisticated design at the same time. The car looks like a proper three-box sedan this time around and not the notchback like the previous generation. Also, standard features like Automatic LED headlamps and tail lamps, though taken for granted, do help the lower trims of the 2023 Honda Civic look not so cheaped out. 

Even though the Civic has ever-so-slightly grown in dimensions, it still feels as compact as the previous generation. The side profile looks boxy and true-sedan-like, but we wish that alloy wheels came standard instead of the 16-inch steel wheels that come on the base trim. However, higher trims of the 2023 Civic do get you alloy wheels in different shades and the size goes up to 18-inches for the regular sedan. Opt for the Sport trim and you get fancy contrasting black exterior elements and chrome exhaust tips. The 6.7-inch ground clearance help tackle curbs and bumps with ease and there are up to 8  exterior paint color options on offer. 

The 2023 Honda Civic, though not visibility the biggest car in the competition, gets the longest wheels base. This does help it excavate the best compromise in legroom for its class. Though the Mazda 3 comes a close second, the space usage is not efficient and offers lower legroom than even the Elantra. The Mazda 3 is also the heaviest car in the lot, probably owing to its 6-speed automatic transmission. The Toyota Corolla on the other hand, though the second heaviest, is the smallest sedan here which is directly reflected in its cabin accommodation.

Some of the standout exterior features on the 2023 Honda Civic Sedan include;

• Full LED automatic headlamps/LED tail lamps
• Power outside rearview mirrors (heated units available)
• 17/18 –inch alloy wheels (trim dependant)
• One-touch moon roof with tilt function (available)
• Smart entry with walk-away auto lock key
• Remote trunk release.

Honda, in typical fashion, has not skimped out on safety features as most of the kit that comes with the Honda Sensing package is available as standard in the 2023 Honda Civic. We are even surprised to find that the automaker has included premium features like a multi-angle rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, and even a traffic sign recognition system as a part of the standard safety package this time around. 

However advanced features like the Blind Spot monitoring system and parking sensors (front and rear) are only made available with the top trims. However, we are willing to look past that shortcoming as the 2022 Honda Civic sedan scored a clean sheet in structural safety, with the NHTSA awarding it a 5-Star rating while IIHS has named it a “Top Safety Pick Plus” model for this year. Expect similar ratings this year too. 

Some of the standout safety features available with the 2023 Honda Civic Sedan include;

• Collision mitigation braking
• Lane Keeping and Departure Assist
• Blind-spot detection
• Adaptive cruise control
• Multi-angle rear-view camera
• Traffic sign recognition
• Front and rear parking sensors

2023 Honda Civic Sedan vs 2023 Toyota Corolla

Probably the most interesting and long-standing rivalry in the history of sedans, both the Civic and the Toyota Corolla have their own sets of pros and cons. While the Toyota here is known to offer the best ride experience, the Honda brings in a hint of sportiness which gets most of us excited. While the Corolla generally comes out as the more practical car, Honda has left no stones unturned with the new Civic, beating the Corolla in every measurable parameter this time except for maybe fuel range. The 2023 Corolla has been told to offer better performance and driving demeanor, but we can’t be sure about it unless we drive one. So as of now, the 2023 Honda Civic comes out as the better option here. 

2023 Honda Civic Sedan vs 2023 Hyundai Elantra

The Honda Civic and the Hyundai Elantra are an interesting comparison here. Though we rarely take sides with a Hyundai, they have certainly come a long way and have made people take notice. To prove our fact, the Elantra matches the new Civic in terms of space and economy and even undercuts it when it comes to pricing while offering better equipment. Hyundai also has come a long way in dynamics as well with this iteration. You could say Hyundai vehicles generally have a low-reliability quotient than Hondas, but that was in the past as we see it. Even though our hearts are definitely with the 2023 Honda Civic here, our minds can’t ignore the fact that the Elantra is the value for money choice here. 

2023 Honda Civic Sedan vs 2022 Mazda 3

Both boasting a sporting nature, the Honda Civic and the Mazda 3 would be the two cars that come close here when it comes to the intent. While the Mazda gets a better gearbox to claim superiority, it does not actually translate into a real-world performance advantage due to the lazy engine and hefty chassis. The Mazda also trials the Civic when it comes to practicality and gas mileage, which is prime to most customers in this price bracket. Even though we could go on boast about the quality and styling of the Mazda, it seems like Honda have caught up on both fronts with the new generation. So with little or few things bettering the Honda, the now-dated Mazda 3 has no chance here. 

Being one of the most loved cars in the states, the world over for that matter, there is no voting against the 2023 Honda Civic Sedan. In the second model year of its eleventh generation, this affordable compact sedan is more appealing than it ever has been, tracing the original roots of being simple and usable, packed into a shell that now pleases a wider spectrum of audiences. The Civic has always been a car that had the best compromise of price, space, economy, practicality, and equipment which it still continues to offer that way, only setting new benchmarks this time around. So, if you want an affordable daily runner, the new, all-time best Civic, should be one of your primary choices.