Honda Civic 0-60 times

More than 40 years after its launch, the Civic remains to be Honda’s most reliable and economical compact vehicle. It’s available in three forms: as a coupe, sedan or hatchback with the wagon being offered in earlier generations. The front wheel drive compact features a 4-cylinder engine with the fuel-efficient hybrid or high-performance variants available for those who wish to go for different powertrains.

The 1.5-liter engine churns out about 180 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. While these may not win any powerhouse prizes, the CVT-equipped Sports hatchback beats the manual edition by 0.1 seconds when hitting the 60mph mark. This is thanks to the premium fuel which Honda highly recommends for the Sport. This tiny and acceptable delay in the manual may be due to its double shift when handling the job.

The manual does, however, beat the CVT in many other acceleration aspects. It covers a quarter of a mile in 15.2 seconds at 94mph – 0.2 sooner than the CVT automatic – and reaches 100mph 1.5 seconds earlier. The shifting experience is, however, quite pleasurable, making it easy to forgive the manual for being 0.1 seconds late in the 60mph mark contest. The charming light shifts and intelligently-placed pedals allow for a seamless drive through all terrain.

The Civic is quite comfortable, delivering a settled and flawless ride thanks to its regular ‘passive’ suspension. This helps the vehicle to avoid getting caught up too badly by potholes. The passive suspension system is, however, not equipped in the EX, Prestige and Sport Plus trims.

The posher trim levels have adaptable dampers which allow for suspension adjustment by the touch of a button. A softer setting allows for the smooth handling of road imperfections while a firmer mode gives the driver a more realistic feel of what’s underneath.

The interior isn’t that impressive, but the Civic does feature a solid and well-placed dashboard with fewer soft-touch plastics. It also comes with rotary dials for climate control which are pleasingly weighty and deliver on twisting.

All Civic versions come with 60/40 split-folding rear seats that lie parallel with the boot floor once folded. They, however, don’t recline or slide back and forth. There are also no folding front passenger seats to allow for the transportation of long items. Honda has also done away with the Civic’s cinema-style Magic back seats which allowed for extra storage at the back.

The hatch features 18-inch wheels in its sports trims. This is quite enlarged compared to the standard 16s and 17s found in other models. There are, however, lots of unflattering blacked-out body parts which host bright colors such as red. This may seem unnecessary since the sport does look better in darker hues.

The Civic, however, is still an excellent choice that offers consumers value and an unbeatable combination of Honda’s technological innovations and affordability. The dramatically large grille and taillights together with the low vehicle seating may be a bit of an adjustment for those used to taller crossovers.