Used 2021 Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is among the most recommendable small cars you can buy. A regular Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award winner, the Civic has a sterling history of reliability, high resale value, practicality, safety, and efficiency. Honda’s compact car is even cheerful and fun to drive.

The 2021 Honda Civic lineup spans a wide variety, further making it a star among rivals like the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Sentra, and Mazda3. While Honda has dropped the coupe model (it represented only 6 percent of sales), the Civic can be had as a sedan or versatile hatchback. It also offers multiple engine choices and either a CVT automatic or crisp manual transmission. The sporty Civic Si model is taking the year off for 2021, though you may be able to still score a 2020 model. Also in the offering is the track-worthy Civic Type R hatchback.

All 2021 Civic models have the excellent Honda Sensing suite of safety features, and most include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. An all-new 2022 Honda Civic is slated to arrive next year, but this current-gen model is still on top of its game.

More pragmatic versions of the 2021 Civic deliver a fine ride quality to tackle daily duties, mixed with sufficient body control to make cornering at least a little fun. Base models powered by the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine are quite energetic, especially when the 6-speed manual transmission is in the mix.

The turbocharged 1.5-liter engine is even more pleasurable yet still easy on gas. Unfortunately, a turbocharged engine often means a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). While Honda’s unit is good for a CVT, it’s still not as sporty as driving a stick. Yet if you’re among the few drivers who still prefer three pedals, know that the Civic Hatchback can be had with the 1.5-liter turbo and a 6-speed manual. It’s an excellent combination.

Perhaps the best thing about the Civic is just how easy it is to live with and drive, and how adaptable it is to your needs. Whether you’re in college and simply need a reliable sedan to scoot around town or you’re a Gen Xer going against the SUV grain with the Civic Hatchback, this Honda proves remarkably satisfying.

The Type R, powered by a turbo 2.0-liter with 306 horsepower, isn’t just a sporty Civic; it’s a seriously potent corner carver that can give a supercar a serious challenge down a twisty road. KBB has spent a day lapping a Civic Type R on a local racetrack, and the car wowed us with its its speed, its grip, its cornering composure, and its ability to withstand hours of hot-lapping.

This generation of Civic, the 10th, has evolved the notion of a compact car to the point where virtually everything is well considered. That means ergonomics is spot-on, providing comfort and ease of use for drivers of most shapes and sizes.

Base LX models make do with a simple 5-inch LCD screen. Most buyers will be better off with the 7-inch touchscreen that is easier to see and has Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration.

The Civic’s interior space remains noteworthy in the compact-car class. Rear legroom in the sedan is an impressive 37.4 inches. Trunk space of 15.1 cubic feet in the regular sedan is commodious, on a par with several midsize sedans. The Civic Hatchback also does well with 25.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 46.2 cubic feet when they’re folded down. We love its ingenious use of a cargo cover: Instead of moving forward and back, it slides side to side, which we think is less frustrating than the usual way.

The Civic Type R interior is highlighted by high-bolstered sport seats covered in a grippy red and black material that looks like suede and has double-red stitching.

Driving at night, it’s easy to tell when there’s a new Civic up ahead, the C-shaped taillight design is so distinctive. This description could apply to the Civic as a whole. We think the Civic is sleek and daring enough to stand out, but not so much that it’s offensive.

The hatchback model is differentiated by its bulbous rear end, high-mounted spoiler, and oversized fake vents on the rear bumper. Sport and Sport Touring hatchbacks further stand out with dual exhaust outlets. Again, from here out, the Civic will be a sedan or hatchback. The Civic Coupe’s production ends with the 2020 model.

The Civic Type R, with its big rear wing, looks like the sporty car it is. A new Limited Edition model for 2021 has Phoenix Yellow paint, forged BBS alloy wheels, stickier tires and sportier suspension tuning.

HONDA SENSING
Standard on all 2021 Civics, this array of safety and driver aids includes forward-collision mitigation with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, road-departure mitigation, and automatic high beams. To avoid stalling, manual models do not include low-speed follow and will deactivate around 20 mph if the driver doesn’t downshift.

APPLE CARPLAY/ANDROID AUTO SMARTPHONE INTEGRATION
As we all become more connected, this feature grows in importance. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto give the driver access to navigation, music, apps, and text messages through the infotainment system without having to fumble with their phone. It’s standard on all but base Civic LX models.

At its most basic, the 2021 Civic LX sedan includes a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with automatic transmission, the Honda Sensing suite of safety features, 16-inch wheels, automatic climate control, and LED daytime running lights. The LX’s infotainment system is pretty basic – a 5-inch color screen with Bluetooth connectivity and USB port, but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Also, in the sedan version of this model, the rear seats don’t fold, but they do in the hatchback version.

Most buyers will want to step up to a Sport trim or higher. The Sport model adds a 7-inch touchscreen with CarPlay/Android Auto, leather-wrapped steering wheel, keyless entry, push-button start, upgraded audio system, and the HondaLink system that lets you check on and control certain features of the car remotely from a mobile device.

Besides the go-fast powertrain, brakes, and suspension, other standard equipment on the well-equipped 2021 Honda Civic Type R includes a Performance Monitor that lets the driver keep track of coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure, intake air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and gear position. Drivers also can call up a G-Meter that shows acceleration, braking, and cornering forces, plus another bird’s-eye view that shows vehicle pitch, roll, and yaw.

The usual Honda method of providing more equipment is to make it available in higher trims rather than offer it as extras.

Stepping to the EX gets the turbocharged 1.5-liter engine and CVT, plus LaneWatch (a kind of blind-spot-monitoring system for the passenger side), power moonroof, 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, remote start, and satellite radio. EX-L adds leather upholstery, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and HomeLink universal garage remote. In hatchback models

At the top of the 2021 Honda Civic lineup is the Touring model (called Sport Touring for the hatch). It adds a 10-speaker/450-watt premium audio system, satellite navigation with traffic information, 4-way power passenger seat, LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, and heated rear seats. Civic Hatchback Touring models can be optioned with a manual transmission in lieu of the standard automatic.

The Civic Type R isn’t available with many options, but it can be ordered with a $3,673 package that includes a carbon-fiber wing and hood scoop.

With no 2021 Honda Civic Si being made, only two engine choices are available for simplified Civic lineup. LX and Sport sedan models use a 158-horsepower 2.0-liter 4-cylinder. All versions of the hatchback and EX, EX-L, and Touring models of the sedan get a smaller but turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder that makes 174 horsepower. Sport and Sport Touring hatchbacks with a manual transmission get a slight horsepower bump to 180, and more torque: 177 lb-ft vs. the standard 162 lb-ft.

Most Civics come standard with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that does a good job mimicking a traditional automatic. The sedan Sport trim and Sport and Sport Touring trims of the Civic hatch are available with a 6-speed manual that is an absolute delight to use.

As for the seriously sporty Civic Type R, it’s powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that sends 306 horsepower to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission (with automatic rev-matching) and a standard limited-slip differential. An automatic transmission is not available in the Type R.

The 2021 Civic is front-wheel drive, just like all other competitors in this class except for the Subaru Impreza that has all-wheel drive standard and the Mazda3, where it’s optional.

2.0-liter inline-4
158 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm
138 lb-ft of torque @ 4,200 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 30/38 mpg (LX sedan), 29/37 mpg (Sport sedan)

1.5-liter turbocharged inline-4
174 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
162 lb-ft of torque @ 1,700-5,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 32/42 mpg (EX, EX-L sedan), 30/38 mpg (Touring sedan), 31/40 (LX, EX, EX-L hatchback, automatic), 29/37 mpg (Sport, Sport Touring hatchback, manual), 29/35 mpg (Sport, Sport Touring hatchback, automatic)

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4
306 horsepower @6,500 rpm
295 lb-ft of torque @ 2,500-4,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 22/28 mpg  (Type R)