If you are looking to buy one of the best first cars for your daily commutes, the 2019 Honda Civic should be on top of your list. The Civic nameplate sits between the Fit hatchback and the midsize Accord. Although it is available in different body styles including sedan, coupe, and hatchback, we will primarily be discussing the 2019 Honda Civic sedan in this review. Before we move toward our review, let us first see what Honda changed for 2019.
New Honda Civic Sedan for 2019
The 2019 Civic comes equipped with Honda Sensing Safety suite as standard. It has also got a Sport trim, which sits between the standard LX and EX. The automaker gave the new model a refreshed look with lower front fascia. The Touring model now sports 18-inch alloy wheels.
Trim Levels
Honda offers five trim levels namely LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring. The car comes with a 5.0-inch infotainment screen, a rearview camera, Bluetooth, cloth upholstery and keyless entry as standard. Moreover, it offers LED headlights, a 7.0-inch touchscreen on higher trims, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The high-end version may encompass leather upholstery, heated front, and rear seats, USB ports, built-in navigation, an upgraded audio system, and power-operated front seats.
Going into the details of each trim, the LX has 16-inch steel wheels, LED running lights, automatic climate control, and a height-adjustable driver’s seat. Electronics facilities consist of a 5-inch central display screen, a rearview camera, Bluetooth, and a four-speaker sound system with a USB port. The Honda Sensing safety package features adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and keeping assist, road departure mitigation, automatic high beams, and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking.
The Sport trim has everything the LX offers, plus, 18-inch alloy wheels, foglights, a center-outlet dual exhaust, aerodynamic bodywork, 60/40-split folding rear seatbacks, a rear center armrest with cupholders, sport pedals, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, dynamic guidelines for the rearview camera, keyless ignition and entry with remote start, a 7-inch touchscreen interface with Honda Link, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and an eight-speaker audio system with dual USB ports.
The turbocharged CVT EX-trim includes most the Sport’s trim tech facilities plus a sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, Honda’s LaneWatch blind-spot camera, heated side mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat and satellite radio.
The EX-L adds leather upholstery, a power-adjustable passenger seat, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. The Touring improves on the EX-L and gives you 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, automatic wipers, paddle shifters, heated rear seats, and a 10-speaker audio system. Moreover, it uses the integrated navigation system as standard.
Performance
The 2019 Civic sedan retains the same 2.0-liter I-4 engine as available in the previous model creating 158 hp and 128 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a standard six-speed manual or an optional CVT. Customers looking for more oomph will be happy to opt for a 1.5-liter turbo-four. This engine comes standard on the hatchback and Si models. The performance figures with this engine for the 2019 Honda Civic are not available yet but we do know that previous model was delivering 174 hp and 162 lb-ft, and it might be same for this year too. Talking about the previous performance numbers, the Si turbo yields 205 hp while the most powerful Type R generates 306 hp.
Safety
No doubt, the 2018 Honda Civic is a safe car as it got a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA. Similarly, the IIHS rating was exceptional with a Good score in crashworthiness tests and a Superior score in the front crash prevention test. Both Good and Superior are the best scores in their respective categories. The safety institutes still could not test the 2019 Honda Civic but knowing the model comes equipped with the Honda Sensing Suite means we can bet on its safety standards. The Sensing suite brings forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and road departure mitigation. The customer opting for the high-end versions will be able to enjoy the Honda LaneWatch system.
Fuel Economy
The 2018 Honda Civic delivers 31/40/34 mpg with the non-turbo 2.0-liter inline-4 while the 1.5L Turbo is rated at 32 mpg city, 42 highway, 36 combined. These figures are for CVT. The manual versions deliver 1 mpg less than the figures of CVT. Sorry, again the tested figures for 2019 Honda Civic are not available yet, however, we feel these will be similar to the 2018 model as the powertrain remains the same.
Features
The 2019 Honda Civic costs $20,345, which is $500, more than the 2018 model. For the additional price, Honda has provided us a suite of active safety tech as standard. The suite includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control. While this is great news, customers now cannot opt for the six-speed manual transmission with the 1.5L turbo engine.
Customers who will replace the manual transmission with the continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the LX trim has to dish out $21,145, which is $800 more than the previous year.
Customers who pay $1,700 extra for the Civic Sport can now replace the 5.0-inch display for a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 18-inch wheels, keyless ignition, and a number of appearance upgrades. You can purchase Sport trim with either manual or CVT.
The highest trim in the lineup, the Civic Touring will set you back for $28,195 providing you 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, navigation, and some other facilities.
Comfort
Talking about the comfort and quality, experts have rated it high for its spacious cabin and roomy rear seats. All the controls are within easy reach of the driver. The front seats can be adjusted for the comfort of all individuals, while the EX-L and Touring variants come with a power-adjustable driver seat with leather upholstery. As said earlier, the rear-seats offer easy to access thanks to the legroom of 37.4 inches. The cargo space is ample too with 15.1 cubic-feet.
Styling
The 2019 Honda Civic features a bold exterior and attractive interior. Although there are subtle differences in different body configurations, the most striking among them is the Civic sedan. Yes, some people may not be able to differentiate between sedan and hatchback at first. The coupe version is the most fashionable of all with hatchback being the least attractive. Inside, we find Civic using the traditional approach offering a wide center console and a number of pockets and bins. The 5.0-inch screen appears very little on the dash (for LX trim only), however, 7.0-inch touchscreen looks better.
Likes
- Offer good value for the money
- Wonderful drive and control
- Inspiring turbo engine
- Excellent fuel efficiency
- Excellent safety record
Dislikes
- The standard engine is not very impressive
- Some competitors are offering cheaper cars
Conclusion
According to Edmunds, the 2019 Civic is not very different from the previous model in a good way. It has a better front fascia, an updated infotainment interface, and comes with Honda Sensing suite as standard. This new safety bundle takes it one more step ahead than its competitors do. Yes, we have some prominent rivals like Mazda 3, Subaru Impreza and Kia Forte but they all fall behind when it comes to feature content, comfort and driving entertainment.
