The Civic is one vehicle Honda can’t get wrong. While some generations are better than others, they’ve always managed to push the compact car envelope in one way or another. That trend continues in the 2022 model. Throughout its history, it has generally followed a pattern of revolutionary redesign followed by more cautious evolution. As the all-new, eleventh-generation model, the 2022 Civic falls into the evolution category. But while the basic ingredients are familiar, the right amount of Honda’s secret sauce has been poured in to make it not just the best compact car on offer today, but one of the best new cars you can buy full stop.
Criticisms were leveled against the all-new Civic’s more conservative styling, but that’s a bit overblown. The exaggerated lines, bulbous venders, and extraneous vents have all made their exit and in their place is honest-to-goodness use of proportion (the fastback roofline’s been retained) and surfacing detail. It’s hard to imagine, but the Civic has all grown up with a cleaner and more upscale look. The new look won’t satisfy those with the urge to go all Type Ricer on their cars, but for people who like to keep things stock, there’s not a line wrong.
The same direction of going all clean and mature continues inside. In a segment filled with surprisingly impressive interiors, the Civic delivers. The dashboard is tastefully modern. Plus, it looks and feels like it belongs in a much pricier car. High praise is extended to the tactile switchgear that all click satisfyingly. The dash-width air vents with their honeycomb openings and metal-like finish are also visually interesting, and has become the defining design trait of this Civic generation. An added bonus is that the air vents are manipulated with tactile knobs that fall into place with a nice detent when pointed in the dead forward position.
That said, despite the Civic’s impressive cabin execution, it can’t seem to escape its economy car origins. The V Turbo, like the S Turbo suffers from the prevalence of hard plastics, especially on the doors. Moreover, Honda misses the mark by not applying even an ounce of leather even for this mid-grade model. The steering wheel is covered in plastic, while the fabric used on the seats and door trim feel thin and easily wearing. Even the City RS feels better in those respects.
As with other Hondas, the Civic scores high in terms of ergonomics. All the controls—from the basic driver controls to the most obscure of buttons are positioned excellently, and in places where you expect to find them. With Honda SENSING standard, the steering wheel contains no less than 13 buttons, and a scroll wheel on the left-side. It looks overwhelming at first, but Honda’s done their homework. The left bank of buttons controls the infotainment—volume, hands-free commands, next/previous track and the multi-information display, while the right bank is exclusively for controlling the advanced driver assist functions. Meanwhile, in front of the driver is a partial digital instrumentation with the speedometer being analog.
At the center is a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The layout is simple and straight to the point (it doesn’t even have a home screen) making it easy to learn and master. The graphics, and more importantly, the response times is a clear upgrade from the slow and laggy system from before. The screen itself is coated to better resist fingerprints and reflections, but kudos to Honda for programming the right knob to double as a scroll wheel too. Additional points for keeping the climate control functions as large, easy to decipher knobs.
In terms of dimensions, the 2022 Civic sticks close to its predecessor. With that, it continues to be the roomiest compact car in the market. In fact, it doesn’t feel like a C-segment sedan anymore with the sheer amount of shoulder and legroom at play. If there’s one issue, it’s that the rear headroom could use some improvement. There are lots of usable cubby holes too, and while the old multi-level bin with its sliding cupholders and tray is gone, it’s missed. Dimensionally, the trunk is smaller as well, but there’s enough space back there to fit the entire family’s luggage for an out-of-town weekend trip.
Speaking about long trips, the Civic promotes a low-set driving position. The seats feel like they lack lumbar support, but they remain comfortable enough even for a three-hour stint behind the wheel. The visibility works out great with the hood in full view, while the thinner A-pillars and re-positioned side mirrors cuts down blind spots tremendously. The tall rear parcel shelf partially obscures the backend, so thankfully, a rear-view camera, but no sensors, is standard.
Tractive effort now comes courtesy of just one engine variant, and it’s a mighty one at that. The turbocharged 1.5-liter features a small bump in horsepower this 2022, but more than that, Honda has worked to reduce the turbo lag and improve mid-range punch. It worked. The engine never feels stressed, and it always feels like it’s got power in reserve. It won’t shove or dig you into your seat; it’s not that sort of sports sedan. Instead, it’s all about having power and torque whenever you need or demand it.
Punchy as the engine is, the sound it makes isn’t something that’ll quicken the pulse. Thankfully, it isn’t too droney thanks to, surprise, the gearbox. Previously, the gearbox was the Achilles’ Heel, but not anymore. It’s smooth in the urban confines, but thanks to a built-in shift logic, surprisingly responsive when flogged. Believe it or not, you’re not missing the paddle shifters or the Sport mode. And after a week’s worth of driving, it returns an impressive 10.63 km/L (average speed of 22 km/h) on 91 RON unleaded.
With structural enhancements, the Civic also exhibits impeccable road manners. Despite running on comfort-oriented 17-inch tires, the steering has this feeling of immediacy that the chassis can cash in. Steering is precise and low effort, but not overly light. It makes for smooth transitioning between corners on a curvy road, and the body feels planted as the load shifts from one side to the other. Flog it hard, and it’ll remain stable and neutral. On straighter pieces of road, the NVH has been improved as well, though some road noises do manage to penetrate into the cabin. In terms of ride, it’s also mighty capable of absorbing all sorts of cracks and potholes. The low 134 mm ground clearance is almost never an issue, except when parking nose in spaces with high bump stops.
Another welcome upgrade is the Honda SENSING suite. While functionalities such as collision mitigation braking weren’t tested for obvious reasons, the adaptive cruise control with lane tracing is quite helpful for long drives. Compared to other systems, this one is smoother and quicker to react. Moreover, it follows cars even at low speeds and even brings you to a complete stop. It also feels adept to local road conditions as it didn’t eek out a single false warning. Shame Honda deleted two airbags, for a total of four, to cut the price down.
Without a doubt, the Honda Civic remains the gold standard in its class. Thanks to a big glow-up this year, it has managed to successfully stave off the competition. Not only does it debut a more grown-up appearance, a refined cabin design (except for the lack of leather), and a longer list of new features, but most important of all, the mechanical foundations are solid. Honda’s tradition of making mechanically impressive vehicles continues here, and that makes the Civic pretty hard to beat no matter how you put it.
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2022 Honda Civic V Turbo Honda SENSING CVT |
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Collision Mitigation Braking Lane Keep Assist Lane Departure Warning Road Departure Mitigation Lead Car Departure Notification |
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Stereo USB Bluetooth |
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Apple CarPlay Android Auto |
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Keyword: Review: 2022 Honda Civic V Turbo