History/Overview
The Civic started out as a hatchback in the 1970s, but in its modern iteration, the sedan is the most popular body style. That's reflected in the sedan's range of trims, which offers the most variety of any Civic variant.
What's New / Key Changes from Last Year
For 2020, certain trims gain new standard features, which we've detailed below.
Available Trims
Honda offers the Civic sedan in DX, LX, EX, Sport, Touring and Si trims. The first four use a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine, while Touring and Si get a turbocharged 1.5L that is tuned for extra power in Si form.
DX, LX and Si are standard with a six-speed manual transmission. Optional in LX and standard in EX, Sport and Touring is a continuously variable automatic (CVT). Si is not offered with an automatic.
Standard Features
Civic DX standard kit includes 16-inch steel wheels with covers, capless fuel filling, an electric parking brake, heated side mirrors, LED taillights, auto-off headlights, power windows/door locks/mirrors, tilt-and-telescopic steering, six-way driver and four-way front passenger manual seat adjustments, a four-speaker stereo, Bluetooth, and a 5.0-inch audio display. Note that air conditioning is not included.
Standard safety and driver assists are forward collision warning with automatic braking, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, and lane keeping assist.
LX trim gains automatic high beams, HondaLink emergency response, a 7.0-inch digital gauge cluster display, air conditioning with automatic climate control, a split-folding rear seat, heated front seats, an eight-speaker stereo with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and touchscreen controls, and Wi-Fi tethering.
EX trim brings 16-inch alloy wheels, the LaneWatch blind spot display, sunroof, speed-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate control, passive keyless entry, an eight-way power driver's seat, and a leather-trimmed steering wheel.
Sport trim gets new cloth/leatherette seat upholstery as standard. Other features in this package are 18-inch wheels, and fog lights.
Civic Touring adds LED fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, navigation, a garage door opener, wireless smartphone charging, a power front passenger seat, heated rear seats, leather upholstery, and a 10-speaker stereo with HD radio and satellite radio.
Finally, for 2020, the top-end Si model adds the full suite of Honda Sensing active safety and driver assist items. It also gains LED fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror with integrated garage door opener. Si-specific items are a limited-slip differential, a sport mode, a rear wing spoiler.
Fuel Economy
Honda's fuel consumption figures for the Civic sedan are 9.3/6.5 L/100 km (city/highway) with the six-speed manual transmission and 2.0L engine. 2.0L/CVT models are rated 7.9/6.1 L/100 km, except for Sport trim, whose estimates are 8.2/6.5. Touring trim's figures are 7.8/6.2 L/100 km, and the Si is rated at 8.9/6.4.
Competition
The sedan is the Civic variant that faces the most direct competition. The Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai Elantra are key contenders, but Nissan's Sentra, the Volkswagen Jetta and Chevrolet Cruze, the Kia Forte and Subaru's Impreza also draw a lot of compact car shoppers' eyes.
Civic Si shoppers may also look at the Hyundai Elantra Sport, VW Jetta GLI, and the Kia Forte GT turbo.
