The beginning of the 1970’s in the world’s biggest car market, North America, the best opportunity emerged for JDM automakers to prove themselves with their small size low fuel consumption vehicles. Honda Civic relying on its tiny engine made a name for itself in that harsh period. Through time, Honda Civic got bigger and sportier, both of which helped it to become more popular among JDM enthusiasts. Now the Civic models fill in the gap between subcompact Honda City and midsize Honda Accord.
Honda Civic is now experiencing its tenth generation, more refined and more popular than ever. Three total body styles including sedan. Coupe and hatchback is offered for the Honda Civic in North America which adds to the excitement of the model name.
Honda Civic grew in size to better meet the global requirements of each target market especially USA. Therefore Civic fits the compact car segment since the year 2000. But its general dimensions based on global automotive standards makes Honda Civic Sedan to sometimes fit the small-end mid-size car category. Yet the coup Honda Civic is still considered as compact car.
There are various engine options available for global market Honda Civic including one 1.6L I4 turbo diesel with a 9 speed AT but for the USA, all engines are gasoline Inline-4s. one 1.5L Turbocharged engine is rated in three different rating as 174, 180 and 205 hp, 162, 177 and 192 lb.ft depending on boost pressure and trim level respectively.
One 2.0L atmospheric is also available rated at 158 hp and 138 lb ft. one engine level would be left to the most powerful version of the Hondo Civic which we will be back on it in no time.
Transmission choices for tenth generation Hondo Civics available in USA are either a 6 speed manual or an M-CVT with manual paddle shifter behind the steering wheel.
The most powerful performance based Honda Civic version is the hot hatch named Type-R. this sporty version uses the 2.0L turbocharged engine as the most powerful engine offered on the tenth generation Honda Civic with 23.2 psi of boost rated at 306 hp and 295 lb.ft which is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission with Rev-Match control to give away a fast and smooth gear shifting experience along with the limited slip differential.
The sportiest Honda Civic Type-R delivers great deal of excitement while keeps good fuel consumption ratings as 22 mpg city, 18 mpg highway and a combined mpg of 25 which is respectable. Unlike most rival models even from JDM automakers, Hondo Civic Type-R is a lovely combination of performance, drivability and efficiency, each is delivered based on driving habits of the owner.
In 2019 and 2020 Honda won Kelley Blue Book’s “Best Buy: Compact Car” and Edmunds buyers “Most wanted” awards for almost all trim level sedan, coupe, hatchback and Type-R models. Apparently Honda did not need diverse variety of awards to prove that Civic is indeed the most exciting JDM model name from compact car segment.
Civic is the second best-selling vehicle from Honda in USA car market right behind CR-V. Its popularity is derived from its diversity because there are enough trims and body style along various powertrain to fulfill every person’s ideal driving habits. The starting MSRP for Honda Civic lineup offered in North America starts 20,650 USD for the LX Sedan and goes up to 36,995 USD for the performance Type-R trim, before any options are considered.