Some name this design bland, however I name it clear.

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The 2022 Honda Civic continues to set the bar for compact sedans. Extraordinarily well-rounded and simply plain straightforward to love, the Civic presents a complete lot of automotive for not some huge cash. And within the case of this Civic Sport, I am speaking lower than $25,000.

Slotting simply above the bottom Civic LX, the Sport begins at $24,095 together with $995 for vacation spot. This particular check automotive has just a few exterior equipment from the Honda Efficiency Improvement catalog, together with some underbody trim, a decklid spoiler and black badges, all of which add $1,562 to the Civic’s backside line. Me? I might depart ’em on the desk — particularly that massive, cheesy HPD badge to the correct of the license plate.

Even with out the HPD add-ons, the Civic Sport is a horny little four-door. Whereas base Civics get 16-inch wheels and the midrange EX has 17s, the Sport has gloss black 18-inch alloys with 235/40-series all-season tires. LED headlights and taillights are commonplace, and the Sport has gloss-black mirror caps and a chrome exhaust tip, making it look fairly upscale, regardless of being the second-cheapest trim within the Civic vary. I do know lots of people name the brand new Civic’s design boring, however I believe it’s going to age very well.

Inside, the Sport is tremendous good-looking; I like the brand new Civic’s minimalist strategy to inside design. The vent controls have good weight to their motion and click on right into a central place (nice for my OCD), and the mesh insert that runs the size of the sprint neatly hides the air vents. The steering wheel controls are straightforward to function whereas driving and the buttons on the middle console are neatly and logically organized. This is not an inside that’ll wow you with snazzy touches, nevertheless it’s clearly designed to be sturdy over the lengthy haul, placing a higher emphasis on consolation and comfort than outright glitz and glamour.

Head- and legroom are ample for front-seat passengers, and the Civic’s low beltline, lengthy windshield and skinny pillars (a welcome trait from older Hondas) lend to glorious outward visibility. There’s loads of area for folk within the rear, with giant sufficient door openings to make getting out and in curbside a cinch, and everybody’s baggage will match simply high quality within the 14.8-cubic-foot trunk, although in case you’re involved about cargo area, possibly the brand new Civic Hatchback is extra your jam.

The Sport’s material seats are tremendous cozy and the remainder of the inside is top-notch.

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The one draw back to the Civic Sport is that you would be able to’t get all the Touring’s greatest tech. Like the bottom LX and midrange EX, the Civic Sport has a 7-inch shade touchscreen multimedia system, with a rudimentary infotainment package deal that is… effectively, it is high quality. Wired connections for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commonplace, fortunately, even when it appears to be like decidedly dinky on that 7-inch show. The Civic Touring’s bigger 9-inch display is not accessible, neither is its wi-fi smartphone pairing. You’ll be able to’t get Honda’s cool new 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster, both, although LX, Sport and EX trims do have a 7-inch, left-side display within the instrument panel, which defaults to a tachometer however can present all kinds of pertinent information as an alternative.

The excellent news is that the Sport does not skimp on driver-assistance applied sciences, with lane-keeping help, full-speed adaptive cruise management and Honda’s Site visitors Jam Help that mixes the aforementioned capabilities fitted to each Civic as commonplace. Automated high-beams, a rear seat reminder and visitors signal recognition are additionally included, although weirdly, blind-spot monitoring does not turn into accessible till you step as much as the Civic EX, and the Touring provides cross-traffic monitoring to that performance, as effectively.

The bottom 2.0-liter engine is slightly boring, nevertheless it’ll be high quality for many drivers.

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Arguably the most important distinction between the Civic Sport and different fashions is what’s below the hood. Like the bottom LX, the Sport makes use of Honda’s naturally aspirated 2.0-liter I4, with 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque. This engine is sort of pokey, although the constantly variable transmission is refined and effectively behaved, fading into the background more often than not.

Actually, the one factor sporty about this Civic is its identify. The Sport is mechanically equivalent to different Civic fashions, so do not get your hopes up in case you’re searching for a sharp-driving sedan. That is to not say the Civic Sport is in any means disagreeable, nevertheless — it has properly weighted and responsive steering, a composed chassis and assured braking. It will not out-handle a Mazda3, however the Civic is extra entertaining than a Nissan Sentra or Subaru Impreza and extra snug and solid-feeling than a Hyundai Elantra or Toyota Corolla.

Curiously, the Sport is the least-efficient Civic sedan, estimated to return 30 mpg metropolis, 37 mpg freeway and 33 mpg mixed. In combined use throughout per week of driving in Los Angeles, I noticed 32 mpg. That is not horrible, nevertheless it additionally is not nice when you think about the Civic’s optionally available turbocharged engine — accessible within the EX and Touring sedans — is just not solely extra highly effective, however extra environment friendly, too. The Civic EX ups these EPA scores to 33 mpg metropolis, 42 mpg freeway and 36 mpg mixed.

Sport or not, the Civic is a good automotive.

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The true sporty Civic is the upcoming Sport Touring hatchback, which not solely has the 1.5-liter turbo engine, however could be had with a six-speed handbook transmission for max on-road enjoyable. After all, Honda’s additionally engaged on correct Si and Kind R variants of the Eleventh-generation Civic, so keep tuned.

As for the 2022 Civic Sport, it earns excessive marks for its competent on-road manners, spacious and properly appointed inside, excessive degree of ordinary tech and good-looking fashion — all for below $25,000. Not many different new automobiles provide that sort of worth, making the brand new Civic properly poised to carry onto its benchmark crown for years to come back.