2025 Honda Civic 4D Hybrid Sport Touring - Review by David Colman +VIDEO

A Mild Mannered Exterior Hides the Soul of a Track Racer

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL

If Honda continues to sell its Civic Hybrid in the USA for its current price of $32,845, American consumers will buy it as fast as Honda can produce it. However, since this particular Civic is built in Alliston, Ontario (Canada) from engine and transmission assemblies constructed in Japan, it could soon be subject to a 25% tariff. That would bump the sticker price to $41,056. While that may still constitute an acceptable deal for some buyers, the bargain lure of its pre-tariff cost is forever lost.

From the outside, dressed in Urban Gray Pearl paint, the elongated Civic Touring is the Car in the Gray Flannel Suit. If inconspicuous is your aim, this one's your game. But once you climb behind the wheel, and flick this deceptive little curve hugger through a few tight bends, you'll realize that milquetoast Clark Kent's Civic is really, in fact, Supersedan.

Numbers don't lie, and the results the Civic Hybrid posts for the 0-60 mph run (6.2 seconds) and the standing start quarter-mile (14.9 seconds at 92mph) are unexpectedly dazzling for this class of economy sedan. It is, in fact, faster than the current Civic Si and only beaten by the race-ready Civic Type R. When you bury the throttle on a freeway on-ramp, the Hybrid rockets noiselessly from a dead stop to merge speed without the need to fiddle with a single gear change. Honda uses a Direct Drive transmission that continuously doles out power to the front wheels as needed. While paddles at the steering wheel help fine-tune engine performance, you'll rarely resort to using them. Just keep a sharp eye on the speedo because you'll always be going faster than you think.

In the course of photographing this Civic's engine compartment, I was flummoxed by the hood release. After several minutes trying to decipher the protocol, I gave up and consulted the Owner's Manual. Believe it or not, there was no listing for "Hood." So I checked for "Trunk" and found three listings. Returning to the car I invested another 5 minutes fumbling around for the unseen, unfelt latch before finally succeeding. Ten minutes later, I stumbled on a header in the Owner's Manual titled "Opening the Hood." Now exactly who looks under "O" for Opening when they need help? Are these the same people who look under "C" for Closing the Hood?

Under that recalcitrant sheet of metal lay a Hybrid masterpiece, consisting of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas motor boosted by the addition of two electric motors for a combined output of 200 hp and 232 lb.-ft. of torque. For comparison purposes, that output tops the gas-only base model Civic LX sedan by 50 hp. At the other end of the Urban Gray Honda torpedo lay a spacious 15 cubic foot trunk, which proved a lot easier to open than the hood thanks to a dedicated button on the key fob remote.

The interior of the Sport Touring cabin provides a pair of exceptionally supportive front seats, both trimmed in leather, with the driver treated to 8-way power adjustment, plus 4-way automation for the passenger. Matching leather wraps the multi-function steering wheel and the shift knob. Opting for the Sport Touring level of refinement also graces this Civic with a 12-speaker Bose Premium Audio System and a 9-inch color touchscreen with multi-view rear camera. The camera is almost redundant because all-around visibility from the driver's seat is surprisingly good. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is dual-zone climate control - thankfully operated by 3 large knurled knobs front and center on the dashboard face.

The Sport Touring's 18 x 8J alloy wheels are fully sized considering the sedan's modest curb weight of 3,225 pounds. These rims are shod with 235/40R18 Continental ProContact all-season radials carrying a long-life durability rating of TW 400. Frankly, I didn't expect a high level of grip from this rubber, but I was pleasantly surprised at the Conti's tenacity on challenging back roads. In fact, when I slipped the 4-Mode Drive System from Normal to Sport, the switch does much more than just illuminate the touchscreen and instruments with glowing red illumination. Instantly, the steering feedback felt nailed down and ever-so-precise. Honda engineers have managed to turn this family sedan into a sport sedan with steering wheel feedback worthy of a small-bore formula race car.

Looking at this modestly appointed package from the outside, you would never expect that it conceals the soul of a track racer. Buy one for its current (but tariff-imperiled) asking price, and you will score one of the most affordable and responsive five-seat sedans on the market today.

2025 HONDA CIVIC 4DOOR HYBRID SPORT TOURING

• ENGINE: 2.0 liter inline-4, DOHC, 16-valve plus 2 AC Motors and 1.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack
• HORSEPOWER: 200hp
• TORQUE: 232lb.-ft.
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 50MPG City/47MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $32,845

HYPES: Unexpectedly Quick and Agile

GRIPES: Bossy Lane Deviation Pushback

STAR RATING: 9 Stars out of 10 ©2025 David E Colman