Honda Civic Review (2011-2015)

What is the Honda Civic?

The small family hatchback class is full of nameplates that go back for decades, with the Volkswagen Golf and the Vauxhall Astra being just two examples, but the Honda Civic has as much heritage as any of them. It first hit the market way back in 1972, there have been no fewer than 11 iterations of the Civic, although for the purposes of this review, we’ll be talking about the ninth-generation car, sold between 2011 and 2016.

Civic number nine dialled back the futuristic design of the mk8 car it replaced, but it aimed to improve on its predecessor’s performance in several other areas, including interior quality. Honda was successful on that score, although to be fair, not much improvement was needed. Many of the materials are impressively high-grade, and they’re assembled with such solidity and attention to detail that you’ll be convinced the car will last forever. Which, being a Honda, it probably will, such is the company’s reputation for reliability.

How practical is it?

Unfortunately, Honda’s targeted improvements in rear visibility were less successful. The split-level rear window, with a spoiler slashing between the two glazed areas, means the rear view is seriously impeded, and a rear wiper that only clears the top half doesn’t help.

The ergonomics should’ve improved a lot more, too. The dashboard and the steering wheel are covered in small, fiddly buttons, while the layout could be more intuitive, and the markings could be clearer. The strange split-level dials also take some getting used to.

There was still plenty to like, though, including the amount of space inside. At 477 litres, the boot was among the biggest the class, and although rear headroom was a little on the snug side, generous legroom means four adults can still travel in comfort. Later, an estate version – named the Civic Tourer – came along that was even more practical than its hatchback sibling, not to mention most other small estates, because it had a 624-litre boot.

What's it like to drive?

Ride comfort was the first targeted area of improvement for the dynamics of the Civic, and the engineers were largely successful. The Civic still wasn’t as cosseting as a Volkswagen Golf of the same era, but it was a vast improvement over its jiggly and unsettled predecessor. The car handles keenly, too, with lots of grip, decent body control and predictable responses, although the remote feel of the steering means it’s not exactly what you’d call fun to drive.

The choice of engines available in the Civic is rather limited, but the range includes a couple of absolute crackers, most notably the smooth and punchy 118bhp 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel that came along in 2012.

Petrol engine choices comprise the 99bhp 1.4- and the 1.8-litre i-VTEC with either 103bhp or 140bhp, and the latter can be had a CVT automatic transmission (the rest are six-speed manuals). Unless your driving is confined solely to the city, we’d stick with diesel in every case, because it’s just so much better than the other engines.

Technology, equipment and infotainment

When it was first launched, the Civic was available in SE, ES, EX and EX GT trim levels. All versions came with alloy wheels, climate control and a USB for hooking up your MP3 player, but if you can afford it, it’s worth upgrading to ES trim for its Bluetooth phone connection, cruise control and reversing camera. If you can find a car with the moniker SE-T or ES-T, it’ll also have satnav specified. The other trims added more luxuries on top, such as leather upholstery and a panoramic roof.

Choose your variant wisely – namely the diesel engine teamed with ES (later SE Plus) trim or higher – and you’ll have yourself a very nice car with a wide breadth of abilities for a very tempting price.

Honda Civic running costs

The 1.6-litre diesel is the star performer in this area, with an official fuel economy figure of more than 78mpg. That was achieved under the old NEDC test cycle, which was even less realistic than today's WLTP standard, so matching this in the real world will be seriously difficult. However, you should be able to achieve 50-60mpg without too much difficulty, which is a fabulous real-world return. That’s about what the bigger 2.2-litre diesel gives you according to official figures, so expect more like 45-50mpg in reality, while the 1.4-litre petrol officially sits at just over the 50mpg mark and the 1.8 sits just below, although further below still when specified with the automatic gearbox. The Type R, meanwhile, can’t beat the 40mpg mark.

Road tax (or Vehicle Excise Duty to give it its proper name) is another reason to go for a diesel engine in your Civic. You’ll pay nothing whatsoever if you go for the super-clean 1.6-litre diesel (although this doesn’t apply if the car was registered after the tax changes on April 1st 2017, in which case it’ll be subject to a £150 annual fee).

Insurance groups for the regular versions of the Civic range between seven and 19 (group one being the cheapest and group 50 being the most expensive), but most versions sit in the mid-teens, so premiums should be reasonably affordable. Predictably, the Type R is a different matter, sitting in group 33 or 34, depending on trim. That’ll mean much steeper premiums, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary compared with other similarly powered hot hatches.

Honda Civic reliability

Honda's hugely impressive record for reliability has been hard-earned and well deserved over many, many years. True, some generations of the Civic haven't quite lived up to the firm's high standards, but this ninth-generation model isn't one of them, and has displayed immense dependability over a number of years.

Want proof of Honda's excellence in this area? Well, What Car?'s 2023 Used Car Reliability Survey, covering cars between six and 20 years old, ranked the Japanese manufacturer in fourth place of the 30 considered in the study. In the Family Car category of the same study (containing 42 entrants), meanwhile, this very generation of the Civic came second when fitted with a petrol engine and fourth when fitted with a diesel. That's pretty compelling stuff.

Of course, the three-year, 90,000-mile warranty will have long since expired, but with a reliability record like this, you can still buy a ninth-generation Civic with confidence.