The regular Honda Civic range has gone hybrid-only, and added a new entry-level variant. Can its high-quality cabin and driving refinement justify the $49,900 price?
2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L
Since the nameplate debuted 52 years ago, there have been plenty of not-so-good Honda Civics.
Spoiler alert: this isn’t one of them. It’s one of the most well-rounded and satisfying-to-drive new cars on sale today.
That’s a big claim, and one we’ll explore in this review. The latest-generation Honda Civic was introduced in 2021, with less polarising (but arguably more handsome) styling than its predecessor, a more modern cabin, and sharper driving dynamics.
For 2025, it has received a facelift, with a tweaked look, new features, and – Type R hot hatch aside – the standardisation of hybrid power across the model range.
Read on to find out what makes the latest Civic so good.
How much is a Honda Civic?
When the latest Civic generation arrived in 2021 in a single VTi LX specification priced from $47,200 drive-away – $16,000 more than the cheapest version of the old model – it raised no shortage of eyebrows.
And when the e:HEV LX hybrid arrived 12 months later at an even higher price – $55,000 drive-away – it didn’t help the cause.
For 2025, both non-Type R Civic variants are now hybrids, but a new entry e:HEV L grade has been added for $49,900 drive-away – on test in this review – below the now-$55,900 drive-away e:HEV LX.
It’s clear the Civic has not moved too far from the price position set by the latest generation a few years ago. But its rivals have moved up in price, such that Honda’s small car is now in the same league.
The top-of-the-range turbo Kia K4 sedan (the Cerato replacement) is $46,990 drive-away nationwide, a flagship Mazda 3 Astina or mid-spec VW Golf Style is $48,000 drive-away (depending on the state of registration), and even on special offer, a top-spec Hyundai i30 N Line hatch is $43,990 drive-away nationally.
A Toyota Corolla hybrid hatch tops out at about $43,000 drive-away, admittedly – and you can get cheaper versions of all of those cars, where a tenner under 50 grand is the entry point to the Civic range.
As with all new Hondas, the price is fixed – there is no more haggling, as showrooms are now just sales agents, which are charged a set fee for selling the car as it is Honda head office that now owns the stock.
Only three paint colours are available on the e:HEV L – white, red and dark blue – with the lattermost listed as down to ‘limited stock’ on the Honda website, but at least all three are included in the base price.
Standard features in the e:HEV L include 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 9.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto and Google apps built-in, 10.2-inch instrument display, cloth and leather-look trim, heated front seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, and a 12-speaker Bose stereo.
Equipment missing compared to the flagship grade includes leather-appointed trim, power-adjustable front seats, a wireless phone charger, panoramic sunroof, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
Compared to rivals, there is no 360-degree camera, head-up display, or front-seat ventilation.
MORE: 2025 Honda Civic price and specs
| Key details | 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L |
| Price | $49,900 drive-away |
| Colour of test car | Premium Crystal Red |
| Options | None |
| Rivals | Volkswagen Golf | Hyundai i30 | Kia K4 |
Honda Civic best deals
Find new and used Honda Civics for sale at Drive Marketplace.
Locate your nearest Honda dealer here to take a look at a Civic in the metal, and for the latest information on pricing, specifications, and latest offers applicable to the Honda Civic range, click here.
How big is a Honda Civic?
The latest Honda Civic is one of the larger models in the ‘small car’ category, measuring 4569mm long – about 30cm longer than a Toyota Corolla or VW Golf – 1802mm wide and 1415mm tall.
Note that last dimension, as the Civic cuts a lower, sleeker profile than its key rivals. It’s evident the moment you climb into the car, as the driving position is low, even by hatchback standards. Drivers who appreciate a sporty feel (like us) will love it; those with a bad hip, not so much.
There’s plenty of tilt and reach adjustment in the steering column, the thin-rimmed heated steering wheel feels nice in the hand, and tall drivers have lots of head room and leg room.
Our testers found the front seats supportive and comfortable, with heating – but they’re only manually adjustable, and the bits your body touches are trimmed in cloth (imitation leather is used on the outer bolsters), which feel out of place in a $50,000 hatchback.
The Civic falls back in other areas on equipment. There’s no wireless charger, no ventilated seats, no sunroof, and no head-up display (as you’ll find on a Mazda 3).
But it earns points back in the tactility of the switchgear on offer. The honeycomb air vents look and feel great to use, there’s a satisfying click to the air temperature dials, as with the volume dial, and the interior surfaces have a quality feel. There’s a sophistication and understated style to the cabin design we, and many buyers, appreciate.
Soft materials are used on the doors and upper door panels, though they get hard and scratchy as you move lower down – and we’d like a kneepad on the centre console. But there were no squeaks or rattles in our test vehicle, which is a good sign.
Storage space is modest but not class-leading. The door pockets can fit a bottle, there are two cupholders, and the space ahead of the shifter is handy for phones, but the centre console box and glovebox could both be larger.
Features include heated front seats and steering wheel, two USB-C charging ports, one 12-volt socket, keyless entry and start, and dual-zone climate control.
Taller occupants on par with my 186cm (6ft 1in) tall frame will find enough knee room behind a similarly sized driver to be comfortable, but anyone taller than six feet may start to run short on head room, and toe room under the front seats is limited when they’re set low.
Rear passengers get access to air vents, two USB-C ports, a fold-down armrest with cupholders, and a map pocket on the front passenger seatback (but not the driver’s seatback, weirdly), plus three top-tethers and two ISOFIX anchors for child seats.
Boot space is listed as 409 litres on paper, which already makes it one of the larger cargo areas in the small-car class, but it looks larger in the metal.
The (non-powered) liftback tailgate makes loading large items easy – though there is a bit of a load lip – and there’s a cargo cover that retracts into the side of the boot. You’ll also find a 12-volt socket and a light within the boot, and the floor lifts up to act as a divider for smaller items.
Negatives include no spare wheel – just a tyre repair kit, only useful for smaller punctures – and when the 60:40 split-folding seats are lowered, there is a small hump.
| 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 409L seats up |
| Length | 4569mm |
| Width | 1802mm |
| Height | 1415mm |
| Wheelbase | 2735mm |
Does the Honda Civic have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
The Honda Civic’s 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen is starting to look small in 2025, but it trades outright screen-size wow factor for simple-to-use software, quick responses, and large home-screen icons that are easy to touch while on the move.
For 2025, the software has been updated to include Google features built-in, including Google Maps, Google Assistant, and the Google Play Store for downloading new apps.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included. The former worked reliably once connected, but refused to automatically connect nearly every time we got into the car, requiring a few taps through the menus to manually link to my iPhone and connect CarPlay – or in some cases, disconnect the phone entirely, and re-pair it.
Bluetooth, and AM, FM and digital DAB radio bands are also on offer, plus support for the Honda Connect phone app, which lets you unlock/lock the car remotely, check its location, start the air conditioning, and other features. It’s free for the first three years of ownership.
We appreciate the volume dial, as well as physical buttons for home, back, and music skipping, which allow for easier use and less need to take your eyes off the road for simple interactions.
Ahead of the driver is a 10.2-inch instrument display, which looks contemporary and slick, but doesn’t offer much in the way of customisation, other than the information displayed in the circular binnacles and the accent colour.
The 12-speaker Bose sound system is above average for the class, and delivers strong audio quality without blowing audiophiles’ socks off.
Is the Honda Civic a safe car?
The Honda Civic hybrid is covered by a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on 2022 testing by sister organisation Euro NCAP.
It earned category scores of 89 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 82 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 83 per cent for safety assist technology.
| 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2022) |
| Safety report | ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Honda Civic have?
All non-Type R Honda Civic variants now come with the same level of safety equipment – rather than the former disparity that used to exist between petrol and hybrid models, the former lacking extra airbags and crash-avoidance systems fitted to the latter.
Eleven airbags are standard in the e:HEV L, including rear-side torso, and front-centre airbags previously not included.
It offers a broad range of safety features expected of a small car in 2025, though it lacks some items standard on the latest models, including rear cross-traffic alert technology that can brake for obstacles rather than only detect them. There’s also no 360-degree camera.
In the real world, the Civic’s systems are generally well tuned, with lane-keeping assistance that is not too intrusive, and lane-centring technology that does a good job of staying within the markings around corners.
| At a glance | 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L | |
| Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) | Yes | Includes pedestrian, and junction, night-time awareness |
| Adaptive Cruise Control | Yes | With stop-and-go, low-speed follow, and traffic jam assist |
| Blind Spot Alert | Yes | Alert only |
| Rear Cross-Traffic Alert | Yes | Alert only |
| Lane Assistance | Yes | Lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist |
| Road Sign Recognition | Yes | Includes speed limit assist |
| Driver Attention Warning | Yes | Includes fatigue monitor |
| Cameras & Sensors | Yes | Front and rear sensors, rear-view camera |
How much does the Honda Civic cost to service?
The Honda Civic is covered by the brand’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, plus five years of roadside assistance.
Meet certain requirements through servicing at Honda dealers, and the company will extend both programs to a maximum of eight years.
The first five services are capped at $199 each, amounting to $597 over three visits, and $995 over five.
Service intervals are on the shorter side, however – 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first, compared to the industry standard of 12 months/15,000km – and if you plan to keep your car for more than five years, don’t expect successive services to be as affordable.
It’s still cheaper than all of its key rivals. A Toyota Corolla ZR Hybrid hatch costs $1250 over five years/75,000km – though over 45,000km, if you plan to hit the distance intervals before time intervals, it’s $750.
A Kia K4 GT-Line sedan costs $2435 over five years/50,000km, a Hyundai i30 N Line mild-hybrid hatch costs $1795, and a 1.4-litre Volkswagen Golf quotes $3566 over five years/75,000km.
A year of comprehensive insurance coverage with a leading provider is quoted at $2138, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
The same parameters return a $1705 quote for a Kia K4 GT-Line sedan.
| At a glance | 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L |
| Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
| Battery warranty | Eight years |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km |
| Servicing costs | $597 (3 years) $995 (5 years) |
Is the Honda Civic hybrid fuel-efficient?
As a hybrid, fuel economy is unsurprisingly a highlight of the Civic. Honda claims consumption of 4.2 litres per 100 kilometres in mixed driving, across a remarkable (if achievable) 2.0L/100km in urban areas, or 5.5L/100km on the highway or extra-urban roads.
Over a mix of city, suburban and highway driving – plus some testing of its acceleration and handling – the trip computer returned an indicated 4.8L/100km, which is not too far off the claim.
Honda’s city consumption claim proved unrealistic in our testing, but on one drive in particularly favourable conditions – primarily downhill, at speeds of 60km/h to 80km/h – we got fuel use as low as an indicated 3.2L/100km, which is one of the lowest read-outs we’ve ever seen in a conventional hybrid car on public roads.
The Civic hybrid will accept 91-octane regular unleaded petrol, and a fill of its 40-litre tank will return a 950km driving range if you can achieve Honda’s 4.2L/100km claim.
| Fuel efficiency | 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 4.2L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 4.8L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 40L |
What is the Honda Civic like to drive?
The Honda Civic’s most impressive attribute is the way it drives.
Honda has been building hybrids for as long as Toyota – even if it hasn’t sold as many in Australia – so the 2.0-litre petrol-electric system is smooth and punchy.
The electric motor delivers perky performance off the mark, and keeps the petrol engine switched off in traffic – or even at higher speeds, if there’s enough charge in the battery pack. In subdued driving, the transition from electric to petrol and vice versa is smooth.
Petrol power is called upon when the battery runs low or full acceleration is needed. The engine can be shouty under heavy throttle, and the lack of a turbo means it can need a moment after firing up to reach peak power, but it’s not as intrusive as a Toyota hybrid’s petrol engine.
Paddles behind the steering wheel can be used to adjust the strength of the electric motor’s regenerative braking abilities, but in its default setting it’s well calibrated, and the brake pedal blends regen and the ‘friction’ brake discs seamlessly, if with a hint of grabbiness in traffic.
It makes for a car that, with a full battery, is almost hot-hatch quick. We timed the Civic from zero to 100km/h in seven seconds flat on our satellite timing gear, which is quick for a small car not trying to be a performance model.
The Civic has a sporty demeanour on the road, but it’s not too harsh or uncomfortable to live with.
The suspension is taut, and the 18-inch wheels with low-profile tyres don’t iron out every road imperfection, but it soaks up potholes, speed bumps, and other dimples in the road impressively well.
At higher speeds it’s the same story, feeling sure-footed and settled over undulations on country roads, but not crashing over bumps or jostling passengers around too much.
Drivers are rewarded on a winding road. The steering is light, direct and very intuitively weighted, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres serve up lots of grip, and it has a natural balance through corners that inspires confidence and puts a smile on your face.
Those sporty tyres allowed the Civic to pull up from 100km/h in just 36.4 metres on our timing equipment, an excellent result – especially given our test surface was drying from rain an hour or so earlier.
The trade-off for the grip is a fair amount of tyre roar on coarse-chip country roads, though it’s not as intrusive as some rivals, such as a Kia K4 GT-Line or Toyota Corolla ZR.
The brake pedal is a touch grabby in traffic, but under harder stops it blends regeneration from the electric motor – charging the battery as the car decelerates – and the ‘friction’ brake discs well, with clicky paddles behind the steering wheel to adjust the intensity of the regen braking when you lift off the accelerator pedal.
Visibility is good out of all windows, though the side mirrors aren’t huge.
One complaint: the turning circle is big for a car of this size, more than a metre larger than a Toyota Corolla, and almost as broad as some utes.
| Key details | 2025 Honda Civic e:HEV L |
| Engine | 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol hybrid |
| Power | 135kW @ 5000–6000rpm combined |
| Torque | 315Nm @ 0–2000rpm combined |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Electric continuously variable transmission |
| Power-to-weight ratio | 92.2kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 1465kg |
| Spare tyre type | Tyre repair kit |
| Payload | 515kg |
| Tow rating | None |
| Turning circle | 12.0m |
Can a Honda Civic tow?
No, the Honda Civic hybrid is not rated to tow.
There is also no genuine-accessory roof-rack set available for the car, so any cargo you’d like to carry will need to fit inside the Civic.
The 515kg payload – the maximum mass of passengers, cargo and accessories the car is legally allowed to carry – should be enough for four adults and plenty of luggage, or five humans and not too much in the boot.
Should I buy a Honda Civic?
It’s easy to dismiss the Honda Civic on price alone, but if it fits your budget, it’s a fantastic small hatch that is a pleasure to live with and drive.
It’s spacious and classy inside, offers plenty of user-friendly technology, fun to drive, uses little fuel, and is affordable to service.
The high purchase price will be a turn-off for some buyers – and it can’t match the feature list of rivals at this price – but customers willing to pay the cost of entry will not be disappointed.
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