Honda Australia has confirmed the Civic hatch will follow the Accord sedan in moving to an all-hybrid line-up – excluding the Type R – which also receives exterior tweaks and new tech for 2025.
The 2025 Honda Civic hatch has been announced for Australia with a hybrid-only line-up – excluding the Type R hot hatch.
Due in Australian showrooms “soon”, the facelifted Honda Civic range will include a new E:HEV L variant to replace the existing non-hybrid VTi LX, while the E:HEV LX flagship grade will continue.
It follows the Honda Accord sedan, which moved to an all-hybrid line-up when a new-generation model launched in Australia in May 2024.
Hybrid versions of the Civic combine a 2.0-litre non-turbo four-cylinder engine with two electric motors, one used to directly power the wheels, and the other as a ‘generator’ spun by the petrol engine to charge the high-voltage battery.
Combined outputs are rated at 135kW and 315Nm – up from 134kW/240Nm in the standard non-hybrid VTi LX model – sent to the front wheels through a single-speed “fixed gear” transmission.
Fuel consumption for current Civic E:HEV variants is rated at 4.2 litres per 100km on the combined cycle – almost matching the 4.0L/100km rating of the hybrid-only Toyota Corolla hatch.
Full details – including prices – for the updated Civic range will be announced closer to its local arrival, however, it has been confirmed it will be the next Honda model to feature the latest version of its Honda Connect telematics system.
The 9-inch infotainment touchscreen will move to Android-based software introduced with the Accord, with Google Built-In services including Google Assistant, Google Maps, and the Google Play Store app store.
Exterior revisions include a revised front bumper and grille, aerodynamic improvements, a new Seabed Blue finish, and an E:HEV LX-exclusive Sonic Grey colour borrowed from the Type R.
A new-look 18-inch alloy wheel design is also expected in Australia to match E:HEV hybrid versions of the facelifted Civic sold in its Japanese domestic market.
Features unique to the hybrid Civic include traffic sign recognition, additional airbags – front-centre and rear seat side-throax – and rear seatbelt reminders, which allowed it to receive a five-star ANCAP rating under 2022 standards.
Non-hybrid versions of the Civic hatch are unrated in Australia due to these specification differences – including the Type R.
It is unclear where the new E:HEV L variant will be positioned compared to the non-hybrid VTi LX model it replaces, which launched at $47,200 drive-away in December 2021 and has remained available at the same price since.
The pre-update Civic E:HEV LX variant is offered at $55,000 – making it around $10,000 dearer than a top-of-the-range Toyota Corolla ZR hatch, including on-road costs.
Honda Australia told Drive in May 2024 it plans to expand hybrid availability across several model line-ups – which started with a cheaper hybrid version of the HR-V small SUV launched in October, and now the hybrid-only Civic hatch.
More-affordable hybrid versions of the Honda ZR-V and Honda CR-V mid-size SUVs – the brand’s biggest sellers in Australia – are expected to arrive in 2025.
VFACTS new-car sales data reveals 830 examples of the Honda Civic have been sold in Australia between January and September 2024.
The current E:HEV LX accounts for 324 of those sales – for a 39 per cent share – compared to 506 non-hybrid models, including the Type R.
In its ‘small car over $40,000’ segment, the Civic has been outsold by the MG 4 (3772), the Audi A3 (2224), the Volkswagen Golf (1902), the Subaru WRX (1745), the Mercedes-Benz A-Class (1625), and the GWM Ora (901).
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