Its name is longer than its wheelbase! Honda’s award-winning 2025 lineup of Civics spans 10 different models and begins with the $25,000 LX, so no surprise that the other end of the trim range is a car with the most syllables in its handle — the $35,000 Sport Touring, which has a new-to-the-Civic gas-electric hybrid drivetrain. 

Hybrid drive is part of the Civic’s Sport package, which is a tip of the hat to the fact that even mild electrification provides extra acceleration. The gas-electric Civic has a 2-litre 4-cylinder engine rated for 141 horsepower and 134 pound-feet of torque plus an electric motor that raises the total output to 200 horses and 232 torques. In a small car, even one lugging around an extra motor and battery, this is ample. Only the front wheels are driven. 

The continuously variable automatic transmission—which drives just like a normal automatic—has shift paddles behind the steering wheel that can provide three degrees of regenerative braking (but not one-pedal driving) and, in Sport mode, will hold “gears” until the driver shifts manually.

Today, any well-equipped new vehicle that costs less than 40 grand feels like a bargain, and the deluxe Civic so qualifies. The list of Sport Touring features is long indeed, but it lacks a heated steering wheel. Why is this not included with the heated and power-adjustable front seats, the leather trim, the power moonroof, Bose stereo, wireless connectivity, spacious and well-thought-out center console and handsome cabin? I sneered at the first heated steering wheels, decades ago, but now get cranky if I can’t toast my frigid fingers on one.

Honda doesn’t overlook things and this is a hybrid, so is this a nod to fuel efficiency? Heat generated by electrical resistance is energy-intensive, after all, and perhaps an engineer in a warmer climate drew the line: Seat heat is non-negotiable, s/he might have thought, but aha, I’m going to save some watts here!

The Civic is smaller than a Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata, so we might expect better fuel economy than the hybrid versions of those midsize sedans achieve, but it ain’t necessarily so. The hybrid Civic’s EPA rating is 48 MPG, highway and city, but we averaged about 42 miles per gallon—in frigid temperatures, it must be said, and sometimes on snowy roads. 

(Weather aside, size and mass generally do impact fuel usage, but there are exceptions. The original gas-powered SmartCar, for example, tiny by anyone’s standards, looked like it should knock off at least 75 miles to the gallon, but it was only good for about half that. I reckon this was a large part of why it failed in the market.) 

The Civic’s comprehensive Honda Sensing package includes more than a dozen active and passive safety features ranging from parking sensors and adaptive cruise control to any number of beeps, chimes and other warnings of impending doom. Previous Civics allowed the driver to turn off the Lane Keeping Assist, but until I figure out how to do it here, this Civic keeps tugging at the wheel when I stray near a lane marking. As an aging Boomer who learned to pay attention while driving, I resent this; Gen Y and Z drivers, with phones grafted to their hands, may appreciate it.

There is much to be said for a high-value compact hatchback that so well suits two adults, packs considerable cargo and is so comfortable, civilized and well equipped. Honda never overlooks the dynamics, either. The Civic has always been a rewarding car to drive (especially the hard-core Type R) and this Sport Touring package includes four drive modes (Econ, Normal, Sport, Individual) that let us tailor the dynamics to however we feel on a given day. 

These dynamics, plus the overall quality of Honda vehicles, led to the award I mentioned at the top. For the 11th time, Car and Driver has named the Civic to its annual 10Best list, writing, “The breadth, depth, and sheer excellence from top to bottom of the Civic lineup is unmatched.”

Next week: Acura MDX Type S