The 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid, like its gas-only sibling, is offered in sedan and hatchback. All varieties of the enduring compact were restyled this year so there’s little difference in exterior or interior appearances — except one.
Honda added the five-door hybrid sedan and hatchback option in the 11th generation for the Civic for good reason. The little sedan that does has been the carmaker’s signature success for decades but competitors abound.
It’s the third time Honda has introduced a hybrid Civic. It first debuted in 2003 and was discontinued in 2015. The Insight sedan — based on the Civic and quite similar — was unveiled in 2019 but wasn’t successful and became defunct in 2022. The latest effort is the best.
The country’s first mainstream hybrid, the Toyota Prius, debuted 25 years ago, and it remains a superior choice. Toyota’s related hybrid offering, the Camry, and Hyundai’s Elantra Hybrid, are strong candidates in the segment.
Miscategorized as a compact, the new hatchback is spacious and powerful for its segment. Front and back seats are designed to even accommodate larger adults. The Civic Hybrid’s powertrain consists of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine matched with two electric motors. The configuration combines to produce 200 horsepower. It accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds.
With its hatchback hybrid, Honda also gets a nod in versatility. The Civic sedan has 14.8 cubic feet of cargo space; the hybrid, while tallying a slightly smaller total occupant space, has 24.5 cubic feet of cargo space with the back seat upright. With the back seat extended flat, the cargo area expands to 46.2 cubic feet.
Much of the Civic’s success revolves around value and dependability and, as a result, it has a strong resale reputation. While also gas efficient throughout its tenure, the hybrid option vaults the Civic into a rare category. It’s EPA-rated at 50 miles per gallon in city driving, one of the few remaining vehicles in the U.S. reaching that level. The Civic Hybrid’s 45 mpg on the highway provides the car’s 48 mpg overall number and likewise positions it among the industry’s best.
From the base model to high trims, the Civic’s lineup standard features list is extensive. Adaptive cruise control, heated seats and dual-zone climate control are even included in the base trim.
Features once never available in compact vehicles are also part of top Civic’s top trim appeal: a 12-speaker Bose premium stereo system, HD Radio, satellite radio and navigation.
Safety features are always another Honda strength. The Civic hybrid hatchback list includes: back-up camera, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, pre-collision safety system, post-collision safety system, stability control and a tire pressure warning.
The reviewed Sport Touring trim is a wise choice. For about $3,000 more added features included Google built-in (Google Maps and voice assistant), a nine-inch touch screen, front and rear parking sensors, power-adjustable front seats, wireless device charging and several other upgrades.
With an MSRP of $32,950, the 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid hatchback in its Sport Touring trim has no equal in the industry. It combines value, comfort, versatility and a carmaker-wide strong resale. It costs about $15,000 less than the average price of a new car in the United States.
Honda’s stable of SUVs are all worthy. But the Civic, while not offering the overall cargo space and seating capacity as its bigger siblings, still has plenty of room. It does much of what the carmaker’s cargo-emphasized vehicles do, especially as a hatchback.
Last year, Civic sales increased but were more than a 100,000 units below the top-selling year of nearly 378,000 in 2017. Still, it was the country’s 10th best-selling vehicle. Its status should improve in 2025.
James Raia, a syndicated automotive columnist in Sacramento, also contributes business, lifestyle and sports content to several print and online publications. E-mail: james@jamesraia.com.