The verdict: The refreshed-for-2025 Honda Civic lineup regains a hybrid version, this time with a gutsier powertrain that improves acceleration as well as fuel efficiency. The hybrid is also positioned as the regular Civic’s premium powertrain, replacing the previous 1.5-liter turbo.
Versus the competition: As before, the Civic is one of the best compact cars available, offering an excellent ride and handling balance and a nicely finished interior. The new hybrid powertrain looks to be a best-of-both-worlds addition; it’s notably more powerful than the hybrid powertrains of the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Niro and Toyota Corolla, and its estimated fuel-economy ratings are expected to be almost as good as those of its rivals.
Honda’s Civic compact car comes in a variety of flavors, from a basic LX sedan to a rip-snorting Type R hatchback, but there’s been a notable hole in its lineup for about a decade: a hybrid version. Though the 2019-22 Honda Insight can be considered a stand-in, there hasn’t been an actual Civic Hybrid since the 2015 model year. That changes for 2025, as a hybrid powertrain rejoins the line as part of the 11th-generation Civic’s mid-cycle refresh. This time, however, the hybrid is positioned as a premium Civic that is as much about power and uplevel features as it is about fuel efficiency.
Related: 2025 Honda Civic: The Right Hybrid at the Right Time
At Honda’s invitation, I traveled to Montreal and drove a near-production prototype example of the line-topping Sport Touring sedan to sample both the new hybrid powertrain and the Google Built-In infotainment system that’s exclusive to the Sport Touring trim. (Per our ethics policy, Cars.com pays for its own airfare and lodging when attending such manufacturer-sponsored events.)
Gutsy Powertrain
The Civic’s new hybrid powertrain is basically the same as the one used in the hybrid versions of Honda’s CR-V compact SUV and Accord mid-size sedan. It features a 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with a two-motor hybrid system, and in the Civic, it’s rated at 200 horsepower and 232 pounds-feet of torque. That’s a significant jump from the base 2.0-liter engine, which is rated at 150 hp and 133 pounds-feet of torque for 2025. (Honda says the base 2.0-liter engine has been revised for earlier torque delivery and better fuel efficiency for 2025, and that its continuously variable automatic transmission has been revised to be more responsive.)
The hybrid’s 200-hp rating is also notably more powerful than the 2024 Civic’s available 180-hp, turbo 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which the hybrid powertrain replaces for 2025. The turbo 1.5 is slated to live on, however, in the sporty, manual-transmission-only Civic Si. Honda will be releasing details on the 2025 Si and high-performance Type R (which will likely be carried over unchanged from 2024) later in the year.
In addition to outgunning the base Civic engine, the Civic Hybrid easily beats the horsepower ratings of its primary compact hybrid rivals. The 2024 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid sedan and Kia Niro hatchback are both rated at 139 hp, while the Toyota Corolla Hybrid sedan checks in at 138 hp. The recently redesigned Toyota Prius is much closer at 194 hp (or 196 hp with all-wheel drive, which the Civic doesn’t offer), but its radical shape renders it an outlier among traditional compact cars — and it’s less practical to boot.
Behind the Wheel
The Civic Hybrid feels as peppy as its 200-hp rating suggests. Thanks in part to its electric motor assist, maximum torque output arrives right away, which contributes to the snappy off-the-line acceleration. When underway, flooring the accelerator pedal sometimes results in a brief pause, but the acceleration is satisfyingly quick thereafter.
Honda’s two-motor hybrid system doesn’t use a conventional automatic transmission or continuously variable automatic; its electric motor transmission unit supplies power in a smooth, linear fashion in both relaxed driving and during fast acceleration. Likewise, the transitions between all-electric and gas-engine-supported operation are mostly seamless. A Linear Shift Control feature convincingly mimics the sound of an automatic transmission crisply shifting gears, and I’ll be darned if it doesn’t make the car feel more sporty — even though it’s artificial.
The Sport Touring’s four driver-selectable drive modes (Econ, Normal, Sport and a customizable Individual mode) alter various parameters. Sport mode dials in sharper accelerator pedal response, reduced power-steering assist and a more pronounced exhaust note; it’s not a dramatic change, but I liked it enough that I spent most of my drive time in Sport.
Along with its deft integration of the gasoline engine and electric motors, the Civic Hybrid’s brakes are smooth and easy to modulate. Four regenerative braking levels can be selected via steering-wheel paddles. The highest regen setting isn’t nearly as pronounced as the one-pedal driving modes that all-electric vehicles offer (or the more aggressive regen modes of some plug-in hybrids), but I still liked having it, and that it can be turned down or off as the driver desires. Since I’ve grown somewhat accustomed to the one-pedal driving modes that are commonplace in pure EVs, I preferred the most aggressive regen setting; I found it easy to acclimate to, and I want to return the maximum amount of power to the battery for the best possible efficiency.
Still a Composed Handler With a Nice Cabin
The press event’s drive routes didn’t take us outside the Montreal metro area and its heavy traffic, so curvy country roads unfortunately weren’t accessible. Even though I didn’t have the opportunity to really fling the car into fast corners or hustle along any twisties, I got the sense that adding the hybrid powertrain hasn’t really upset the Civic’s crisp handling and composed ride. Honda says it has increased the body rigidity and enhanced the suspension tuning on all 2025 Civics for improved dynamics. My car felt nimble and responsive on highway on-ramps and also capably handled a rough, undulating cobblestone street (though plenty of reverb-laden noise found its way into the cabin).
Speaking of the cabin, not a lot has changed there, but not a lot needed to. The current-generation Civic’s interior was great when the car debuted for 2022, and it’s still great in 2025. The Civic’s backseat is still among the most spacious in the compact sedan class, which I especially appreciate since I’m 6 feet, 6 inches tall. Legroom is tight for me in the backseat if I have the front seat adjusted for myself, but I can sit behind an average-size adult in relative comfort. Most backseat passengers should have more than sufficient space.
The interior looks and feels appropriately upscale in Sport Touring form, with soft-touch surfaces and textured trim pieces sprucing things up. However, given its upscale market position, I wish the Civic offered a 360-degree camera display and ventilated front seats like the Elantra Limited does. Along the same lines, air vents for the backseat occupants are conspicuous by their absence; most of the Civic’s rivals have those.
The 2025 Civic has a standard 7-inch instrument panel screen alongside a traditional speedometer and a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen, but the Sport Touring stands apart with a standard 10-inch digital gauge display and a 9-inch infotainment touchscreen that uses Google Built-In software. The system worked well for me during the press drive, with quick response times and easy-to-navigate menus, but Cars.com editors have previously experienced problems with similar Google-based systems. Also, some functions require a data connection to properly operate, which might be a problem if you’re somewhere without reliable cellular service.
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Pricing and On-Sale Date
The 2025 Civic sedan lineup is set to go on sale in June, with the hatchback body style slated to follow later in the summer of 2024. With its integration of a hybrid powertrain in the Civic lineup, Honda is following the same basic strategy it did with the launch of the current-generation Accord and CR-V, both of which were redesigned for 2023. The hybrids are positioned as the high-line trims, so if you want the ritziest, best-equipped models, you’ll have to take the hybrid engine, too.
The flagship Civic Sport Touring Hybrid starts at $32,845, a premium of $1,200 over the top-of-the-line 2024 Civic sedan trim (all prices include $1,095 destination). The Sport Hybrid starts at $29,845; that’s a jump of $1,800 over the penultimate ‘24 Civic sedan model. Rounding out the line are the non-hybrid Sport ($27,345) and LX ($25,345).
The 2025 Civic hatchbacks’ pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the 2024-model-year hatchbacks were all priced slightly higher than their sedan counterparts.
The ‘Have Your Cake and Eat It Too’ Hybrid?
Based on my initial drive experience, Honda has achieved the “have your cake” part of the Civic Hybrid: The powertrain delivers satisfying go with no serious compromises. I can’t confirm the “eat it too” part until we have the opportunity to do our own fuel-economy testing and determine if the real-world fuel economy lives up to Honda’s preliminary estimates of 50/47/49 mpg city/highway/combined. Those numbers trail the most efficient versions of the 2024 Toyota Prius, which is EPA-rated as high as 57 mpg combined, but they’re right in the mix with the 2024 Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla hybrids (the comparable versions of both are EPA-rated 50 mpg combined).
Factor in the Civic Hybrid’s significant horsepower advantage over the Elantra and Corolla, and it’s the clear winner on the powertrain front. However, it’s also around two grand more expensive than the closest comparable versions of those two rivals, and the Corolla Hybrid offers a budget-focused LE trim that undercuts the cheapest Civic Hybrid by more than $5,000. Still, if you place a high value on peppy performance in addition to fuel economy, then the Civic Hybrid is worth its price premium over its Hyundai and Toyota competitors and its regular gas-engine linemates.
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