2001-2005 7th Gen
The biggest news is the availability of a Hybrid Civic sedan, which has a more powerful gas/electric powerplant system than in Honda's groundbreaking Insight. This environmentally friendly vehicle offers the room and comfort of a Civic sedan with mileage estimates of 46 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway. Although Toyota brought out its four-door Prius hybrid a few years prior to this Civic's debut, Honda loyalists now have a practical hybrid they can call their own.
There are now three body styles to choose from: coupe, sedan and hatchback. Conservative styling for the sedan and a slightly more aggressive approach for the coupe help to differentiate these two body styles, while the hatchback presents a snub-nosed, city-car look. The hatch is only available as the sporty 160-horsepower Si, while the others are available in familiar DX, HX (coupe only), LX and EX trim levels.
A more spacious cabin features Honda's trademark large, simple controls but greater use of hard plastic trim seems to indicate that the company may be resting on its laurels a bit.
The newest Civics ride on a stiffer platform that decreases chassis flex and thus provides better handling and increased crash protection. But to the chagrin of hard-core enthusiasts, Honda replaced the front double-wishbone suspension setup with a more space-efficient McPherson-strut setup, which isn't as easy to "slam" (lower) as the double-wishbone design. Steering now boasts a quicker ratio along with variable power assist, which makes parking easier while allowing more road feel and response during spirited driving.
Under the hood, the engine's size has been increased slightly (from 1.6 to 1.7 liters) to provide more torque, and transmissions were tweaked for improved shifter feel and greater efficiency.