2022 Honda Civic VTi LX review

The last time I drove the Honda Civic was less than two years ago – in top-spec VTi LX form – and it was almost $10,000 cheaper.

It was also, to be fair, smaller, less well-equipped, and not as sporty and sleek as its successor.

Now in its 11th generation, the new Honda Civic landed in Australia in 2021 in a single specification grade – the kitted-out 2022 Honda Civic VTi LX I’m reviewing here.

A hybrid model is set to join the line-up in 2023, as is the updated version of the performance-focused Civic Type R – but at the time of writing, the VTi LX is your only option.

Honda made a bunch of subtle but impactful tweaks to its small passenger car, honing the powertrain to improve outputs (which are up 4kW and 20Nm over the previous generation), re-engineering the chassis for extra responsiveness and comfort, and lengthening the wheelbase for better back-seat legroom.  

Despite those changes, that price leap has proven a hard pill to swallow for Civic shoppers, with sales of the model down 75 per cent in 2022 compared with 2021. 

Of course, last year’s sales had the benefit of a full line-up, including the option of a hatch or sedan and the high-performance Type R. 

While some buyers might bemoan the lack of choice in the revised one-car line-up, it’s also appealingly streamlined, with no hidden costs or awkward bargaining. 

The question is: is the sole Civic variant convincing in its efforts to justify that one-price-fits-all approach? 

The Honda Civic VTi LX has a non-negotiable fixed national drive-away price of $47,200. That’s almost double the last generation’s entry price, and $11,410 more than the previous VTi LX grade’s price – though the previous generation didn't include drive-away pricing. 

There are no options offered and all four paint shades are available at no additional cost. 

The 2022 Civic VTi LX boasts a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that drives the front wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission. Peak outputs are rated at 131kW and 240Nm.

Honda’s full suite of safety and driver assistance equipment is included as standard, plus the VTi LX grade receives cabin comforts like a wireless charger, leatherette seats with suede accents, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED headlights and fog lights, rear privacy glass and dual-zone climate control. 

The Civic’s key competitors are the Kia Cerato, Hyundai i30, Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3.

At most, a top-spec Kia Cerato GT is $36,990 drive-away. 

Meanwhile, the regular i30 tops out at $42,996 drive-away for a top-spec sedan N Line, but stretching to $50,825 will get you into the performance-focussed i30 N hatch. 

Toyota’s Corolla costs around $37,000 drive-away for a top-spec ZR, while a hybrid ZR is priced from $39,000 drive-away. 

Finally, Mazda 3 prices top out at $47,883 drive-away for the flagship X20 Astina grade and features much of the same equipment as the Civic.

With that in mind, the Civic’s pricing isn’t completely unreasonable for this corner of the market, but it tends to sit higher than most of its competitors – bringing it more in line with the base-spec variants of some European models.

Despite being classified as a hatchback, the Civic’s body has sedan leanings, with a swoopy roof line and longer body allowing for a little more interior space. This is most evident in the back-seat legroom, which has been boosted by 35mm. 

Even with my 190cm tall husband in the driver’s seat, I had a really comfortable amount of legroom on a longer drive, but found the toe room was non-existent due to the low seat placement. 

Head clearance in the back seat could be improved, however, with the sloped roof line hitting its lowest point just before it intersects with the backrest. This means that anyone sitting fully back in their seat will likely find their head grazes the roof. 

This reduced headroom wasn’t particularly bothersome for me – even on a one-and-a-half-hour drive down the coast where I briefly played passenger – but it does contribute to a slightly claustrophobic feel in the back.

There are ISOFIX tether points on the outboard seats in the second row, with top-tether points over the back of all three rear seats. 

Installing my son’s Britax Brava seat was simple given the ISOFIX points were easy to access, but the seat looked comically tall against the sloped roof line.

I also struggled loading and unloading my son from the car seat due to that lowered roof line, which didn’t leave me with much clearance when lifting him in and doing up the seat buckles. 

In the front seat, the driver’s position feels low to the ground, meaning the head clearance is great, but I had to use the electric seat adjustment to boost myself up to see over the bonnet. 

In my personal opinion, a sunroof or panoramic glass roof could not only open up the cabin further, but also give extra credence to that higher price point, but neither is available – either standard or as an option.

Otherwise, the front half of the cabin features two well-proportioned cupholders, an accommodating central glovebox, door bins to take water bottles, and a wireless phone charger that doubles as storage.

The heated seats served us well on a long drive down the coast, and the suede-look inlay adds a hint of luxury and makes them feel extra cosy on winter days. 

A strip of honeycomb-style mesh that runs along on the dash and hides the air vents is a great point of design difference, and looks modern and cool. 

Its leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever also feel fantastic, and the red stitching on the wheel, seats and doors ties the cabin together, while the glossy striped plastic around the gearstick adds visual impact.

Importantly, it’s an improvement on the previous-generation’s cabin, which felt messy and mass-market. By comparison, the new cabin feels streamlined, sumptuous and visually intriguing. 

The Civic’s cargo space is also impressive for a small hatch – with a two-tiered set up that allows for 404L of storage at a minimum, plus an extra 45L of underfloor storage, bringing the total boot space to 449L.

In hatch form, the Mazda 3 can only manage 295L of boot space, while the Kia Cerato hatch offers 428L, the Hyundai i30 hatch offers 395L and, at most, the Toyota Corolla hatch has 333L in hybrid form. 

The rear seats in the Civic can also fold in a 60:40 split to load larger items. On a trip down the coast, we managed to squeeze three overnight bags, a small supermarket shop and a pram in the boot.

Unfortunately, a victim of this larger cargo space is a spare wheel – with only a tyre repair kit available. 

As standard, the Honda Civic offers wireless Apple CarPlay, while Android Auto requires a cable connection.

For iPhone users, this wireless CarPlay pairs nicely with the wireless smartphone charger and keeps the connectivity experience effort-free.

I did, however, encounter problems with the wireless CarPlay connection when I had my phone with me in the back seat, meaning the connection would sporadically drop out. A slightly unusual gripe, but I can't be the only person who stows their bag (with phone) behind the front seats?

The infotainment system has been updated in the Civic, with a larger 9.0-inch touchscreen that boasts more vibrant colours and simplified controls. That’s paired to an LCD driver's display that features a digital speedometer, temperature information, an odometer and driver assistance information. 

This smaller driver's display feels like something of a missed opportunity for added impact, and could have been traded for a more visually appealing full-digital display. 

Despite these updates, the system still feels basic when compared to the likes of Kia or Hyundai, with simple graphics and a screen that feels on the smaller side when placed against the often 10-inch or larger units from its rivals. 

One particular highlight of the Civic’s infotainment set-up is the inclusion of a 12-speaker Bose sound system with a subwoofer delivering crisp, impactful sound in the cabin. 

Also included is a satellite navigation system that can receive over-the-air updates for its maps.  

The new-generation Honda Civic is currently untested by ANCAP. Similarly, Euro NCAP hasn't yet performed a comparable test overseas.

The current-generation Civic now features eight airbags as standard, having gained a new driver and front passenger knee airbag as part of its recent facelift, joining the pre-existing driver and front passenger airbags, front side-impact airbags and side curtain airbags.

As part of its facelift, the Civic gained new active safety technology it was previously lacking, such as blind-spot monitoring and a rear cross-traffic alert.

The car also receives autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control and a driver attention alert.

The previous generation’s LaneWatch technology – which provided a side camera view of the car’s surrounds in the driver's display when indicators were activated – has been removed, and the blind-spot monitoring system now lights up a warning light on the side mirror and sounds an alarm if you’re changing lanes into the path of oncoming traffic. 

The lane-departure system shows a visual warning on the driver's display if you deviate from your lane and uses light steering intervention to nudge you back in, but can be easily overridden. 

When used in conjunction with the cruise-control system, the lane-trace capabilities will ensure you stay centred in your lane by taking on the bulk of the steering duties, with full driver oversight. 

There’s also traffic jam assist, which is a nifty way of saying the lane-keep capabilities extend from freeway speeds down to city speeds and even to a standstill. 

It’s a really well-rounded safety offering that provides pretty much everything you might need – bar one important omission. No parking sensors! At this price point, I’d expect at least rear parking sensors to be included as standard, possibly even front sensors as well. 

This omission could have been counteracted with the inclusion of a surround-view camera, but unfortunately the Civic’s reverse camera is a fairly basic set-up. 

There’s one other safety feature that’s worth highlighting, and it gave me a mini heart attack during my first day with the car.

The Civic boasts what’s called ‘Walk Away Auto Lock’, which means the car will automatically lock if you walk away from it with the key in your pocket. This is obviously convenient, but proved highly alarming when I got out of the car and shut the front door with my son still in his child seat in the back seat. 

I momentarily panicked that I’d locked him in but, of course, this was easily remedied by hitting unlock on the key.

Finally, I really appreciated the effective automatic front wipers and the inclusion of a rear wiper amid a heavy downpour on the Great Ocean Road. 

Honda offers owners a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, plus five years of Honda’s premium roadside assist.

The roadside assist service can help you with issues like a flat tyre or flat battery, provide towing or fuel delivery, and come to your aid in the event of a lockout. Accommodation or car hire may also be accessible via this service.

Honda has also implemented guaranteed low pricing for scheduled standard servicing on its cars, with each trip to the service centre capped at $199 for the first five visits. 

That means servicing the Civic will cost you a total of $597 over three years or $995 over five years.

Those numbers are appealingly affordable, and the promise of standardised pricing is certainly enticing for anyone who’s experienced automotive bill shock in their past. 

The Honda Civic costs $1657 per year to insure based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Particularly impressive is the fact data suggests the Civic retains roughly 84.5 per cent of its resale value after three years. 

Honda quotes a fuel consumption figure for the Civic of 6.3L/100km on a combined cycle.

In real-world terms, the first half of my week in the Civic was spent commuting in terrible traffic with an average consumption figure of 8L/100km.

In these settings, I regularly switched the car into ‘Econ’ drive mode, which works to counteract higher consumption by changing the air-conditioning to a more efficient cycle and managing aggressive throttle input.

However, once I added two long stretches of freeway driving into the mix – courtesy of a weekend jaunt down the Great Ocean Road – my average consumption dropped to an impressive 5L/100km. 

My final official figure for the week was 7.2L/100km, suggesting the Civic does its best work at freeway speeds, but can prove a little thirsty in stop-start traffic.

It requires 91-octane unleaded at a minimum and has a 47L fuel tank.

In my opinion, the Civic’s on-road energy skews sporty, with a steering feel that’s perfectly matched to the car, proving easy to manage around town and becoming more dynamic when cornering at higher speeds. 

Acceleration is swift and smooth, but I was actually quite taken aback to learn the car features a continuously variable transmission, as it lacks the traditional drone and sappy driving experience I’d typically associate with a CVT. 

Instead, the Civic offers a polished and dynamic driving experience that takes the monotony out of freeway driving.

There are steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for manual shifting, plus a Sport drive mode that sharpens acceleration, but didn’t make a particularly obvious difference to me. 

Around town, visibility is surprisingly solid for such a low-slung car but, as previously mentioned, an overhead-view monitor or parking sensors would be welcome additions, enabling you to get a clearer sense of the car’s dimensions and surrounds. 

Despite only offering front-wheel drive, the Civic coped well in seriously wet weather and on gravel roads, and offered just enough ground clearance to tackle a particularly steep, treacherous driveway at a beach house without any issues. 

Noise and harshness were also minimal, even at freeway speeds and on rougher surfaces, while engine noise is mildly noticeable but by no means grating.

I was consistently surprised by how well the Civic rides given it feels so low to the ground. It glides over road imperfections and does a better job of muting their impact in the cabin than some SUVs I’ve encountered.

The Honda Civic’s new generation has successfully filled the previous model’s blind spots and then some – but those improvements come at a cost.

Those struggling to come to terms with the new price point should rest assured that while the cost of entry may be high, there’s just enough equipment to justify the spend, and low ongoing ownership costs (and impressive resale value) help to balance it all out. 

In terms of equipment, the visual displays lack the impact of rival European brands, and a sunroof, overhead-view monitor and parking sensors would all be welcome additions, but the standard inclusions are all well executed and easy to use. 

The limited back-seat headroom is a potential deal-breaker for those who regularly carry adult passengers, while the lowered ride height could prove tricky for any parents whose kids still need help getting in and out of their child seats. 

Otherwise, the 2022 Honda Civic’s comfortable cabin with unique design tweaks, impressive boot space for a hatch and lovely, refined behind-the-wheel feel can certainly charm the socks off buyers who are looking to combine practicality with style.