The Honda Civic is an engaging compact sedan that has been going strong on the market since the early 1970s, and Honda has been evolving and advancing the vehicle throughout the years with new designs, new models, and new ways to travel. Even for the newer eleventh-generation models, you still have many options when you're looking for a Honda Civic for sale because it is available in different trims and design styles. This is excellent for drivers with a particular type of vehicle in mind, whether it's a hot hatch, a family vehicle, a performance vehicle, or a car that's just efficient as a daily driver.
2024 Honda Civic Sedan
Easily the most popular and long-running model of the Honda Civic family, the current Honda Civic Sedan provides you with a fastback design that calls back to the classic structure of the Civic from the model's inception. The beauty of the Honda Civic Sedan is that you get the sleek design of a Civic but with some traditional features—a trunk with 14.8 cu.ft. of space, for instance. The Civic Sedan seats up to five people across two rows of seats, and the 2024 model features up to 99 cu.ft. of total passenger volume. If you want a roomy, sleek, four-door sedan for the family, for yourself, for daily driving, or for commuting, the 2024 Civic Sedan fits the bill.
The sedan comes in seven different exterior colors, and four trim levels: the LX, Sport, EX and the Touring. You also have a choice between two different powertrains—a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder that puts out 158 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque with a continuously variable transmission and a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder that makes 180 hp at 177 lb-ft of torque. The Civic Sedan also had excellent fuel efficiency—33 MPG in the city and up to 42 MPG on the highway. [a] It is only available in front-wheel drive.
Honda Civic Si
The 2024 Honda Civic Si is the performance edition of the Civic Sedan. If you want more power from the popular four-door, the Civic Si is the way to go. It shares the exact same fastback design as the standard Civic Sedan, which means that it offers the exact same amount of space as the standard Civic Sedan when it comes to cargo volume. However, there are a few differences in terms of styling and performance. Most notably, the 2024 Civic Si has an improved version of the 1.5-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder, which puts out 200 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque. It also replaces the continuously variable transmission with a six-speed manual transmission for better torque application, translating to more responsive acceleration.
The Civic Si's more powerful performance translates to slightly less fuel economy, topping out at 27 MPG in the city and up to 37 MPG on the highway in front-wheel drive. [b] This is still highly impressive, given the improvement to the vehicle's performance upgrade. There are also some minor styling differences, as it has only five exterior colors, compared to the standard Civic Sedan's seven colors. This is made up for with slightly sportier wheels, special badging, a honeycomb dashboard pattern, and two-tone race-inspired red-stitching for the seats and interior. Otherwise, you get the same features and functionality from the Civic Si as you do the Civic Sedan.
Honda Civic Hatchback
The Honda Civic Hatchback has been a go-to family car for more than 40 years. It is roomy, practical and reliable. There’s a good chance this is the car that took you to school when you were little. Today, this five-door hatchback has cornered itself a piece of the market for drivers looking for something compact, sporty, and nimble on the road. It forfeits the fastback design of the sedan but manages a larger cargo capacity of up to 24 cu.ft. of space behind the second row of seats, thanks to its lifting hatch. The 2024 Civic Hatchback is available in four trim levels, which include the LX, Sport, EX-L, and Sport Touring.
You can still seat up to five people across two rows in the 2024 Honda Civic Hatchback, and it sports the same powertrain configurations as the sedan. However, a big change with the Civic Hatchback is that it comes with either a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual transmission. While the Civic Hatchback has much the same style and performance as the Sedan in most regards, it does have slightly lower fuel economy, while it gains slightly more cargo volume. You can expect 31 MPG in the city and up to 39 MPG on the highway in front-wheel drive.[c]
Honda Civic Type-R
The Honda Civic Type-R is a variant of the Honda Civic Hatchback. Just as the Honda Civic Si is a variant of the Civic Sedan, the Honda Civic Type-R is the performance version of the Honda Civic Hatchback, which has been around since 1997. The 2024 Civic Type-R offers some high-end performance. The 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder on the Type-R pumps out 315 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, all while attached to a six-speed manual transmission.
The Civic Type-R also has lower fuel economy than the standard Civic Hatchback, with a fuel efficiency rating of 22 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the highway.[d] The front-wheel drive hot-hatch is designed to offer more high-end performance, and out of all of the Civic models, the Type-R is the one that offers the best production-level performance opportunities. Much like the Civic Si, the Type-R has fewer external color options compared to the standard Civic Hatchback, but it does have sportier wheels, an improved aerodynamic exterior, and two-tone red and black sport seats. The Type-R is designed for those who want a sharp-handling, power-focused hot-hatch with a race-inspired interior.
Which 2024 Honda Civic Model Is Right For You?
Many of the interior, safety, and tech features are the same across the entire Civic line-up. This means you get the same infotainment touchscreen options, access to the Honda Sensing safety suite, and comfort and convenience features to help make your ride enjoyable, relaxing, or thrilling (depending on what kind of driver you are). However, where the changes come into play is with the power scaling, handling, and interior designs. Another thing to consider is that the faster, more performance-driven Civic models like the Si and Type-R come with slightly higher prices.
While all of the Honda Civic models seat the same number of passengers, if you are looking for a Honda Civic that provides a specific driving experience or fits within a certain budget, the least expensive and most fuel-efficient option would be the Civic Sedan. If you like the Civic Sedan and its features but want something more powerful, the Civic Si will give you a more performance-laced iteration of the sedan. Alternatively, if you like the extra space provided by the Civic Hatchback, it's slightly more expensive but also gives you the option for a manual transmission. And finally, if you want space, sportiness, and high-performance, the Civic Type-R will fulfill that desire for a track-ready experience that also offers you a great daily driving convenience.