By Dan Neil

I have prepared a thorough brief on the 2025 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hybrid, an updated version of the 11th design generation that debuted in 2022, which finally gets the hybrid power plant it deserves. For the benefit of those with early tee times, here are the takeaways: This is the best, most overachieving Civic in the nameplate's 50-year history; it's a technical marvel; it's a genuinely excellent small car for a reasonable price. I have data points.

But first I can't help sharing a moment. You see, I get in and out of a lot of new cars. Over time, one begins to recognize a sameness in them, a shared and leveling mediocrity just below the surface. This jaded industry average, this joy-killing threshold is the benchmark.

Don't get me wrong. I look for the good in every car, no matter how rote, redundant and built to the penny it may be. But there are just so many bad cars. Being a car critic these days is like being a waiter at a terrible restaurant. May I recommend yesterday's warmed-over nothing burger?

Any car that escapes the oppression of the benchmark makes me unreasonably happy. Which brings me to the 2025 Civic Sport Touring Hybrid. Hell, yeah. For $34,300 delivered, this thing is trying harder. We might as well start with the softer-than-strictly-necessary leather on the seats, steering wheel and shifter. I wish I had pants like that.

While we're in the cabin please groove on the band of filigreed metal bisecting the upholstered dash and concealing the HVAC outlets -- also considerably cut-above. The driver position is surrounded with conspicuously sturdy, metal-capped switchgear on the doors, steering wheel and console. The materials are substantial, the cabin layout sober, serene and cerebral, just like me.

If the center-mounted touch screen looks dated, the Google built in software behind it is fresh as paint. The Civic wirelessly groks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Wireless charging, too. The Sport Touring Hybrid packs a Bose audio system with 12 speakers. In the Toyota Prius, eight is enough.

It appears that, yes, Honda really, really misses my business. I couldn't help but be touched. Verklempt, even.

The 11th-gen Civic debuted with a choice of 1.5- or 2.0-liter engines, with output ranging from 158-315 hp. For 2025, the lineup gets an engine overhaul. Henceforth, LX and Sport models will be powered by the 2.0-liter I4, with direct injection, variable intake/exhaust timing and a 13.0:1 compression ratio. Output: 150 hp and 133 lb-ft.

Here's where it gets interesting: The new Sport and Sport Touring Hybrids use a different 2.0-liter four and in an utterly different way. In the hybrid models, a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four drives a starter/generator, which powers a 181-hp permanent-magnet traction motor, with a 1.1 kWh-battery in the loop to buffer current. This is the same series-parallel arrangement as Honda's CR-V and Accord hybrids, with some modifications. The Civic's small size required reorienting the twin-motor unit.

Much like the Chevy Volt back in the day (2008), the Civic's engine output is entrained directly to the front wheels usually only at higher speeds, at times of high demand or high load, bringing the system max to 200 hp.

While the LX and Sport post adequate EPA fuel economy (36 and 34 mpg, combined) the hybrid models soar to 48 mpg.

Underway, the hybridized Civic is a smooth operator, a trickster. Typically, the Atkinson-cycle engine thrums quietly, speeding and slowing, following throttle demand as if it were connected to a conventional transmission. If you stand on it, the revs will rise and the system will punctuate the acceleration curve with imitative upshifts. In Sport mode, the illusion gets a bit of aural reinforcement from the audio system.

But at all times the electrics' heavy bottom end -- 232 lb-ft from 0-2,000 rpm -- gives the Civic the right-now, wide-awake temperament and punchy acceleration of a dedicated EV. Look, when a car combines 0-60 mph acceleration in the low sixes with an EPA average fuel economy of 48 mpg, that's net plus extra, n'est pas?

What a unit this little car is. Go ahead, wind it up and throw it into a tight corner -- and be sure to drop the inside rear 18-inch wheel into that chuckhole. WHAM! The Civic's rear end gathered itself instantly and stayed on track, registering the insult with only a well-damped twitch at the steering wheel. The body structure feels stiff as a hammer.

The Civic has been among the top three bestselling passenger cars in the U.S. over the past 50 years. The competitive set ain't what it used to be, now down to just a few old rivals, including the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf. Newcomers Hyundai Elantra and Kia K4 are also in the mix.

The point is, the Civic hybrid didn't have to be as good as it is to hang in with that lot. No. Honda specifically targeted the one, the only, the mother of all automotive benchmarks, the Toyota Prius.

Whodya rather? It is close. The finely drawn and futuristic Prius wins the swimsuit competition, obviously. The Civic hatchback is dressed like it's got a court appearance. The story is much the same inside: The Prius' sensibility is sleek and future-curious; the Civic's interior leans on legacy. The switches, you know.

The Toyota is still the benchmark in fuel efficiency, averaging 52 mpg, combined, for the front-drive Prius XLE. The Prius LE does even better, scoring a whopping 57 mpg.

But the joy factor certainly favors the Honda. It's not just the hybrid's elastic acceleration. The sport tuned suspension gives the Civic surprisingly good handles for a little family sedan. The mostly electric Civic also edges the Prius in cabin isolation and quiet.

At least I think it does. It was hard to tell. I had tears of joy in my ears.

2025 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hybrid (Hatchback)

Price, as tested $34,300

Powertrain Series-parallel gas-electric hybrid, with a naturally aspirated, direct-injection 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing; AC synchronous motor (181 hp); 1.1-kWh lithium-ion battery.

Max power/torque 200 hp/232 lb-ft from 0-2,000 rpm

Curb weight 3,289 pounds

Cargo volume 24.5 cubic feet

Length/wheelbase/width/height 179.0/107.7/70.9/55.7

0-60 mph 6.1 seconds (Motor Trend)

EPA fuel economy 50/45/48, city/highway/combined

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2025 15:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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