2022 Honda Civic Debuts With Cleaner Looks, Classy Interior
New Civic trades out-there styling for something classier—especially that interior.
On Wednesday evening, Honda finally showed off the 2022 Civic in full. It comes two weeks after our first look at the production model, and the original concept late last year. As it approaches its 50th birthday, the Civic grows slightly, with tidier styling inside and out, plus improved safety and tech.
For 2022, the Civic now measures 184 inches (4673 mm) nose-to-tail, or 1.3 inches (33 mm) more than before. The wheelbase is up ever so slightly too (1.4 inches / 35 mm), while Honda has also expanded the rear track by half an inch (12 mm). The Japanese automaker has even shifted the base of the A-pillars back by 2 inches (51 mm), stretching the hood as the whole passenger compartment shifts rearward.
After the fussy, dramatic styling of the outgoing model, the 2022 Civic is all mellow simplicity. Wide headlights frame a small mail-slot grille up front, with available LED foglights in the corner air intakes. A single character line runs from above the front wheel arches right back into the large taillights. Goodbye, lobster claws. The Civic adopts the window-line kink of the larger Accord too, though its entire glasshouse is set low. The latter gives us plenty of beloved sixth-gen Civic vibes.
Honda has overhauled the Civic’s interior, too. The most noticeable feature is the meshed strip running across the dashboard. It’s a unique take on the “hidden” vent approach: there are four located in the strip, all controlled with those stubby little joysticks. A trio of knurled dials handle climate controls just below, and we’re happy to see Honda has kept a traditional PRND shifter on the center console.
Lower trims will feature a 7.0-inch infotainment screen, with a larger 9.0-inch unit reserved for the high-zoot models. Both include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but only the larger option will do it wirelessly. A wireless charging pad is standard on the top-level Touring, as is a 12-speaker Bose sound system.
Honda has left well enough alone under the hood, carrying over the two engines from the previous generation of Civic. The LX and Sport trims utilize a naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter, spitting out the same 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque. Splash for the EX or Touring and you’ll find a 1.5-liter turbo four-pot under that longer hood. Honda has improved the turbo engine’s output, taking the totals up to 180 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Both engines will hook up to CVT only—no manual option here. Despite the added size, Honda predicts improved fuel economy to the tune of 1 or 2 mpg.
The Honda Sensing suite of driver assists is standard on every 2022 Civic. Now included in the package is Traffic Jam Assist. It joins adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, and traffic sign recognition. Honda says the adaptive cruise control now responds more naturally. The company has also included a new front air bag design.
We can expect to see the 2022 Honda Civic sedan in showrooms this summer. After that, the hatchback should arrive—there will be no coupe model this generation. Will it be able to steal the spotlight from our 2021 Car of the Year, the Hyundai Elantra? We’ll find out soon.
Discuss this story at our 2022 Honda Civic Forum.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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