10 Reasons the 2019 Honda Civic Won the AutoWeb Buyer's Choice Best Compact Car Award

By creating a diverse lineup of Civic models, Honda expands the model’s appeal and gives Civic buyers greater choice.

The Civic’s styling hasn’t won universal acclaim, but no one could ever accuse it of being boring or derivative. At the same time, don’t worry that you’ll get unwanted attention — lots of your fellow motorists already are driving Civics.

But the real thrills are in the $35,700 Civic Type R hatchback. It cranks up horsepower to an insane 306, and further upgrades the suspension, steering, and tires to deliver a performance bargain. It may sound odd to consider a $36,000 Honda Civic a bargain, but buyers know the challenge of finding cars that drive like this at any price.

The standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 158 hp is suitably peppy, and the 1.5-liter turbo — standard on mid- and upper-level coupes and sedans, along with all hatchback models but the Type R — makes an even livelier 174 to 180 hp. If you want to get closer to the Si and Type R, several Civic trims are available with a six-speed manual transmission, including the 180-hp Sport hatchback.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Civic no longer offers a hybrid model, but the 2019 Honda Insight is heavily based on the Civic sedan and achieves up to 52 mpg in mixed driving.

For 2019, Honda has improved the control layout, adding hard buttons to the left side of the touchscreen. There’s also a welcome knob to adjust the audio volume and turn the sound system on and off. Most Civic trims remain compatible with the HondaLink mobile app, which lets you lock, unlock, or start your Civic remotely using your phone.

Not only will the Civic perform well in a crash, but it also comes standard with a suite of crash-avoidance technology. Previously optional on most Civics, the “Honda Sensing” suite is included at no charge even on the base model for 2019. It brings adaptive cruise control, a forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and lane- and road-departure warnings with automatic steering corrections. Only the Si and Type R skip the driver aids, leaving their performance-minded buyers to do their own steering and braking.

What’s more, the Civic has excellent projected resale values, so likely it will be worth more than most small cars when you’re ready to replace it.

Cargo isn’t overlooked, either. Here’s where the hatchback shines in particular, with up to 26 cubic feet of luggage volume behind the rear seat and 46 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down. But the sedan also offers above-average volume for a small car at 15 cubic feet, and even the coupe is decently useful with 12 cubic feet. Overall, the sedan and hatchback bring the interior volume of a larger vehicle to the compact class, while the coupe avoids making too great of a sacrifice to style. 

An uncommonly wide range of powertrains and body styles — at a wide variety of prices — also helps ensure there’s a Civic for everyone. The AutoWeb community certainly thinks so.