The 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Has Only One Downside (Even With Almost 50 MPG)
It's fair to say the latest Honda Civic has been a hit, and now the automaker is counting on electrification to boost fuel economy for its gateway to new owners. The 2025 Civic Hybrid joins the line-up as a replacement for trims with the old turbocharged gas engine, promising to be more fun and less thirsty, less confusing than the standalone Honda Insight, and not to mention debuting a handful of new convenience features like Google-powered infotainment.
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With over 200,000 sales in the U.S. for the Civic in 2023 — second only in Honda's line-up to the CR-V — there's plenty resting on the 2025 model year update. The new hybrid uses a tweaked version of the drivetrain we've already seen in other electrified Honda cars and SUVs. Rather than requiring plugging-in, it tacks electrification onto a gas engine to offer an economy bump with little in the way of behavioral change for drivers.
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Perhaps unsurprising, then — even though only the top, most expensive Sport Hybrid and Sport Touring Hybrid trims will be electrified — Honda is predicting hybrids will account for around 40% of overall Civic sales. The cheaper Civic LX and Sport will unfortunately stick with the current 2.0-liter engine. 2025 Civic sedans should begin arriving in U.S. Honda dealerships starting in June, while the 2025 Civic hatchback will follow this coming summer.
A sharper, more aggressive exterior
In many ways, it's a massage, not a reinvention for the well-received 11th-generation Civic, which launched in 2021. At the front, the fascia and grille have been reshaped: Honda says the goal was to make them more aggressive, though they're still not quite as ominous as, say, the Accord hybrid is. The Civic sedan gets smoked taillight clusters, leaving the Civic hatchback with regular rear lights.
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There'll be a broader spread of differentiation between the various body styles, drivetrains, and trims, too. The Sport trim's standard black 18-inch wheels and dark exterior parts carry over, but there's now a new, machine-finished wheel design for the flagship Sport Touring Hybrid. All hybrids have body-colored headlamp trim, and add a lower spoiler to the front lip.
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Honda has added to the color palette, too. Urban Gray Pearl and Solar Silver Metallic will be available across the range; Sand Dune Pearl will only be offered on the hatchback, and Blue Lagoon Pearl on the sedan.
More tech, more comfort features, more Google
Inside, the distinctive mesh grille and joystick-like vent controls are carried over, and continue to dominate the dashboard. Front USB-C ports are now standard equipment, while the Sport Hybrid trim adds dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, and a moonroof.
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A new gray interior color scheme option is added to Civic Hybrid trims. Step up to the Sport Touring Hybrid, and there's a 12-speaker Bose audio system, plus leather seats. It also gets a larger touchscreen atop the dashboard: 9 inches, with a software upgrade compared to the other trims.
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Based on Google built-in, it means Google Maps for navigation, the Google Play store for third-party apps, and Google Assistant for voice control.
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As well as navigation and media, drivers will be able to ask things like how much range remains with their current tank of gas. Sadly, Honda is only offering Google built-in on one trim.
A more torque-happy Civic
It's the two-motor hybrid drivetrain which is most intriguing, though, launching on the 2025 Civic. Not only does it promise better fuel economy over the current Civic's standard 2.0-liter inline-four or 1.5-liter turbo engines, Honda's hybrid may well also be more fun to drive. With an estimated 232 lb-ft of torque — compared to 177 lb-ft from the outgoing 1.5 turbo — it'll make the hybrid the most powerful non-Type R Civic so far.
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Four levels of regenerative braking are controlled via steering wheel paddles. All Civics, barring the entry LX trim, will get Econ, Normal, and Sport drive modes; the 2025 Civic Sport Touring Hybrid throws in an Individual mode, which can be driver-customized.
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In replacing the turbocharged engine, Honda's hybrid is positioned at the high-end of the Civic line-up. The hope is that drivers will be willing to pay extra for an estimated near-50 mpg of fuel economy on the EPA's combined test cycle. Given the same strategy for the CR-V hybrid saw 55% of overall sales for the electrified model in 2023, that hope may well pan out.
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They should be more refined, too, with Active Noise Control on all Civic Hybrids, and the Sport Touring hybrid getting wheel resonators. Pricing for the new 2025 Civic Hybrid models will be confirmed closer to their imminent arrival in dealerships.