Test drove '19 Civic Sport Sedan & Hatch - some surprising thoughts

Dis4Damion · Mar 25, 2019

I have the 1.5T hatchback sport touring and absolutely love the performance, but when my car was in the shop, I was given a EX sedan to drive and I got to say I was impressed with the 2.0, very responsive. I previously drove a 9th gen EX-L with the 1.8 Liter and god was that car slow, even with the CVT!

mechaniconsunday · Mar 25, 2019

cammyfive said:
My girlfriend and I made our way to the local Honda dealership this past Saturday to try to narrow down which style Civic we wanted to pursue - the Sport sedan 6MT or the Sport hatch 6MT. As there is only a $1100 price delta between the two, they were as level as they could be in regards to price. Going in, I did lean more towards the more consertatively styled sedan, but did warm up a bit to the hatch. Well, mostly. The fake vents and enormity of large plastic swaths on the front and rear bumper made it hard for me to get excited about it. I did like the general design better in person, especially the side profile, but the front and rear mostly were tough to love. It was something I could get over if the driving experience blew me away.

As i discussed in my intro thread, this car will be the shared daily driver car for my gf and myself. I own my own business and work from my home office and will have a sports car just for me in the family. We've previously been leasing premium/luxury cars for the past few years but decided we wanted something we could just buy outright or payoff in less than a year. At $22K (sedan) and $23,100 (hatch) MSRP, either of these options would fit the bill nicely. I taught her how to drive a manual transmission on my previous car - BMW 3 series - so while she's still a bit of a manual newb, she is good with the idea of the next car also 100% being a manual.

I'll jump ahead to the conclusion by saying that within about 100 feet of driving the sedan 6MT with the N/A 2.0 I MUCH preferred it over the hatch 6MT with the 1.5L; I did drive the hatch first and both cars were driven along the same typical 10-15 minute test drive route. It was around 72 degrees when we test drove and I was very mild driving the first few minutes until both cars got up to operating temp. I just felt almost immediately that the 2.0 N/A car was quite a bit smoother, sounded better, had a more comfortable driving position (visibilty) mainly and just felt more 90s/early 2000s Honda that I grew up with. Interestingly, my gf came to the same conclusion on her test drive period. She said the 2.0 N/A car was quieter which was probably because of the road noise from the hatch and also a gruffer sounding engine. While the 1.5T is impressive in its power output for its size, I immeidately noticed the turbo lag and coarseness of the engine, but the midrange was impressive for a car of its class. I'm sure the motor is tuned for that midrange and fuel economy so this is more of a personal gripe of mine than a knock against its engineering. Yes, yes, I know a tune wakes it up and probably eliminates some/most of that lag but I just felt the 2.0 N/A was the car I preferred in almost every way. From heavily reseraching Civics over the last couple of weeks online I felt confident going in that I knew most of what there was to know about these cars, but was surprised by my oversight that Apple Car Play was not available on the slightly more expensive hatch Sport. That wasn't a deal breaker but a disappointment and the much smaller screen screamed base model. All of that, coupled with the driving experience I've described sealed the deal that I preferred the sedan over the hatch. Perhaps if I didn't have a separate fun car I would put all of that aside and go with the 1.5T as there is no doubt it can make more power, but in no way did the 2.0 N/A with the manual feel slow to me. It felt much more linear and in that sense, fun.

I should mention that I've had and always loved Hondas/Acuras. I'll be 40 this summer but my first new car was a 2001 Prelude 5spd in college. I've also owned a new Accord Coupe V6 6MT (a very underrated car of its day), a new 2010 TSX 6MT (another fun car), and a 2015 TSX 2.4L with the DCT. The clear commonality of those cars has been a high revving fun to drive motor that isn't overly powerful. I got that same feeling, to an extent, in the new Civic Sport sedan 6MT. I'm sure the new Si is a great car to drive, and the CTR a beast, but the 2.0 N/A Sport with the manual is an absolute bargain for new cars in the very low $20Ks range. We're looking to purchase one when her lease matures in a couple of months.

Go with your heart and feelings!

silverrascal · Mar 25, 2019

OP, I appreciate the thoroughness of your post and keeping an open mind of the body styles and engine options.

I recently upgraded from a '16 EX-T sedan to a '19 hatch EX. I really enjoyed driving the sedan. The driving characteristics, the economy and reliability were spot on Honda. When I was ready to update the reason was mainly because I wanted the Honda Sensing package in my next car. My wife's '18 CR-V had it and I was impressed with Honda Sensing. Knowing the 2019 models all offered Honda Sensing, it was merely a matter of which model fit my budget. I initially wanted to get another EX-T (now EX) sedan but was turned off by the chrome trim all around the car. Too much bling, imho. I thought it would grow on me but it never took. So then I had a look at the hatch. Honda opted to keep the styling the same (for 2019 anyway) and, honestly, I think it's "sporty" but more understated without all the chrome trim. As for noise, I guess it's all relative but I haven't noticed much difference between my former sedan and current hatch. As for rearward visibility I find the view from the hatch as good or better than the sedan. One area that I have found in contrast to many reviews is the rear storage volume. I loved the space in the sedan's trunk! It was cavernous, imho. The hatch however has seemed slightly more cramped. I guess there's more overhead volume but the front to back space is seemingly less. Not a huge difference but that's my take.

End of the day, I'm still loving the new hatch. Same great driving experience and I'm loving the new color: Sonic Grey.

Enjoy the new ride, OP!

ebhaynz · Mar 25, 2019

jtrader said:
OP, i was hoping you'd be recommending the Sport Hatch b/c I'm on the fence between Sport Sedan and Hatch...currently leaning hatch. Your review is timely though. I'm going to lease, and the current lease deals end 4/1. I've got dealers competing against each other and right now the difference between hatch and sedan is only 10 bucks a month. I love the turbo of the hatch, but I love the exterior and interior (upgraded head unit!!) of the Sedan. Ugh, which to choose.....

I have the Si sedan but I would love to have a hatch as I could really use the extra space. In your case since you have dealers competing against each other I would definitely drive both to see which you really like more, just like what the OP did. You could install an aftermarket 7 inch touchscreen in the hatch and before you turn the car in put the stock unit back in. It would add additional cost but it is doable plus think if you bought(and get to keep) one of those Pioneer/Kenwood head units with navigation, those things are very nice to have.
I'm going to get a MT hatch soon so it's bye bye Si!

ebhaynz · Mar 25, 2019

silverrascal said:
End of the day, I'm still loving the new hatch. Same great driving experience and I'm loving the new color: Sonic Grey.

The Sonic Grey Hatch is the best looking Civic ever..I'm moving on from my Si to get one.

VarmintCong · Mar 25, 2019

cammyfive said:
Perhaps the Si is different in regard to lag. I suspect it is since it is obviously tuned more for power than fuel economy. There just something about a Honda N/A engine that I’ve always loved which is why I prefer the 2.0 6MT....even if it isn’t fast at all.

There's little lag in the 1.5T Sport, unless the dealer put 87 in it, which is entirely possible. My car's a bit sluggish/not sharp with 87. Drive it with 93 on a cool evening and the pull is really impressive.

Potsnu · Mar 25, 2019

Does anyone know if the 2019 sidemarkers are the same as the 2016-2018? Thank you

BriteBlue · Mar 25, 2019

Dis4Damion said:
It is by no stretch of the imagination a hot rod, but it is a quick car!

It is pretty decent & most road tests & reviews have 0-60 at about 6.9 seconds. Years ago that would have been very good, however today there are cars that do 0-60 in under 3 seconds. Obviously these are not cheap, but the fact that they exist amazes me.

VarmintCong · Mar 25, 2019

BriteBlue said:
It is pretty decent & most road tests & reviews have 0-60 at about 6.9 seconds. Years ago that would have been very good, however today there are cars that do 0-60 in under 3 seconds. Obviously these are not cheap, but the fact that they exist amazes me.

Cars are much faster but feel slower. I had a '93 Civic EX 5 speed with the 1.6L VTEC (125 hp). It redlined to almost 7500 rpm and sounded incredible doing it. Man did you feel like you were flying when you redlined it in 2nd gear. I think it was 8.9 sec 0-60, lol.

cammyfive · Mar 25, 2019

If this were to be my only car I would almost definitely go for a turbo engine option and probably an Si at the minimum to extract as much reliable power out of it as possible. Maybe it's my age coupled with the fact that I'll have another sports car in the garage but I'm not that concerned with modifying this Civic or fretting over a few tenths of a second 0-60 time. I would gladly give that up in my daily driver for the throttle response and linear powerband of the 2.0 N/A. Just my opinion of course and I'm sure it's in the minority.

Gruber · Mar 25, 2019

latole said:
Most car mags say MT is more quiet than CVT

True, but not true.

Yes, I also keep reading the same old cliché served by the car magazine writers.
I drove a ton of rental cars of various kinds, and some CVT cars (like Nissans) do have or used to have a continuous drone tone that may not agree with some ears accustomed to the traditional varying sound.

I don't hear anything of the sort in my car. It just sounds better and quieter than most or all other CVT cars I drove. Also, though I never drove a hatch sport, I'm pretty sure it is louder than my Touring, judging by all the complaints.

I would never swap my hatch for a 2L n/a, maybe because the charm of what the OP calls "high revving fun to drive motors that aren't overly powerful" is lost on me.

Dis4Damion · Mar 26, 2019

ebhaynz said:
The Sonic Grey Hatch is the best looking Civic ever..I'm moving on from my Si to get one.

I vote the Type R in Sonic grey!

jred721 · Mar 26, 2019

Im with you on the 2.0, it felt much smoother to me and more refined than the 1.5, along with the power delivery being linear and classic Honda. Since the Civic was not my main car, it made perfect sense for me to go with the 2.0 anyway because I was getting a great deal on it as well. If the Civic were my only vehicle, i'd go 1.5 just because of extra power but thats about it. A year in with the 2.0 and no regrets about it, does the job perfectly. Especially since I slapped KTuner on it, it wakes it up a little for sure.

gtman · Mar 26, 2019

ebhaynz said:
The Sonic Grey Hatch is the best looking Civic ever..I'm moving on from my Si to get one.

You obviously love the color but that's a bit of a downgrade in terms of power and handling. Ever consider upgrading to a Sonic Grey CTR?

Test drove '19 Civic Sport Sedan & Hatch - some surprising thoughts

Dis4Damion

Senior Member

mechaniconsunday

Member

silverrascal

Senior Member

ebhaynz

Senior Member

ebhaynz

Senior Member

VarmintCong

Senior Member

Potsnu

Member

BriteBlue

Senior Member

VarmintCong

Senior Member

cammyfive

Senior Member

Gruber

Senior Member

Dis4Damion

Senior Member

jred721

Senior Member

gtman

Senior Member

Similar threads