 | Positives: Attractive exterior (except the color), great steering and handling, fuel efficient, good seats. |
 | Negatives: Throttle response isn't great, turbo lag, still lacks volume knob and other buttons, no manual option in Touring trim. |
 | Bottom Line: There simply aren't many sporty, budget-minded coupes out there. Honda does a good job of balancing sportiness with practicality. While this vehicle type isn't for everyone, if you like two-door FWD coupes, you're going to love this car. |
| View Our 2017 Honda Civic Overview |
Driving Experience
Having driven the Civic Coupe last year, we kind of knew what to expect. The most significant change to the Civic Coupe from 2016 to 2017 was the fact that Honda expanded the option for a manual transmission to the other trim levels. Unfortunately, the excellent manual gearbox is still unavailable on the EX-L and Touring trim level (our car was the Touring). The CVT is still pretty good as far as CVTs go, but we don’t get why Honda doesn’t just make the manual available on all trim levels. It’s already available with both engines, why exclude it from the nice trim levels?
Ride Quality: The sporty suspension and stiff chassis mean the Civic has a firm ride, but that doesn’t mean it’s uncomfortable. Cracks, bumps and inundations in the road are felt but not intrusive.
Acceleration: Due to turbo lag and a throttle response that’s not great, there’s hesitation before the car surges forward. However, once it does, it feels quick. Reported 0-60 times are under seven seconds.
Braking: Stopping and slowing is easy thanks to powerful and progressive brakes. Stopping distances are on par or better than the competition in most respects.
Steering: Well-weighted and precise. It is a little numb but the car still feels good in the corners.
Handling: There’s very little body roll and the car is easy to place and inspires confidence in tight, technical corners. Our only regret was that we didn’t have a good mountain road to exploit the car’s fine handling more.
Technology
Honda’s infotainment system is the one thing on this car (other than the color) that we didn’t find enjoyable. After seeing what Honda did with the new CR-V, we know they have what it takes to make a good system. Honestly, the system and amount of other technology in this car is great, it’s just the controls that are lacking. Aside from that, the car comes well-equipped in Touring trim with Bluetooth, Sirius XM, navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Infotainment System: The 7-inch touchscreen works well and displays high-quality graphics. The interface is reasonably intuitive but could be better and requires a bit too much attention from the driver.
Controls: The biggest downfall for the Civic is its infotainment controls. They’re mostly touch based. While the touchscreen itself is fine, the touch-based buttons on the left side are awful. Honda gave us a volume knob with the new CR-V’s infotainment system, and we can’t wait to see that setup here.
Bluetooth Pairing: Pairing a phone was easy and reconnecting upon re-entry automatic.
Voice Call Quality: Calls were clear on both ends with no interruptions.
Styling
For 2017 the Civic Coupe carries over last year’s good looks, and we can’t say we’re mad about it. The car is handsome inside and out. It’s full of swooping lines and has a sexier appearance than previous generation Civics. There are a few areas of the car that are too busy, otherwise, it’s nice to look at.
Front: The front of the car features a chrome bar across the grille and LED headlights that curve up towards the fenders. The fenders start a long curvy line that stretches down the side. It’s an eye-catching front end.
Rear: The rear is much busier than the front with the most noticeable feature being the C-shaped taillights and long light bar that spans the trunk lid. As busy as it looks, it’s not the worst rear end out there.
Profile: From the side, you see the long sloping roofline and the low nose first. Then you notice the swooping lines down the side of the car and around the fenders. It’s a striking profile.
Cabin: As annoying as we found the infotainment system, we actually like the look of it and the rest of the cabin. It’s a modern design that borders on futuristic. There’s still some cheap looking plastics and things, but for the most part, it’s an attractive car on the inside.
Comfort
There’s a fair amount of space inside the Civic Coupe, more than we would have expected. This is due to Honda’s unique interior packaging. The company is very good at maximizing the amount of interior space available in a small car. Also, the materials that you usually come into contact with are of high quality. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of cheaper plastics and materials on surfaces that aren’t usually touched by the driver or passenger. Essentially, Honda spent its money well but didn’t put nice things where it isn’t absolutely needed.
Front Seats: The front seats offer plenty of room and a supportive and well-bolstered place to settle into. These seats are great for hours and do a good job holding you in place while you whip around a curve. They’re also clad in soft perforated leather.
Rear Seats: The rear seats are supportive, comfy and clad in the same material as the front ones but offer little to no leg room. Still, Honda does a better job than some other automakers.
NVH (noise/vibration/harshness): There’s a fair amount of noise a highway speeds from the tires. Otherwise the car is smooth and quite in almost all respects.
Visibility: Seeing out the back is pretty tough. The rear window is tiny and the large rear pillars block a lot of the road. The backup camera makes navigating in reverse much easier. Front and side visibility is great with small A-pillars and large windows.
Climate: No touch controls here, just real-deal knobs. Air conditioning works well and the heater does an excellent job. Heated seats are also really powerful, and you’ll probably only need them in the coldest of months.
Safety
The 2016 Honda Civic received top honors from both the IIHS and the NHTSA. The 2017 Honda Civic received slightly less impressive ratings from the IIHS. This is due to the fact that the standards the organization uses to evaluate cars changed a little, placing more importance on other areas of the vehicle.
IIHS Rating: The Civic Coupe received a Top Safety Pick rating. It received good ratings across the board including crash avoidance and mitigation technology but came up short of the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating due to its poor performing headlights and its acceptable rating for child seat anchors.
Standard Tech: The Civic Coupe comes well equipped in the Touring trim level. It includes stability control, traction control, ABS, brake assist, multi-angle rearview camera, tire pressure monitoring, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, collision mitigation braking system, road departure mitigation system and dual-stage airbags.
Optional Tech: Nothing additional on this trim level.
Storage/Cargo
With the small coupe design of the car, there isn’t a whole lot of room for things other than the driver and a couple passengers. However, as far as coupes go, the Civic does pretty well. Honda generally does a good job with interior packaging. While this isn’t their best work, for the most part, it’s more than acceptable.
Storage Space: Storing items in the cabin isn't the Civic's forte, but it has a few trays to put items. We didn’t find the shelf underneath the center stack to be very easy to get to. Unfortunately, that’s where many of the power outlets were.
Cargo Room: With the car being a coupe, there isn’t a massive amount of room for cargo. However, the trunk is about 12 cubic feet in volume and the rear seats do fold down, opening up more space. This makes the Civic Coupe good enough for most situations.
Fuel Economy
The test vehicle we had was equipped with the 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The EPA estimates a Civic Coupe with this engine will get 31 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. We saw a combined number that was on par with the EPA estimates. Those numbers place the Civic above the majority of its competition.
Observed: We saw an average of 34 mpg over the course of a week.
Driving Factors: We drove the Civic both on city streets and highways. At times we were heavy on the throttle, and we used cruise control very little.
Audio
The Touring trim level of the Civic Coupe comes with a 450-watt premium audio system with 10-speakers. We didn’t particularly enjoy the infotainment system that controlled the audio system, but the sound coming out of the speakers was excellent. This is a nice system for any car.
Final Thoughts
The Civic Coupe isn’t the most practical in the model’s lineup. If you’re after practicality, go with the hatchback version of the car. Still, we see the appeal of the coupe. It’s a seriously fun car, and if you don’t need four doors on a regular basis, the coupe is a great choice. It offers a fair amount of practicality in a sporty and fun-to-drive package. If you like this vehicle type and can put up with the quirky infotainment system, this is a good car to have.
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