The 2025 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback is not a Ferrari, not a Bentley, not a Porsche. It’s a Civic. A hatchback. There’s something deeply comforting about its continued existence even as too many buyers opt for SUVs big enough to blot out the sun, pickup trucks tall enough to require a Sherpa, and luxury EVs that glow like radioactive appliances. Thankfully, there are still buyers who prefer something simple, durable, always in style, and universally acceptable. You can pull up to the valet stand in America’s favorite compact car since 1973, and while they won’t mistake you for a movie star, they won’t park you next to the dumpsters. It’s the Labrador retriever of automobiles. Not glamorous. Not exotic. But endlessly faithful and always happy to go for a ride.

The Sport trim is the non-hybrid version of the 11th-generation Civic, with a starting price of $28,545. The Sport Hybrid and Sport Hybrid Touring models cost more — $32,140 and $35,140 respectively. And although they return an EPA-rated 48 mpg in combined city/highway fuel economy, this less-expensive Civic returns a still-noteworthy 34 mpg.

But the Civic Sport Hatchback is rebellion in plain sight. There’s no V-8 rumble, no lift kit, no neon green paint. It’s quiet rebellion, as Civic owners still think of driving as an activity, not a chore. So, the Civic comes with aggressive 18-inch wheels, despite its continuously variable transmission and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces a mere 150 horsepower in a car that weighs less than 3,000 pounds. It’s not fast, but it feels quick in the way a terrier feels big.

Drive it, and the Civic Hatchback provides precise steering and predictable turn-in. Toss it into a corner and it’s more composed than any affordable hatchback has the right to be. No drama. No weird body float. Just tidy, accurate, Honda handling. It’s the kind of car that makes the purgatory of daily commuting easy.

Slide into the cabin and you’ll notice Honda’s newfound obsession with honeycomb stretches across the dashboard like architectural jewelry. The dashboard vents are disguised behind a metal-mesh strip that’s part Bauhaus, part Ikea. But it keeps the interior from looking like the inside of a microwave oven. Standard tech includes a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, Google, Alexa, dual USB-C ports and an 8-speaker 180-watt audio system. The seats? Cloth. Firm. Mounted low. And the back seat will actually fit adults, which makes you wonder why everyone insists on buying giant SUVs for the space when the Civic has enough room to smuggle half a dorm room.

The rear hatch provides 24.5 cubic feet with the seats up, which is enough to haul a full Costco run or, if you’re me, an unassembled IKEA wardrobe you’re going to regret buying. Fold the seats, and suddenly you could live in it. Thoreau didn’t need Walden Pond; he needed a Honda Civic Sport Hatchback parked behind a strip mall.

And its price makes it a fire-sale bargain considering the average new-car transaction price is now orbiting north of $50,000. For that money you get a Civic that doesn’t make you look like you gave up on life (like a Toyota Corolla), doesn’t make you look like you’re still on probation (Dodge Charger), and doesn’t make you feel like you accidentally bought an air fryer with 19-inch wheels (every subcompact crossover).

The 2025 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback isn’t heroic. It isn’t aspirational. But in 2025, when cars have become gadgets, fashion statements or rolling monuments to insecurity, the Honda Civic Sport Hatchback is just a deeply, stubbornly good car. And that feels quietly revolutionary.

2025 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback

Base price: $28,545

Engine: DOHC 2.0-liter four-cylinder

Horsepower/Torque: 150/133 pound-feet

EPA rating (combined city/highway): 34 mpg

Fuel required: 87 Octane

Length/Width/Height: 179/56/71 inches

Ground clearance: Not available

Payload: 850 pounds

Cargo capacity: 24.5 cubic feet

Towing capacity: Not rated

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