2005 Honda Civic Review

Efficient, practical, affordable, polished and pleasant to drive, if not downright fun, with a reputation for reliability: These are the Honda Civic's hallmarks, and nothing about the 2005 model suggests anything has changed.

Measured by the hardware, little has changed on the Civic for 2005. There are a couple of new paint colors and a Special Edition package at the high end of the line-up. On the other hand, price increases are so modest that they haven't kept pace with inflation, and the Civic had significant changes inside and out for 2004.

Few carmakers offer the range or diversity Honda builds into the Civic line. There are sedans, coupes and a hatchback, with an emphasis on either features and convenience, performance or fuel efficiency and low cost of operation. All are notable for their excellent fuel economy, free-revving engines and solid handling, including the electrically assisted Hybrid. Up-level Civics come with powerful VTEC engines that deliver brisk acceleration. The Si hatchback is the flagship performance model, and a favorite among young enthusiast drivers for good reason. All provide superb comfort for front-seat passengers.

Three specialized Civics are designed specifically to minimize environmental impact and deliver better fuel economy than all but a few cars currently available. The most extreme is the Hybrid sedan, which gets up to 51 mpg with help from an electric motor that never needs to be plugged in. Owning and driving a Civic Hybrid is just like life with a regular Civic, almost. The Civic HX coupe gets 44 mpg on regular unleaded. There's also a Civic GX sedan that burns natural gas; Honda claims it has the cleanest internal combustion engine in the world.

Subtle styling changes were made for 2004 when bumpers, hoods, headlights and grilles on the coupe and sedan were redesigned to emphasize a baby-brother resemblance to the slick, smooth Honda Accord. The sporty Si hatchback was trimmed with new head- and tail lamps. All Civics were improved with less visible updates that reduced noise and vibration inside.

Nearly four decades after its introduction, the Honda Civic can rightfully be called an automotive icon. It remains one of America's best-selling small cars for good reason.

Honda's reputation for space-efficient design holds in the Civic. This small car packs its motor into a condensed engine bay, leaving more space for passengers, especially in front, without increasing exterior dimensions. We like the Civic's expansive glass, compared to some small cars. We're not crazy about the lever-type door handles, though, the grab-through style is easier to use.

Now familiar, the Civic's basic wedge profile rises from front to rear, with a low, abbreviated prow and high, curt tail. The hood sits amazingly low. Civic's flanks are interrupted only by a single crease that dashes from the front wheel opening to the taillight; there are no body-side moldings. Windshield pillars arch into the rolled roof to meet narrow C-pillars. Bold tail lamps dominate the blunt rear panel. Overall, both the sedan and the coupe remain conservative in appearance, but contemporary in design.

For 2005, the new Special Edition features a prominent rear-deck spoiler, unique alloy wheels and badges that quickly distinguish it from other Civics. These features follow more significant styling changes introduced last year, when most models where fitted with redesigned bumpers, grilles, hoods and lights at both ends. The changes are subtle, but suggest the total re-style given big brother Accord in 2003. The family resemblance is obvious.

The same shared blood is even more obvious between the Civic sedan and coupe, yet the two cars are clearly different. While they share the same wheel base and inner structure, most of their exterior panels are not interchangeable. The coupe features a more aggressive windshield rake, intended to create a sportier look, and its tail lamps light up in a signature pattern. The appearance of the Civic Hybrid sedan is also subtly different from other four-doors, with a deeper spoiler under the front bumper, a small spoiler on the lip of the trunk lid and Hybrid-specific lightweight alloy wheels.

The Civic Si hatchback seems to polarize people. Its huge, flat windshield is steeply raked, and its nose slopes radically downward, generating excellent aerodynamics and allowing great visibility outward. The Si is slab-sided, without any sculpture in the sheet metal, though in 2004 better proportioned 16-inch wheels gave the car more character by better filling the wheel wells. Some think the Si is ugly; others love it and are quick to defend it.