Honda Civic Is Our Compact Car Best Buy of 2026

Choose from sedan or hatchback body styles
Hybrid and three gas powertrains are available
Top-notch resale and reliability ratings
Trim levels range from practical to powerful
Price yours | See listings near you

The Honda Civic is the best-selling compact car in America because it offers something for everyone. Available as a sedan or hatchback, the Civic is fuel-efficient, practical, and fun to drive. Better yet, the available hybrid powertrain manages to improve upon all of those attributes, with fuel economy as good as 50 mpg around town and notably quicker acceleration – by almost three seconds – from zero to 60 mph compared to the gas-only model. If your heart cries out for something with more performance, the 200-horsepower Civic Si and 315-hp Type R are fantastic options, and both use a manual transmission. Whatever Civic resonates with you, it’ll be one that offers excellent reliability and resale value – the Civic won our Best Resale Value Award for 2025 in its segment. This year, it returns as our Compact Car Best Buy Award winner.

Tremendous Value Regardless of Trim Level

The two most affordable Civic trim levels come with the gas engine, and the two upper trims are hybrids. That means that if your budget allows, not only do you get more features for the money with the hybrid Sport and Sport Touring, but you get the aforementioned 50 mpg fuel economy and significantly quicker acceleration. Upgraded features in the Sport Touring model include a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster and 9-inch touchscreen, 12-speaker Bose premium audio, wireless smartphone connectivity, leather seats, Google built-in (in addition to CarPlay/Android Auto, not instead of), power heated front seats, and more active safety features.

2026 Honda Civic Hybrid Touring Sport — Photo: Guy Spangenberg

The 2026 Honda Civic comes very well equipped, starting at the base trim level. All trims include the Honda Sensing suite of safety features, with forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and more. Standard daily conveniences include LED headlights, push-button start, hill-start assist, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, touchscreen, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity.

New 2026 Honda Civic Prices

	Retail Price	Fair Purchase Price (92620)
LX	$25,745	TBD
Sport	$27,745	TBD
Si	$32,145	TBD

Comfortable, Elegant, Intuitive

This 5-passenger compact car is surprisingly roomy, thanks to its near-best-in-class legroom. Adults can sit comfortably in the second row. The seat design offers the right amount of support and cushiness for daily commutes or longer trips. The Honda’s trunk is also spacious for the car’s size. Its 14.8 cubic-foot trunk is the largest in the compact car class. It’s the same size in the hybrid, which was cleverly packaged to retain the same cargo space. Opting for the hatchback adds about 10 more cubic feet of space and is versatile enough to hold a full-size bike, front wheel in place, with the seats folded.

The interior design is tasteful, with attractive color combinations and materials choices. What’s more important, however, is that controls are within easy reach while driving, are intuitive, and aren’t buried pages deep within the infotainment screen. That means fewer distractions while driving.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Last year, the Honda Civic had the best resale in its class, retaining 62% of its value over a 36-month period. We expect those numbers will remain about the same for 2026. The Civic also is one of the best compact cars when it comes to reliability. Both hybrid trims net around-town fuel economy of 50 mpg. The Civic has the most rear-seat space in its class and the biggest trunk. And with this year’s award, the Civic is an 11-time Best Buy Award winner in its segment.

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Honda Civic Is Our Compact Car Best Buy of 2026