2019 Honda Civic Sedan Review, Prices, Features And Pics

The 2019 Honda Civic sedan is stylish, spacious, smooth-driving, and powerful.  And this 4-door compact car is fun to drive.

While carmakers are producing everything bigger these days, the 2019 Honda Civic 4-door stands out in its crowded segment.  And it does so for many reasons.

First, it’s a Honda that’s going to deliver incredible fuel economy.

Second, you have Honda’s longtime reputation of reliability.  Also, you’re going to have a great resale value.  The list goes on but you get the idea… :0)

I sent Clinton “The Professor” Quan to test drive a fully loaded 2019 Honda Civic Sedan for a day-long test drive.

Click play below to listen to his complete analysis of our podcast report.  Or you can continue reading and check out the pictures of this compact car that delivers way more than its price suggests.

***Transcript***

May 2, 2019

2019 Civic – Honda’s Compact 4-Door

Clinton “The Professor” Quan: I drove the 2019 Honda Civic.  That fastback styling, it’s really the only compact sedan in its class that really has that, but you do see it in a lot of other cars, notably mid-size sedans, and luxury automobiles as well.

Ninety-five cubic feet for passenger space, that’s almost as big as some mid-size sedans.  It had plenty of power, a very smooth ride for a compact car.

Tom: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast. All about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States, Southern California. Tom Smith here with the good Professor, Mr. Clinton Quan. Say hello, Clinton!

Professor: Hi, Tom.

Tom: Hello! This podcast, as you probably know, because you clicked it on, is about the 2019 Honda Civic.

Civic Sedan Test Driver

So, the Professor picked up a 2019 Honda Civic Sedan, and actually, I drove the Hatchback recently and that’s going to be a different podcast.

But the Civic is big, it’s a big, big mover. Actually, the Civic family for Honda might be the biggest group that represents their biggest sales. Although subcompact, the CR-V is moving real good as an individual, right?

Professor: Yes.

“…the Civic, the CR-V, and the Accord are their top three sellers.”

Tom: When you group all the Civics together, that’s probably their—Honda, as a manufacturer—probably the most that they sell, yeah?

Professor: It could be, yes. Definitely, the Civic, the CR-V, and the Accord are their top three sellers.

Tom: Because you got the Civic Coupe.

Professor: Yes.

Tom: Which we did a podcast on already and actually ranks quite well in Google. You have the Civic Type R, the fun one, you have the Civic Hatchback. And, you have the Civic Sedan. A lot of Civics!

Professor: Yes. Well, it comes in three body styles, sedan, coupe, and hatchback.

Tom: Your podcast, Professor.

2019 Honda Civic 4-Door Trim Levels & Prices

Professor: Well, I drove the 2019 Honda Civic Touring and the Touring is the top-of-the-line trim level in the Civic family for the sedans.

Tom: The Touring, let’s go base trim to tippy-top Touring that you just mentioned you drove.

Professor: Yes. The base trim is the LX, which starts at about $19,000.

Tom: MSRP?

Professor: Yeah.

Tom: Okay.

Professor: Then you move up to the Sport, which runs for about $21,000.

Tom: Okay.

Professor: Then the mid-level EX trim, which has a different engine, a 1.5 liter inline 4-cylinder turbocharged and that starts at about $23,000.

Then you move up to the EX-L and that starts at around $25,000. And then you have the very top-of-the-line Touring trim, which starts at about $27,000.

Tom: Okay. And as always, those are just MSRPs, i.e., aka [laughs] manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

About Your Civic’s Trim Level & Equipment

You need to go get your Civic decked out to your specifications, whatever you want on it.

But you know, I’ve had lots of conversations with our dealer partners on this one lately. We all get hung up on price because obviously, buying a car is a big contentious thing.

Customer versus car dealer, but it doesn’t need to be if you heed our advice and go to one of our dealer partners.

“The important thing is, we sit in traffic forever in Southern California.  So… you best be in something that you’re going to be comfortable in.”

The important thing is, we sit in traffic forever in Southern California.  So, even if you’re leasing it for three years, you best be in something that you’re going to be comfortable in.

So, go get what you want with what you want on it and then work out the price.

You go to one of our guys, they’re going to handle the price. I don’t mean to get off on a tangent, but that’s been a hot topic I’ve been chatting with our partners about lately.

2019 Civic Sedan Exterior

The 2019 Honda Civic Touring, which has all the bells and whistles, tell us about the Civic Sedan overall and then we’ll get a little bit more granular on the Touring trim.

Professor: Let’s start off with the exterior design, which has that fastback styling.

It’s really the only compact sedan in its class that really has that, but you do see it in a lot of other cars, notably midsize sedans and luxury automobiles as well.

I think that’s another reason why it’s such a big seller and it’s gotten so much attention.

Tom: The Civic, I mean, it’s a fabulous-looking car.

“The Civic Sedan is probably just as big as what an Accord was back in the mid to late 1980’s.”

If I was a younger man, and it’s true, if I were a younger man, just out of college, new in my career, that is a good-looking car for a first-time buyer.

But it’s great—I’ve seriously considered one of them for myself and my family because it’s just me and my wife, our small dog, and our son right now.

Certainly, plenty of room for one baby seat back there.

Professor: Well, the Civic is so much bigger now than what it used to be.

Tom: It’s huge, yeah.

Professor: The Civic Sedan is probably just as big as what an Accord was back in the mid to late 1980s.

Tom: The Accord is even bigger than that.

’19 4-Door Civic Interior

Professor: Yeah. It’s got plenty of space, about 95 cubic feet of passenger space, about 15—I believe it’s nearly 15 cubic feet of cargo space. 95 cubic feet for passenger space, that’s almost as big as some mid-size sedans out there. That’s a lot of space for a compact car.

Tom: Anything else about the outside before we go inside or where are you going take us next?

Professor: Yeah, we can go on the inside.

“It’s got plenty of space. About 95 cubic feet of passenger space and it’ll carry four people comfortably…”

It’s got plenty of space. About 95 cubic feet of passenger space and it’ll carry four people comfortably, four adults, two people in the front, two people in the back. I think that’s one of the things you’ll notice and appreciate as soon as you sit in the vehicle.

Tom: Okay. What’s next? Technology on the car?

Honda Sensing Driver Assistance &  Safety Tech

Professor: Well, it’s got the Honda Sensing that you could call it, that suite of safety features.

Tom: Safety and driver assistance features.

Professor: Yes, correct.

Tom: Your lane keep assist and— all that.

“That’s what Honda is known for as well, their safety features. That comes standard in all the Honda vehicles. You don’t have to pay extra for that.”

Professor: Yes. That’s what Honda is known for as well, their safety features. That comes standard in all the Honda vehicles. You don’t have to pay extra for that. You’re going to get that.

Tom: And you got your Apple Car Play and Android Auto, too, I believe, right?

Professor: Yes.

The 2019 Civic Engines

Tom: Okay. What do we have for drive modes and tell me more, we got paddle shifters?

Professor: Yes, there are paddle shifters, yes.

Tom: Okay. You know what we forgot to touch on, is the engines.

Professor: Yes. In the LX and the Sport trim, the LX being the base trim and then the Sport a step above that, you’re going to get a 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder engine, normally aspirated that pumps out 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque.

Tom: Okay.

Professor: When you move up to the EX, the midlevel trim, the EX-L, and the top-of-the-line Touring trim, you’re going to get the 1.5-liter inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 174 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque.

Tom: Interesting how that works, right? You have larger liters on the lower-level engine, you got a 2.0-liter, but then you get a 1.5-liter, throw on the turbocharger, and you’re actually getting more horsepower and torque.

Professor: Yeah. It’s a smaller engine in terms of displacement but with the turbocharger, you’ll get a little more horsepower and more torque as well.

2019 Civic Sedan Fuel Economy

Tom: What are we getting, fuel economy?

Professor: Fuel economy, interesting thing, I was looking at the specs on that. Whether you’re getting the base trim, with that 2.0 liter, normally aspirated 4-cylinder or you’re going for the top-line Touring with the 1.5-liter, inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, the fuel economy is almost identical. I think the reason for that is with the Touring, you’re getting all the additional features, it’s the luxury version.

Tom: Weighs it down a bit.

Professor: Yeah, it’s additional weight. It came out to something like I believe it was like 36 miles to the gallon on the highway and about 30 on the city. They’re very comparable.

Tom: Yeah.

“Whether you’re getting the base trim… or you’re going for the top line Touring with the 1.5-liter, inline-4 turbocharged engine, the fuel economy is almost identical.”

Professor: But the EX and EX-L, I believe it was a little bit more fuel-efficient because it doesn’t have all the additional luxury features on those vehicles.

Tom: Right. All the features add weight and the weight burns a little bit more fuel. But nevertheless, you’re in fantastic shape with your fuel economy on any of the Civics, but especially when you’re on the highway with the—well, with any of them, right?

Professor: Yes.

Driving the 2019 Honda Civic Sedan

Tom: Tell us about the drive, where’d you go?

Professor: Well, the Civic, as I mentioned, it’s got really a good amount of horsepower for a compact car. As soon as you step on it, you can feel the power. I didn’t feel any lag and it’s got plenty of pep as soon as you step on the gas.

It’s a really, really smooth ride and it’s fun playing with the paddle shifters, as I always enjoy doing when I’m going out for a test drive. [Laughs]

Tom: Paddle shift away, Professor.

Professor: Yes. It’s great for both highway and city driving.

Tom: Sure, absolutely. Even though it’s bigger, it’s still one of the smaller cars on the road these days—one of the smaller new cars these days—and easy to get in and out of parking spots and traffic congestion as well.

Professor: Yeah. You asked where I went, well, that was the weekend I was at the Auto Club 400.

“…t’s got really a good amount of horsepower for a compact car. As soon as you step on it, you can feel the power. I didn’t feel any lag…”

Professor: Yes. I didn’t do that much driving in the morning, but following the race, I took a drive out to Cherry Valley, went out for a scenic drive. It was beautiful out there.

Packed with Features for a Compact Car

Tom: Anything else about 2019 Honda Civic that you drove or are we ready to go onto the top three?

Professor: I just wanted to add that for a compact car, it’s quite impressive in terms of the features it has, and it just has a really upscale feel to it, even though it’s a compact car.

“…I loved the audio system and of course the Honda Sensing technology not to mention Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.”

Tom: It’s a tremendous value.

“…it’s quite impressive in terms of the features it has, and it just has a really upscale feel to it, even though it’s a compact car.”

Professor: Yeah.

Tom: Even at MSRP.

Professor: It’s almost like getting a midsize car nowadays.

2019 Honda Civic Sedan | Top-3

Professor: Top three, I’m going to have to go with the interior space.

Tom: Interior space. Okay.

“…a lot of people prefer having something smaller, especially when they’re driving it around in the city. Makes it easier to maneuver around and to parallel park. But you’re still getting a lot of interior space…”

Professor: Which we mentioned earlier, yeah. For a compact car, it’s got plenty of space and I think that’s why it’s such a popular vehicle now because you really don’t have to move up to a midsize car to get all that space.

And, a lot of people prefer having something smaller, especially when they’re driving it around in the city. Makes it easier to maneuver around and to parallel park. But you’re still getting a lot of interior space, even though the exterior dimensions are not as big as, say a midsize car.

“…I really liked the power of the vehicle. I felt like it had plenty of power, even though it’s a smaller engine…”

Tom: Yep.

Professor: Number two, I think I’m going to go with the engine. I really liked the power of the vehicle. I felt like it had plenty of power, even though it’s a smaller engine, a 1.5-liter engine, but it’s turbocharged, as I mentioned earlier, 174 horsepower, 162-ft of torque.

Then third, I’m going to say the ride. Very smooth ride for a compact car. A lot of times with a compact car with a shorter wheelbase, it’s not going to be a smooth of a ride, but with Honda vehicles, you feel that refinement in the vehicles and I really appreciate that.

2019 Honda Civic Compact 4-Door Review

Tom: Professor, thank you as always.  For iDriveSoCal, I am Tom Smith. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. We’ll talk to you soon.

 

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