The Smoking Tire Answers How Good The Honda Civic Is

“The Honda Civic really is a good car.” – Me.

More from Art of Gears

• 3 Reasons the 2024 Mazda CX-50 Is Among the Best Small SUVs
• The Jeep Renegade Is Discontinued: Here’s a Look at Its Legacy
• 2023 Nissan Armada: A Decent Full Size SUV With 1 Glaring Issue
• Best Minivans: 3 Options for Families With Solid Performance
• Here’s Why the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Is So Popular

A few weeks ago, the editors of ArtOfGears spoke highly of the Honda Civic.  We wrote about how

good the car really is

.  We wrote about our

.  We wrote about how a

manual transmission

was coming out for the Touring trim.  We wrote about additional modifications added considerably

.  All in all, we may sound like Honda fanboys, but truthfully, I’m not one of them.  Honda engineered something attractive and complete, and it’s drawing me in.

Matt Farah (@TheSmokingTire) has been doing a One Take series for The Smoking Tire for awhile.  I love that people have volunteered their vehicles, in different states of modification, and it into his hands for a canyon drive.  Unlike most drives, this one was stock, and Matt had some glowing reviews for the 2016 Honda Civic Touring.

The initial remarks about the interior are spot on.  I recall a video years ago where Matt made a comment about the touch points of Honda.  What do I mean by touch points?  Essentially, as the driver, you have interaction with specific controls for the vehicle.  That would be the steering wheel, the radio controls, HVAC unit, transmission, and pedals.  Honda places value on the touch points of the vehicle and it creates for a better driver experience.  The steering wheel is thick.  The transmissions always shift smoothly.  It doesn’t feel like the penny-pinchers took the fun out of the interior.  It’s exactly the same with the 2016 Honda Civic.

But, what catches people off-guard is the layout.

All of a sudden, the Civic doesn’t appear to be just another economy car.  The Touring trim comes with leather seats.  The display is simple, functional, and easy to read.  The navigation screen is large.  It simply looks like a premium model.  In fact, substitute the “H” for an “A” on the steering wheel.  It’s more fitting.

Gas mileage on the freeway is right at 40 miles per gallon.  Personally, I had a lot of joy getting 34mpg out of my MKIII Spyder.  Now, the Civic Touring with the CVT transmission is capable of diesel-like gas mileage?  That makes it a steal.

I have also remarked how the Civic looks like a smaller Audi A7.

The silhouette of each vehicle is awfully close, even if the A7 has the longer wheelbase and greater length.  The Honda Civic’s more compact size would make it easier to drive around town and squeeze through tight parking spots.

There may be a few people that just want over 200 horsepower.  The Civic in Touring trim comes with 174 horsepower and 162-lb.ft. of torque.  However, with the Injen Cold Air Intake, totals rack up to over 203 horsepower and 187-lb.ft. of torque at peak, numbers we wish the FR-S and BRZ came with stock.

More cars: Injen Cat Back Exhaust For 2016 Honda Civic 1.5T Adds 8 hp, 7-lb.ft.

Overall, the Civic is more than just a typical “beige” daily driver.  While it’s perfectly suited for daily driving, the styling is attractive, the drive is predictable, the interior is upscale, and it’s easy to upgrade.  We can only imagine how much more fun the Civic Touring would be with a manual transmission, a Injen Cold Air Intake, and Injen Cat Back Exhaust would be.  Go plus-one on the wheels, do a slight drop on the suspension, and it’s possible to build a daily-driveable BTCC car.

Please click on the links in bold to get a more comprehensive review of the Civic and what our editorial team thinks of the car.