The 2022 Honda Civic has been officially revealed, and as expected, it looks much more like its bigger Accord cousin than the Civic it's replacing. It's technically called a "prototype," but it's safe to assume that the production model will look just like this. Honda also provided a preview of the interior and just a couple of details about feature set and availability.

Digging deeper into the exterior, you can see the Accord influence in the smooth body panels, the long shoulder line that runs the length of the car, and the window line that bumps up at the C-pillar. The proportions differ a bit from the Accord, though. The nose is longer and lower relative to the rest of the body, and the trunk lid is short. It almost looks as though it could be rear-wheel drive. The car also features a small grille with a body color accent similar to that on the new Honda Fit, and the trunk has a distinct lip spoiler to it.



While Honda hasn't revealed the interior in full, the sketch provided gives us a good idea of what to expect. It's a major departure from the current model, going for a more minimalist, low, horizontal design theme. It's reminiscent of the retro Honda E interior. It will have air vents concealed by a mesh that stretches the full length of the dash. On top will be a touchscreen infotainment system that will be available in a size as large as 9 inches. It will likely use the operating system found on the Accord, which will be a huge improvement in appearance, responsiveness and ease of use. The instrument panel will be available in a fully digital version, as opposed to the blend of outboard analog dials and a center screen on the outgoing model.

Honda is staying mum on the details about the powertrain, size and much more, but we should know in a few months. That's because the sedan is going on sale in late spring 2021. Following the sedan launch will be the hatchback, then the Si, and finally the Type R. Honda also announced that the hatchbacks will be built at the Greensburg, Ind., factory.

The five-door variant of the new Honda Civic was caught by a spy photographer in Europe this week, giving us a good idea of what to expect from the new hatchback.

Honda revealed the design of the production 2021 Civic sedan back in November, staying mum on the powertrain, size and much more, including the design of its forthcoming hatchback, Si, and Type R variants. All we know for sure is that the new compact will debut this spring, and that the five-door model will be among those built at the company's Greensburg, Ind., factory.

These photos aren't technically our first look at the new hatchback — that honor goes to some snaps of the Type R model that emerged back in May — but this is the first time we've seen it without the aforementioned performance variant's larger-diameter wheels and enormous rear wing. While the overall design of the Civic may be a significant departure from the outgoing generation's, it's clear that Honda chose to keep the sedan and hatch designs fairly similar to each other yet again.



Looking at them side-by-side, the differences stand out a bit more. The hatch model (left) has more significant taper to its rear glass, which extends farther down the decklid. The wiper at the base of the rear will be the most obvious tell when viewed from a distance. Elsewhere, the two are tough to distinguish, especially in profile.

The sedan is due to go into production soon, so we shouldn't have to wait too much longer for details on the new Civic's powertrain and in-cabin tech. We also expect Honda to outline its plans for the Si, hatchback and Type R before year's end, though we're not certain yet for which model year each will debut.

Honda hasn't officially revealed the production-ready Civic, and yet here it is. Every new car launched in China has to drop by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to be homologated for the road. Pictures are taken, and on some occasions, these are published on MIIT's official site even before the car in question is properly revealed. That's the story of Honda's 2022 Civic, as even though the sedan has not been unveiled in production guise – only as a prototype – we're being given an early look.

Mind you, we are dealing with the CN-spec version of the compact sedan, meaning the North American model could look a tad different. That being said, we have a feeling Honda has created one unified global model and the changes from one market to another will be kept down to a minimum. The new Civic intended for the People's Republic is shown here in two separate configurations.

We'd wager the one with the black side mirror caps and chunky trunk lid spoiler is a higher-end version. You'll also notice it has black wheels and door handles along with different headlights, likely LEDs compared to the cheaper model's old-school bulbs. The "240" badge on the trunk lid suggests both have the same engine, but the fancier one adopts a dual exhaust setup whereas its lesser counterpart has the exhaust hidden under the rear bumper.

To no one's surprise, the road-going Civic is a spitting image of the prototype revealed in mid-November last year. There are some mild changes, such as the addition of fog lights, but we're splitting hairs here. The interior was not revealed in MIIT's images, although we'll remind you Honda teased it when the prototype was unveiled. You can see the sneak preview from the 5:51 mark in the video below.

Honda has promised to introduce the 2022 Civic production model in the first quarter of the year, which can only mean we'll see it before the end of the month. Numerous spy shots have revealed the hatchback is not far behind, while the coupe will not return for the model's eleventh generation. Enthusiasts will be happy to hear there will be a new Civic Si sedan and a Civic Type R hatchback, but these will arrive at a later date, complete with three pedals.

The Type R is of particular interest for Euro folks because it will allegedly go down in history as Honda's last pure gasoline car sold on the Old Continent before electrification takes over. There had been rumors about the hot hatch going hybrid, but the latest intel suggests it will soldier on with a gas-only powertrain, specifically the familiar 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot. It's said to get a minor bump over the current 306-hp output while remaining front-wheel drive.

It's already March 11, meaning the wraps should come off in the following days or weeks.

Originally a low-key economy car, the ever-popular Civic slowly but steadily became ingrained with motorists. It’s relatively affordable, reliability is up there with the best of them, the compact footprint makes it perfect for the urban jungle, and standard features are generous.

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Redesigned from the ground up in November 2020 for the 2022 model year, the 11th generation of the Civic prepares to arrive in U.S. showrooms with fresh design cues inside and out, more safety nannies than before, and two body styles. Indeed, the peeps at Honda couldn’t make a case for the coupe due to very poor sales and worse practicality than the sedan and hatchback.

But some things don’t change because they’re already fine the way they are. Of course, I’m referring to the engine options of the Civic, which carryover from the 10th generation according to recent filings with the California Air Resources Board. Developed to be both efficient and smooth, the 1.5- and 2.0-liter four-cylinder mills are more than adequate for a compact vehicle.

Both engines are listed with a continuously variable transmission, which may put off a few customers. On the one hand, the CVT lacks the engagement of a six-speed manual. But more importantly, an automatic uses actual gears while a continuously variable transmission is - dare I say it - a bit of a borefest.

Another thing you should be aware of before ordering an all-new Civic is the biggest problem of the outgoing generation. I am referring to the issue of oil dilution in the 1.5-liter engine, which has been partially addressed by Honda with a software update that changes the turbo powerplant’s parameters on startup. The underlying oil dilution problem still hasn’t gone away, though.

Going forward, the 1.5-liter VTEC Turbo will receive a more potent sibling and a stick shift in the Civic Si. Optional AWD isn’t going to happen, but on the upside, the 300-plus-horsepower Civic Type R hot hatch will soldier on.

The Civic-obsessed private eyes at CivicXI.com have done it again with a look at the 11th-generation Honda compact sedan. This time, one of their spy cameras captured the 2022 Civic without its camouflage cloak in advance of its official reveal at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.

Beijing-based CivicXI.com forum poster Yu says the front of the new Civic “presents a radical design, which creates a good sense of movement.” Grainy capture notwithstanding, this is our best look at the new Civic on the street and the people surrounding the sedan offer a good reference for the actual size.

As we reported last year, Honda took away the Civic sedan's manual gearbox for model year 2021. It seems Honda is leaning more toward a straight comfort sedan than the insouciant runabout it has been in some past iterations. Honda advertises the 2022 with a “sportier chassis.” However, in the uncovered version the front fascia of the Chinese version appears more subdued, the lines of the flanks gentler, and the tamed-down rear end suggests that Honda is gearing the 11-gen Civic for customers who grew up with it and want something slightly more mature.

The first new car I ever bought was a 1996 Honda Civic Coupe EX, and it’s unfortunate that the sporty two-door version was canceled in 2021 due to low sales. Take heart, though, because we’re expecting Si and Type R versions to emerge at some point; fans like me appreciate the Type R for its stellar clutch action as well as more-aggressive styling. The Type R would be a great starter car for drivers new to manual transmission but with supervision: it has a ton of power for such a small car.

According to Yu on the CivicXI forum page, the 11th-generation Civic is produced in China by Dongfeng Honda and GAC Honda. Between the Chinese market and North American market, there will be two versions with slight modifiations in appearance; I don’t expect them to be vastly different.

The new Civic sedan will be available to the Chinese market soon and the U.S. market later this spring.