Safety and Driver Assistance Rating:
All Civics offer six airbags and a backup camera as standard (which is required by law for 2018). Paired with notable crash-test scores, the Civic is a fine option for those who prioritize safety. Front-seat legroom is compromised with a child seat in back, though.
What’s New for 2018?
Although the 2018 Civic is available with most active safety features, only the top-tier models are graced with such assists as standard.
2017 Honda Civic
Crash Test Results
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the nonprofit, independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluate vehicles for crashworthiness in the United States. NHTSA assigns cars an overall rating out of 5 stars. IIHS uses a different set of tests, grades cars on a scale of Good to Poor, and awards the vehicles that perform best across its tests with Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ honors, the latter of which requires that the subject’s automated forward-collision-braking system performs well.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Test Results
2017 Honda Civic sedan
2017 Honda Civic coupe
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Test Results
2017 Honda Civic sedan
| Small Overlap | Moderate Overlap | Side Impact | Roof Strength | Head Restraints and Seats | Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+? |
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Top Safety Pick |
Airbags, Child Seats, and Spare Tire Location
While we’ve yet to install a child seat in the Civic coupe, we can report that the Civic sedan and hatchback both offer wide rear-door openings for moving a child seat in and out. Leveling the child seat’s base requires a prop, though. We also discovered that searching for the Civic’s LATCH points is a challenge, and an installed child seat limits the front seats’ rearward travel.
Active Safety Features
Honda groups the Civic’s active safety features under the Honda Sensing umbrella, a $1000 option on LX, EX, EX-T, and EX-L sedans, as well as on LX, EX, and EX-L hatchbacks. The package comes standard on Touring sedans and coupes and Sport Touring hatchbacks. Honda Sensing is not available in Civics equipped with the six-speed manual transmission.
Although a backup camera is standard on all Civics, the camera’s location leaves it exposed and liable to being obstructed by dirt and grime. All Civic models forgo traditional blind-spot monitors. Instead, Honda proffers a rear-facing, camera-based LaneWatch system that displays a video feed of the passenger’s-side blind spot on the center-stack screen. It sounds better than it works.
Backup Camera
| Gridlines integrated in backup camera view? | Do gridlines move with steering wheel? | Does volume of audio system reduce when reverse is selected? | |
| 2016 Honda Civic Touring sedan | Yes | Yes | No |
