Trump’s Favorite Honda Is the Car of the Moment

The Honda Civic is having a great year.It was the best-selling compact car through February, the hybrid model was named North American Car of the Year and now President Trump can’t stop talking about it.The Civic is currently manufactured in the U.S. and Canada. Trump’s interest comes from a report that Honda was planning to shift production to Mexico in a couple of years, but that it will instead be bringing it home to Indiana, where the Civic hatchback is currently built, to avoid the upcoming 25% tariff on imported cars.HondaHonda hasn’t officially confirmed or denied the specifics of the report, but that has not stopped Trump from highlighting it as an example of his tariff policy’s success. Nevertheless, the exposure for the model is priceless, especially in a market where SUVs, like Honda’s own CR-V, have pushed small cars to the side in recent years.The timing couldn’t be better. The Civic lineup was updated for 2025 and a hybrid model was added to it for the first time in a decade. Honda expects the hybrid to account for 40% of Civic sales this year. It’s available in sedan and hatchback styles, the former built in Canada and the latter at the Greensburg, Ind., factory that is the subject of Trump’s adoration.Prices for the hybrid start at $30,100 for the sedan and $31,300 for the hatchback that I recently tested. Aside from their body types, they are mechanically identical and share the same front-wheel drive powertrain. It combines a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors and a continuously variable automatic transmission.The total output is 200 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque. That makes it the most potent Civic model ever, not counting the high-performance Civic Type R, which is a significantly modified version designed with race track driving in mind with a 315 hp turbocharged engine and stick shift transmission.The hatchback civic has more cargo room than the sedan. HondaThe hybrid’s EPA fuel economy rating is 48 or 49 mpg combined, depending on the trim. That is only a few mpg less than its closest rival in size and price, the Toyota Prius.The Civic Hatchback is one of the roomiest compact cars and more spacious than the Prius. Six-foot-tall passengers can fit comfortably all around and it has 24.5 cubic-feet of cargo space. That is 10 cubic-feet larger than the sedan’s trunk, despite the model being a half-foot longer overall than the hatchback.The dashboard has a retro-style strip of silver metal grating across it and three knobs for the climate control system that make a nice tactile click when you turn them. It pairs those with a modern digital instrument cluster and a large touchscreen display. The infotainment system is loaded for bear with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, plus Alexa and Google built-in, which lets you download apps like maps and music from the Google Play store directly into the system.The Civic steps off nicely when you step on the accelerator, taking advantage of the electric motor’s immediate response as the four-cylinder winds up. Sprinting to 60 mph takes just a tick over six seconds. All of the transitions it makes between the power sources are seamless, and there is a digitally enhanced motor noise pumped into the cabin through the speakers that is authentic enough to fool someone unfamiliar with its origins.The 2025 Civic has Honda’s latest infotainment system features. HondaThe hybrid isn’t meant to be a sports car but it feels sporty, as most Hondas do. The handling is sharp, but the ride remains smooth even on bumpy roads. One minor complaint is that the very supportive seats have bottoms that might be too firm for yours. A full array of standard electronic driver aids are at the ready, including automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and a lane-centering assist.As with all hybrids, the Civic can use its electric motor as a brake when you lift off the accelerator, as it charges the battery with recaptured energy. Honda offers four levels of resistance that are adjusted through a paddle behind the steering wheel. It resets after you start cruising at a constant speed unless you switch to the Sport drive mode, which locks it in.Honda uses a version of this powertrain in the hybrid CR-V SUV, which is also built in the USA and Canada. No word yet on if Honda plans to move any of that around, but if it does, I am sure the president will let you know.Either the company’s or the country’s.

Trump’s Favorite Honda Is the Car of the Moment

Trump’s Favorite Honda Is the Car of the Moment

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