Honda Civic hybrid: Corolla to get key new rival in Australia from frugal new hatch

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Honda has unveiled the hybrid version of its Civic small car, badged the e-HEV – and the petrol-electric hatch is coming to Australia to take on the popular Toyota Corolla hybrid.

The Civic e-HEV is set to make its Australian debut in the second half of the year, alongside the high-performance Type R.

When it arrives, the Civic hybrid will compete primarily with the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and potentially more premium options like the Mercedes-Benz A250e plug-in hybrid.

Performance and fuel efficiency

The Civic hybrid uses just 4.7L/100km in combined conditions, according to European WLTP testing protocols.

Australian ADR81/02 fuel consumption testing is normally a bit more lenient, so it’s possible the Civic hybrid will land somewhere near the Toyota Corolla ZR hatch hybrid’s official rating of 4.2L/100km.

Either way, the Civic hybrid will use considerably less petrol than the 1.5-litre turbo version we’ve already reviewed – which has a claimed fuel consumption score of 6.3L/100km.

A 2L/100km saving would mean that the Civic hybrid consumes about $600 less fuel per year for most Aussie drivers – but how much more expensive will the Civic hybrid be?

If the upcharge is $2000 over the 1.5-litre turbo Civic VTi LX ($47,200 driveaway), owners would break-even in just under three years at June 2022 $2.20/L petrol prices and be saving money beyond that point.

The Civic hybrid is also armed with significantly more grunt than the current Civic, which produces 131kW of power and 240Nm of torque from a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder.

As we reported previously, the Civic hybrid makes use of two electric motors making 135kW/315Nm connected to the front wheels, with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder serving as a range extender to keep the lithium-ion battery topped up.

Honda says accelerating from 0-100km/h takes just 7.8 seconds, a fair bit quicker than the upgraded 103kW Corolla which takes 9.2 seconds to perform the same task. 

Leather interior and digital cockpit

While the Civic hybrid is yet to be detailed in Australia, it’s likely that it will come with either a synthetic or leather interior option.

The Civic is currently sold in Australia in a single grade, in which fabric upholstery is the only option, so the new e-HEV hybrid could seek to offer a more premium (and likely more expensive) offering with its quieter powertrain and improved upholstery.

Honda also offers the Civic hybrid with a choice of a full-width 10.2-inch digital driver’s display on higher trims and a smaller 7.0-inch unit working in conjunction with an analogue gauge on lower trims.

A 12-speaker Bose premium stereo along with other features with Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay build on the list of desirable inclusions. 

More details on the exact specification coming to Australia and the all-important question of price will be revealed closer to the Civic hybrid’s launch in the second half of 2022.

Honda Civic 2022: prices in Australia

All figures listed are the national driveaway prices.

• VTi LX: $47,200
• e-HEV (hybrid): TBC
• Type R: TBC