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Honda Civic vs Honda City

What's the difference?

VS
Honda Civic
Honda Civic

$47,200 - $72,600

2024 price

Honda City
Honda City

$13,990 - $22,990

2018 price

Summary

2024 Honda Civic
2018 Honda City
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Inline 4, 1.5L
Fuel Type
-

Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
8.9L/100km (combined)

5.7L/100km (combined)
Seating
4

5
Dislikes
  • Price, maybe
  • Limited availability
  • Likely a swansong

  • Underdone engine
  • Average CVT performance
  • Multimedia system is a disaster
2024 Honda Civic Summary

Before we dive in, this isn’t your typical road test. 

That’s because there’s no road, per se. Instead, the majority of what you’re about to read comes from The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.

You’ve read the headline, though, so you’re probably putting it all together: a Honda Civic Type R on a well-liked race track must be bliss. Let’s find out.

A very quick catch-up for those not in the know. The Honda Civic Type R (or CTR if you like) is the brand’s only performance model on sale after the demise of the NSX supercar. 

The current (FL5) CTR is a little over a year old, having been launched internationally in late 2022, but has only been on Aussie shores for a little while. In fact, we’ve already reviewed it for the road, back in April.

But Honda Australia was keen to get media behind the wheel in a setting it says the CTR thrives in - a racetrack. Its predecessor was a car loved almost universally, can this one live up to the new standard?

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2018 Honda City Summary

Honda built its four-wheeled automotive empire on the back of small cars, flying in the face of 1970s convention that bigger was better. As the ubiquitous Civic grew larger and larger, a niche for a smaller car appeared, and that niche was subsequently filled by the City in sedan guise, and the Jazz hatch that sits alongside it.

The buying public, however, is simply not as interested as it once was in small hatches and sedans, and Honda, along with other importers, is feeling the pinch when it comes to slumping sales for its smaller models.

But are we all missing out on something here? After all, the Thai-built City is priced from a rock-bottom $15,990 in base manual form – which is not a lot of money for a Honda.

We’re trying the range-topping, $21,590 VTi-L to see what we may have been missing.

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Deep dive comparison

2024 Honda Civic 2018 Honda City

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