We’ve analyzed many different cars on this blog to see if they are sports cars or not. Today, we will look at all different versions of the Honda Civic to see if this car should be considered a sports car. However, let’s start with a quick answer:
The Honda Civic sedan and hatchback are not sports cars because most aren’t powerful, and their design doesn’t fit the sports car criteria. The Civic coupe can be considered a sports car if it has an engine that produces more than 200 horsepower. The Civic Type-R is always a sports car because it has a power-to-weight ratio of 0.07+, 2-doors, and an aerodynamic styling.
However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Below we’ll first dive into the power-to-weight ratio of the sedan, hatchback, coupe, and Type-R to see if this matches with other sports cars. Furthermore, we’ll see if the design of these cars fits the sports car category. Finally, we’ll discuss the interesting drive system of the Civic, and we’ll discuss whether or not the car is considered to be a sports car for insurance purposes. Read on!
Also read: The Expected Mileage Of A Honda Civic
Power-To-Weight
First of all, let’s start with the Honda Civic’s engine and how much the car weighs. The reason for this is that there are a lot of different Honda Civics. There’s a sedan, hatchback, coupe, and type-R.
Just looking at the engine won’t give us enough information. This is because sports cars don’t have an official requirement when it comes to the engine. A 1.5L I4 can still be a sports car, but it totally depends on how much weight it has to carry and, therefore, how powerful it really is.
Therefore, we’ve decided to compare the Civics in terms of power-to-weight ratio. In an earlier article in which we looked at the Dodge Dart and whether or not this is a sports car or not, we found that sports cars generally have a power-to-weight ratio of 0.07 and above. Let’s see how the Civic matches up.
Sedan
- 2000 – 2003: 1.4L I4, 1.5L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.7L I4
- 2003 – 2005: 1.3L I4, 1.5L I4, 1.7L I4
- 2006 – 2008: 1.3L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.8L I4
- 2008 – 2012: 1.3L I4, 1.8L I4
- 2012 – 2016: 1.8L I4, 2.4L I4
- 2016 – present: 1.5L I4, 2.0L I4
The Civic sedan has had multiple different engines in its lifetime. Horsepower ranges from 83 – 205, whereas most of them end up somewhere in the 140 – 160 hp range. A Honda Civic Sedan normally weighs around 2,700 lbs.
With an 83 hp engine, that’s a power-to-weight ratio of 0.03, far below the threshold of 0.07. However, with a 205 hp engine, a power-to-weight ratio of 0.076 is within the sports car range. Using this as our benchmark, we would say that a Honda Civic sedan with at least 189 hp (power-to-weight of 0.07) qualifies for the sports car category in terms of engine power.
Also read: The Types Of Gas A Honda Civic Takes (Explained)
Hatchback
- 2001 – 2003: 1.4L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.7L I4
- 2003 – 2005: 1.4L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.7L I4, 2.0L I4
- 2005 – 2011: 1.4L I4, 1.8L I4, 2.2L I4
- 2012 – 2015: 1.4L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.8L I4, 2.2L I4
- 2015 – 2016: 1.4L I4, 1.6L I4, 1.8L I4
- 2016 – 2019: 1.0L I4, 1.5L I4
- 2019 – 2021: 1.5L I4
- 2021 – present: 1.5L I4, 2.0L I4
The hatchback version of the Civic has also had many different engines since the 2000s. The least powerful one produces 83 horsepower, whereas the most powerful one produces 180 hp. The hatchback normally weighs somewhere around 2,550 pounds.
We can keep this quite simple: only a hatchback with a 180 hp engine delivers a power-to-weight above 0.07. All the other engines don’t qualify for the sports car criteria in terms of engine power.
Coupe
- 2001 – 2005: 1.7L I4
- 2005 – 2011: 1.8L I4, 2.0L I4
- 2012 – 2016: 1.8L I4, 2.4L I4
- 2016 – present: 1.5L I4, 2.0L I4
The coupe version is probably one of those cars you would think about when you put ‘Honda Civic’ and ‘sports car’ in one sentence. The car produces anywhere between 120 – 205 hp and is slightly heavier than most Civics, with an average of around 2,850 lbs.
When we consider all of these things, only the Civic coupes with an engine that produces 200 hp or more qualify for a power-to-weight of 0.07 or above, therefore, many coupes in this category don’t really seem to make it to the sports car category in this category.
Type-R
- 2001 – present: 2.0L I4
Then there’s the Type-R which undoubtedly is the car that will make it into the sports car category. The car produces anywhere between 200 – 320 hp and weighs an average of 2,850 lbs. This means that all Type-R’s have a power-to-weight ratio of 0.07 and above, which means all of them have the engine power to be considered a sports car.
Design
The car’s design is most likely one of the biggest differentiators between ‘normal’ cars and sports cars. The whole goal of a sports car is to make the handling very good. This way, the car can go around a track quickly and efficiently. Therefore, the design of a sports car should be aerodynamic, relatively small, and low to the ground. Also, only 2-door coupes can be considered to be true sports cars.
From this perspective, it immediately becomes clear that both the Civic sedan and Civic 5-door hatchback don’t qualify for the sports car category. A sports car generally does only have 2 doors, and both these cars have more than that. Depending on the car’s styling, we could say that we’re talking about a sporty sedan or sporty hatchback but definitely not a sports car.
Then there’s the Civic Coupe and the 3-door hatchback, which have 2-door and also have the styling to be considered aerodynamic. However, we do still feel that you need to combine this with the right engine. Therefore, in our opinion, 2-door coupes and 3-door hatchbacks with an engine with more than 200 hp are considered sports cars. Whether or not you consider less powerful Civics to be sports cars is up to you, but this is where we believe we should draw the line.
Finally, there’s the Type-R. There’s almost no discussion here with its low center of gravity, aggressive styling, and spoiler: this car looks like a sports car and is made to go around a track. Furthermore, we already established that this car has the power-to-weight ratio to compete with other sports cars.
Also read: 7 Common Problems Of A Honda Civic Hybrid
Drive System
Finally, there’s the drive system that a car uses. Traditionally it has been true that sports cars are rear-wheel drive. The reason for this is that RWD cars are generally considered more fun, and you can drift with them around a track. This is more difficult for AWD or FWD cars.
However, this is where the Civic is a bit of a strange car. This is because all Civics make use of the front-wheel drive. This leaves us with the question of whether or not Civics can be considered sports cars if the coupes and Type-Rs all use FWD.
Officially we would have to say that FWD cars are not traditional sports cars. However, if we call a car with 2-doors, aerodynamic styling, and a power-to-weight ratio of 0.07+, not a sports car, then what should we classify it as?
For this reason, many people consider the powerful coupes, and the Type-R’s one of the few front-wheel-driven sports cars on the market. Yes, it may not totally fit the description of a traditional sports car, but the Civic does deserve its place in this category because it checks all other boxes.
Is The Honda Civic Considered A Sports Car For Insurance Purposes?
Finally, there’s the question of whether or not a Honda Civic is considered a sports car for insurance purposes. Let it first be said that insurance companies don’t just classify a car as ‘sports car’ or ‘not a sports car.’ Insurance companies take into account many, many different factors to come up with the price. Using valuepenguin.com, we found the following:
Honda Civics costs an average of $2,370 per year to insure for a 30-year old driver and $8,401 per year for an 18-year old driver. Surprisingly enough, a Honda Civic Type-R is slightly cheaper to insure at $2,345 and $8,326 per year.
However, it must be said that the Honda Civic (not the Type-R version) is already quite expensive to insure. This may be the reason why the Type-R doesn’t actually cost more. It could also be that people that own a Type-R are actually more careful with their vehicle than normal Civic drivers, which could also explain the difference in insurance rates.
Sources
Hi! My name is Stefan; I’m the owner and lead writer at TheDriverAdviser.com.
I’m an active writer on this blog myself, as well as a novice car mechanic. For the really technical stuff, I find writers with experience as a mechanic or who have studied mechanical engineering.
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