The Honda Civic is a line of small cars manufactured by Honda. Originally a subcompact, the Civic has gone through several generational changes, becoming both larger and more upmarket and moving into the compact car segment. EPA guidelines for vehicle size class stipulate a car having combined passenger and cargo room of 110 to 119.9 cubic feet(3, 110 to 3, 400 L) is considered a mid-size car, and as such the tenth generation Civic sedan is technically a small-end mid-size car, although it still competes in the compact class.[1] The Civic coupe is still considered a compact car. The Civic currently falls between the Honda Fit and Honda Accord.
The first Civic was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door model, [2] followed by a three-door hatchback that September. With an 1169 cc transverse engine and front-wheel drive like the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions.[3] Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type R, Civic VTi, Civic GTi and Civic SiR/Si.[4][5]
The Civic has been repeatedly rebadged for international markets, and served as the basis for the Honda CR-X, the Honda CR-X del Sol, the Honda Concerto, the first generation Honda Prelude, the Honda Civic Shuttle(later to become the Honda Orthia), and the Honda CR-V.
In Japan, as customers increasingly shifted to minivans and compact cars like Honda Fit, production of non-hybrid Civic ended in August 2010 when it no longer complied with Japanese Government dimension regulations in the width category. However, production of Civic and Civic hybrid for export markets continued.[6]