The Honda Civic is one of the best Japanese sedans, with its presence and popularity going across continents and stretching back decades, the Civic has earned its place among the cars that impacted automotive culture.
In its stock form, the Honda Civic is already a capable vehicle, a good-looking sub-compact with several body styles and powerplants to choose from, its excellent engineering and build quality have ensured that each new iteration of the Civic has been a hit.
It for these very reasons why the Civic has been a popular car to modify, with its owners doing extensive builds that boost its performance or improve its looks. In this article, we look at the Civic from the perspective of a modder- This is why the Honda Civic is a favorite among tuners.
15 Many Generations To Choose From
The first Honda Civic was released in 1972, a small compact that was a success for Honda owing to the important mechanical and styling changes they did with its predecessor, the Honda 1300. Now in its tenth generation, modders and tuners can choose which era civic would work best for their build.
14 Several Body Styles
With a sedan, coupe and hatchback body to choose from their model range, the Civic gives ample styling and seating choices for buyers and further increases its appeal to tuners, who may want a hot hatch, a sleeper sedan or a curvy coupe.
13 Engine Options
From the entry-level 1.3L up to the 2.0L turbocharged engine of the high spec versions, the Honda Civic has had various engine configurations. Tuners though would normally swap their stock engine and drop in either a B or K series that would provide a massive HP upgrade.
12 Cool Interior
While not as luxurious as its bigger brother Accord, Civic's have always had ample interior space and a simple, functionally laid out dash that can be easily modified to feature a better infotainment system and change the stock seats to Sparco racing seats and better upholstery.
11 Parts And Service Availability
As a direct result of its popularity and large sales volumes, parts availability for Civics are not difficult, as local shops or part stores (including online) would normally have them in stock. This is also the same for servicing the car as there are numerous garages and mechanics that can work on them.
10 Engine Mods Are Easy
From OEM, aftermarket, or fabricated components, the number of performance parts available for Honda Civics is astonishing. This is because of the inherent capacity and number of ways to modify the engine that make it easy to tune and squeeze HP, which in some extreme mods have resulted in 1,800HP Civic.
9 Body Mod Options Are Numerous
Style-wise, the Civic again is easy to build upon. Tuners can easily bolt on body kits, wings, panels, CF hoods, and doors as well as aero/ground effect kits. Already a sporty looking car while stock, the simple installation of cool rims makes the Civic look many times better.
8 VTEC Power
A popular reason why Civics are popular is because of its VTEC engine. VTEC is a valve timing tech of Honda that gives better combustion/fuel atomization that improves total airflow providing higher top-end power.
7 The Mustang Of The '90s
While every generation had a car iconic to their period, i.e. the Ford Mustang for the '60s and Camaros and Chargers in the '70s. It was the era of the JDM tuners during the early '90s that the EG and EK series of the Civic rose in popularity as it offered amazing tuning possibilities.
6 Famous Civics
Thanks to media and film, Honda Civic's have gained even more prominence after being featured in several car-related movies, with the most popular being the Fast And The Furious series. First seen in the first installment of the franchise, three tuned Civics were the heist cars of Dom and his gang used to pursue trucks in several high-speed chase scenes.
5 Used Civics Are Cheap
As both a first car for those just getting their licenses and a project car for experienced tuners, the market prices for used Honda Civic's are low enough not to break their wallets. Recent prices for a 10-year-old top of the line Civic are about $4,000, while the much older but popular EK series range from $2,500-3,000.
4 Simple Reliability
With its simple but important characteristic as a reliable car, the Civic has not only been popular but gained the respect of those that know of its build quality. While certain models have known suspension or brake issues, the overall build quality of the car has been intact and proven over the course of its many iterations.
3 Long And Proven History
At Ten generations old, the Honda Civic has evolved from a tiny Kei car to one of today's best sub-compact cars. Always being improved, in terms of performance, safety, and efficiency, Civics have been the benchmark for their rivals to follow.
As Honda realizes the Civic is their most popular car, its development has been exemplary, so much so, that the latest model Civic is so far ahead in build quality and engineering, it may as well be an alien spaceship compared to its 1972 ancestor.
2 There Is An Official OEM Tuner
Similar to how Brabus and Alpina provide tuning packages and services to Mercedes and BMW, Honda has Mugen Motorsports, A company owned by the son of the Honda founder himself. Mugen Motorsports is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer that produces OEM parts including body kits and sports exhausts for Honda vehicles.
1 The Type-R Civic
The Type R Civic could be considered the in house tuner version of the Civic. Now on its 6th generation, the Type R in its various iterations has been the fastest or best handling production hatchback or sedan in numerous head-on comparisons. As a tuner car, the Type R would be the best Civic to build upon, owing to its already high-performance spec.