Honda’s Gamble on the 2022 Civic Paid Off
The 2022 Honda Civic won Kelley Blue Book’s Car of the Year Award. What changes did Honda make to the beloved nameplate to earn such praise?
Written by Andrew Koole
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
They say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Honda
flat-out ignored that advice by giving its beloved Civic
a complete overall this year — and according to Kelley Blue Book
(KBB), the risk was well worth it.The trusted car buyer’s resource awarded the new Civic its Car of the Year Award for the 2022 model year, praising the Japanese brand’s ability to refine the classic sedan while keeping its starting price low.
The competition was hot this year, with EV startups and auto giants alike taking spots in the list of finalists.
Jerry
took a closer look to see just how the Honda Civic managed to make its way to the top.Why did KBB love the 2022 Honda Civic so much?
MORE: 4 Car Depreciation Hacks Courtesy of Kelley Blue Book
The Honda Civic has been around a long time. Next year will be the nameplate’s 40th anniversary. Maintaining interest in such a well-known model can be difficult, but Honda managed to do that and more with the newest rendering of the compact car.
The 2022 Civic starts a new generation for the car. Honda dropped the coupe version in favor of a hatchback, which can still come with a manual transmission. Two engine options are available, with the more powerful 1.5-liter also getting better overall gas mileage by two miles.
Changes to styling also impressed the critics, inside and outside the car. KBB loved the honeycomb metal mesh strip hiding the air vents on the front console. And the simplified, sophisticated exterior makes the car look much more mature than its predecessor.
Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
Other top contenders for this year’s KBB Car of the Year Award
Maybe the best way to illustrate the significance of the Honda Civic’s win is to highlight the models it beat for the prize.
The most direct competitor in the running was the
Volkswagen
Golf which also has an illustrious history of high performance and praise. Critics loved the sporty GTI and Type R trims but decried the loss of more affordable versions of the VW that were not sold in the U.S.The Civic also beat out the Lucid Air, the first model ever released by the new California automaker. The EV’s potential 520-mile range made it a worthy opponent to the Civic, but its luxurious status and its lack of consumer data (being brand new) kept it from taking the top spot.
Insurance coverage for a 2022 Honda Civic
MORE: Why New Manual Cars Are Becoming More Rare in the U.S.
There are a lot of good reasons to buy a Honda Civic, but average
car insurance
rates are not part of that list. Coverage for the compact car sits at just under $2,600 a year. Jerry
brings that annual average down to a more reasonable $1,992.Using Jerry is easy. Simply download the Jerry app or go to getjerry.com. In less than 45 seconds, Jerry collects all of your information from your existing insurer.
Choose from competitive quotes from over 50 top insurance companies and Jerry takes care of the rest—securing your new policy and helping you cancel your old one. No long forms. No calling around. No hard work. Just savings.
The average Jerry user saves $887 a year on car insurance.
4.7
