The 2021 Wards 10 Best UX winners are being revealed in random, non-alphabetical order one per day until Nov. 3. This is the seventh winner profile. Winning design teams will receive their trophies Nov. 17 during Automotive TechWeek in Novi, MI., where winning vehicles will be on display.
For ’21, the Honda Civic was No.2 behind the Toyota Corolla (289,000 sales) in the Upper Small car segment tracked by Wards Intelligence. But now that Honda has ramped up Civic production, it has a good chance of outselling the Corolla in 2022.
An outstanding user experience in the all-new Civic, along with excellent driving dynamics and an award-winning interior, certainly gives Honda’s popular compact car a serious advantage in the marketplace.
After earning a 2021 Wards 10 Best Interiors trophy, the redesigned Civic returns with a 2021 Wards 10 Best UX win on the strength of its driver-assistance technologies, brightly colored instrument cluster, intuitive steering-wheel controls and easy-to-navigate central display screens that measure 7 ins. (18 cm) or 9 ins. (23 cm) and help minimize the number of necessary physical buttons, knobs and switches.
The design team clearly was tasked with making the whole package more user-friendly: The shifter moves closer to the driver, and hard buttons for HVAC control are handsomely knurled with metallic finish for easy gripping. The look (and feel) is simple, straightforward and clean.
The available wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless Qi-compatible smartphone charging will be popular among shoppers, as will the 12-speaker Bose premium sound system – a first-time offering for Civic.
Apple CarPlay makes for easy navigating in Honda Civic.
The standard Honda Sensing package includes adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, lane centering, Traffic Jam assist and traffic sign recognition.
The Touring model tested by Wards judges also had blindspot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and low-speed braking assistance. There’s also a driver monitor and rear-seat reminder.
Appearance and functionality are part of the user experience, and the Civic earned points from judge Bob Gritzinger for one specific feature: “I was highly enamored with the HVAC vents integrated so perfectly into the horizontal honeycomb trim element across the dashboard.”
Crisp graphics with digital gauge cluster.
But the user experience that matters most behind the wheel of the new Civic is perhaps the one that can’t be seen or touched. It’s the sense of continuity and reliability that keeps Honda shoppers returning to buy yet another Civic, eager to see how the latest model has evolved while maintaining certain aspects that are familiar from generation to generation.
Wards judges were impressed by the overall value equation – the connectivity, infotainment and driver-assistance technologies – of the $28,300 Civic Touring, the highest of four trim levels for a model with a starting price of $22,900.
“You get a lot of tech for $28,000,” judge Christie Schweinsberg notes. “If we’re looking for a lower-priced winner, this could work.”
And it does.
2022 Honda Civic Touring sedan.
