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  • The 2022 Honda Civic earns its NACOTY award thanks to competetive pricing and a killer interior
  • Our favorite Honda, the Honda Civic Si, takes everything from the base Civic and makes it better
  • We expect the 2023 Honda Civic Type R to be the best Honda yet

Alongside the 2022 Ford Bronco and Maverick, the 2022 Honda Civic has earned the North American Car of the Year award. In fact, it’s not even the first time Honda, or the Civic, has managed to do so. This time, however, is probably the best time. It’s further evidence of just how good a car the newest compact sedan is.

A red 2022 Honda Civic sedan shot on a city street
The 2022 Honda Civic is the North American Car of the Year | Honda

The 2022 Honda Civic earns its Car of the Year title

As an aside, the Civic managed to win the award back in both 2006 and 2016, exactly ten years apart. Now, about the current one. Let’s discuss those merits that won it the NACOTY (North American Car of the Year) award. Frankly, versatility should come first. While the Civic may not have the plethora of options and trims the 2022 Toyota Camry does, it’s still got more than enough to satisfy consumers.

Available with a spread of engines, body styles, and transmissions, consumers aren’t exactly wanting for choice with the 2022 Honda Civic. By the way, one of those transmissions is a six-speed manual. Plus, you don’t even have to buy a fast Civic like the Si or Type R to get it. It’s available on the regular ol’ Sport Touring trim.

What’s the best Civic trim?

An orange 2022 Honda Civic Si shot on a city street
The Honda Civic Si | Honda

And that brings us to one of our favorite offerings in the Civic lineup: the Sport Touring. For $24,550 you can have a Civic hatchback with a manual transmission. No, the 158 hp four-cylinder isn’t exactly a racy motor, but it’s more than enough to get you around. And, more importantly, it’s more than enough to impress the 50 journalists that pick the North American Car of the Year award.

However, our pick isn’t the regular Civic. It’s the 2022 Honda Civic Si. Yes, the Type R is coming, but that’ll have to wait a while. For now, this is the best brand new Civic you can buy. For $27,300 MSRP you get a 205 hp VTEC engine and a manual transmission. That’s more than the original Type R and Integra Type R. You’d better believe it drives as good as it sounds.

A new Civic Type R will elevate the fastest Honda to new heights

The new Honda Civic Type R in a camo livery shot from the front
The Type R will revolutionize the Civic all over again | Honda

However, there is still the 2023 Honda Civic Type R to consider. That debuts on January 14th. It promises to take the bones of the 2022 Honda Civic and elevate them to newer, faster heights. Plus, if the NACOTY award is any indication, it’ll be quite good. How it’s possible to improve on the already stellar Type R remains to be seen, but color us intrigued.

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MotorBiscuit Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Chase Bierenkoven

Chase Bierenkoven has been obsessed with cars his whole life and now finds joy in sharing what he’s learned from his own daily drivers. Chase earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology with a focus on legal studies from the Metropolitan State University of Denver and quickly became an automotive journalist. When he isn’t writing, Chase is either driving his passion project, a 2004 BMW M3 in Carbon Schwartz Metallic, or playing around Colorado’s terrain, mainly mountain biking and skiing.