There are many great sedans on the market, and Honda, along with Toyota, tends to dominate this segment. Unsurprisingly, the Honda Civic is one of the most popular cars on the road, and for good reason. But, like other makes and models, some Civic owners do end up regretting their choices.

How popular is the Honda Civic?

According to GoodCarBadCar, the Civic has been selling well consistently in both the U.S. and Canada. Every year since 2005, Honda has, on average, sold about 360,000 Civics to American and Canadian buyers.

A few years, especially during the Great Recession, the Civic didn’t sell as well, but the Civic sold better than usual in other years to make up for that.

These consistently high sales show how popular the Civic is for customers, as most people consider it as a safe and reliable choice for a car. Not only is the Civic a great car, but it’s also pretty affordable, too. The latest model years of the Civic starts at about $20,000, but of course, used models will be significantly cheaper.

This makes the Civic a popular car for first-time drivers. Honda’s reputation for safety and reliability, along with the Civic’s features and relatively affordable price tag, makes it a great car for teens, young adults, and families.

These features also tend to make the Civic a pretty likable car, as it usually doesn’t do anything poorly. With that said, there are a few areas where Civic owners can end up regretting their purchase.

The Honda Civic’s transmission is a bit different 

Most cars are either automatics or manuals, but Honda is one of the few automakers that has embraced CVTs to a large extent. CVT stands for continuously variable transmission, and there are pros and cons to getting a CVT in a car.

For example, a CVT can improve a car’s fuel economy, and unsurprisingly, with a combined 32 MPG, the Civic gets a pretty good fuel economy from its best engine and CVT combo. 

That said, CVTs can feel bad to use. This is one of the few issues that Civic owners talked about on CivicX. One owner said that the “CVT is a bit jerky though which is annoying.” That said, Honda hasn’t gone all-in on CVTs, and the Civic does have a few manual transmissions available on certain trims of the car. 

Still though, even though the CVT takes some getting used to, the owners who complained about the CVT also praised it as well. One owner said that, compared to their Ford Explorer, the Civic’s CVT is far less problematic than the transmissions on other cars are. 

The Honda Civic isn’t a very premium car

Obviously, the Civic isn’t meant to be a luxurious, high-end car, but Honda offers a few trims that do bump up its styling and feel. One owner on CivicX bought the Sport Touring trim of the Civic, and this trim is about $8,000 more expensive than the standard Civic. However, despite paying that premium, the owner wasn’t very satisfied with the feel of the car. 

That owner complained about the interior of the car, which they felt Honda didn’t upgrade enough. In particular, they said that, “I hate the cheap plastics” that were in the car. Still though, that owner, as well as others, were overall satisfied with their Civics. The Civic has a few issues, which can be annoying to their owners, but by and large, those issues are not enough to cause many people to regret their purchase. 

As long as Honda keeps it up, the Civic seems like it’ll remain as one of the most popular cars in the auto industry for years to come.