If you have ever shopped for a compact car, then the Honda Civic was likely one of the first cars you thought of. And that’s no surprise, considering the Civic has been a household name and one of Honda’s top-selling models for the past few decades. The Honda Civic is easily one of the most recognizable nameplates in the market and is a perennial best-seller in its segment, but why is it so popular?

The Civic is fuel efficient

Back in the day – as in the early 2000s – you would be hard-pressed to find a car that even got close to achieving 40 mpg. In fact, you would have had to turn to cars like the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight to even get up there. Fast forward to today and you can now achieve stratospheric fuel economy with even the base model Civic LX. The new Civics are capable of up to 31 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway and they have enough passing power to bypass a slow truck on a steep hill.

With 174 hp out of a turbocharged 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine, and stellar fuel economy numbers, it’s no wonder that so many consumers are still flocking to Honda dealers for this car. It wasn’t always like that, though, as the Civic has come a long way. Back in the 90s, the Honda Civic achieve close to those same fuel economy numbers (low to mid-30 mpg range), however, those Civics only had around 100 hp and didn’t have the same type of safety equipment and technology as the newer cars do.

The Civic is reliable

Aside from being fuel-efficient, everyone knows that Honda Civic is dead-on reliable. In fact, Consumer Reports rated the Honda Civic with “better” reliability ratings throughout the past generation and Repairpal.com gave the Civic a 4.5 out of 5 ratings for reliability. By comparison, most cars get a 4 out of 5 start rating and Repair Pal noted that the Civic ranks third out of 36 among other compact cars. If that’s not a true testament to the Civic’s reliability, we don’t know what is.

The Civic is safe

The Honda Civic has received a 5-star safety rating from NHTSA and has earned a Top Safety Pick award for the IIHS for years and it doesn’t look like it will be getting anything less in the years to come. For the 2020 model year, Honda has made the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assist feature standard across all Civic models in addition to the car’s six airbags and the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, which deflect energy away from the cabin in a front collision. Case in point, the Civic is one of the safest compact cars you can currently buy.

The Civic is affordable

Lastly, whether you’re shopping for a new or used Honda Civic, you will likely find one that fits your budget. The 2020 Honda Civic sedan starts at around $20,000 for the base LX trim level while the top-trim Touring tops out at around $28,000 and gives you luxurious amenities like an upgraded sound system, leather seating surfaces, and heated rear seats. Considering all of the value that the Honda Civic has, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular and will likely continue to be for years to come.