Facelifted 2025 Honda Civic shown in the US

An updated 2025 Honda Civic has debuted in North America, armed with a Type R-inspired aesthetic, a more powerful hybrid powertrain and Google Built-in.

Confirmation of its Australian introduction is yet to be announced, but odds are the latest Civic will arrive in local showrooms sometime next year, given our Honda vehicles are sourced from Japan – not the US – and typically follow their North American release by a few months.

The angrier Type R hot hatch vibes are provided primarily by a new front bumper and new (darkened) tail-lights, plus a distinctive new body-coloured headlight garnish and front splitter for the hybrids to reflect their newfound muscle.

Touted as the ‘most powerful non-Type R Civic ever’, the new Civic hybrid packs 149kW/315Nm – 13kW more than the current version and 17kW/75Nm more than the standard 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine – though Honda hasn’t divulged where the extra firepower has come from.

But it has revealed the newfound grunt will be supported by an ‘optimised’ chassis set-up comprising specially-tuned springs and dampers, plus specifically-developed tyres from Continental.

An e-CVT remains the only transmission choice for the hybrid system, not that Honda is letting that spoil the fun.

“Linear Shift Control further elevates the driving experience by mimicking the vehicle speed-linked rev feel typically associated with a conventional drivetrain shifting gears under acceleration,” said the Japanese brand.

Elsewhere in the range, the US Civic’s 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine is being replaced by a new free-breathing 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit, outputs for which are yet to be announced.

The US-market retirement of the force-fed 1.5 also heralds the retirement of the penultimate and manual-only Civic Si warm hatch, which is replaced at the top of the sub-Type R tree by the quicker and greener Sport Touring Hybrid (again at least in the US).

Cementing the new flagship’s position is the first Civic application of Google Built-in, which provides integrated use of Google Assistant, Google Maps and other apps via Google Play.

Other new tech includes a 12-speaker Bose sound system, 9.0-inch touch-screen, wireless smartphone mirroring, a wireless smartphone charger and machine-finish 18-inch wheels.

Beneath the Sport Touring Hybrid in the US Civic range are the Sport Hybrid, Sport and LX, the latter of which will only be offered as a sedan.

The hybrids will be available with a new grey interior colourway, while the USB ports have all been upgraded to USB-C.

A facelifted Honda Civic Type R is likely to break cover at some stage with some mild cosmetic tweaks and the upgraded infotainment system at the very least.

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