2019 Honda Civic: Dig Deeper If You Want a Two-door Stick

The Big H rolled out additional details for its 2019 lineup today, including trims and pricing for the Civic and Civic Coupe. As Steph detailed last month, the Sport trim will be added to the coupe and sedan, giving buyers who don’t want the hunchback hatchback an extra model in which they can get the 158-horsepower 2.0-liter engine.

Buried in the details is a rejiggering of transmission availability. With the six-speed manual no longer available on the base coupe, shoppers who want a two-door Civic with a stick shift will be paying more in 2019.

In fact, the new Sport trim is the only way to row-yer-own in a Civic coupe in 2019. Last year, coupe buyers could slide into an LX Manual for $19,350 sans destination. For the 2019 model year, the base model coupe is available only with the CVT. The Sport-trimmed coupe starts at $21,450, a jump of over two grand over the former Ace of Base stick shift LX coupe.

Dipping into the pockets of enthusiasts for an extra $2,100 falls into the Not Cool category. I use the term enthusiasts since most folks who select a two-door manual-trans car generally prioritize driving fun over other considerations. Back-of-napkin math pegs this additional cheddar at about $40/mo when spread out over a typical note.

The LX sedan is still available as manual, now priced at $19,450 plus the inevitable $895 destination charge. This is a $510 hike over last year. The most expensive Civic on the lot, a Touring Sedan equipped with the 175 hp 1.5L turbo and a CVT, will hoover $27,300 from a customer’s bank account.

Price hikes are not wholly unreasonable, given that all 2019 Civic coupes and sedans now come with the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assist systems. Honda Sensing includes adaptive cruise, forward collision warnings, lane keeping, and lane departure warning. Additionally, all Honda Civic models are now equipped with automatic high beams as part of the Honda Sensing package. The nifty LaneWatch doesn’t appear until EX trims.

Sharp-eyed car spotters will be able to spy a 2019 by way of a few styling tweaks. The lower part of the front bumper is changed slightly, while some blacked-out trim is added. The sedan will get a spear of chrome along its rear bumper. Civic also receives three new colors: Platinum White Pearl, Molten Lava Pearl (Sedan only), and Tonic Yellow Pearl (Coupe only). You can guess which one this extrovert likes the best.

Honda also threw some development dollars at the interior, bestowing it with larger cupholders and a slightly revised infotainment system. At least the company listen to customers, as it was thanks to much public carping that the company added an actual volume knob for the stereo before this 2019 model year.

Sales of the Civic regularly crest 300,000 units per year in America. It currently outsells such cars as the entire family of Corollas and the Nissan Sentra. Its volume is roughly twice that of the Elantra.

[Images: Honda]