U.S. News & World Report Names Honda Civic Hybrid “Best New Car for Teens”
Exciting news for the new drivers in your family! The 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid earned top honors in the $30,000 to $35,000 category, named “Best New Car for Teens” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 new car rankings. This is the third time the Honda Civic has received this accolade with a primary emphasis on safety. The 11th-generation Honda Civic truly shines when it comes to safety. This compact car is packed with advanced active and passive safety technology that comes standard on every model, making it a leader in its class.
The 2025 Honda Civic Hatchback earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+ (TSP+) rating along with the refreshed 2025 Honda Civic Sedan securing a TOP SAFETY PICK (TSP) rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These top ratings also apply to the Honda Civic hybrid models, which have become popular, making up nearly 35% of 11th-generation Civic sales!
Beyond crash test scores, when a vehicle like the Civic is named a “Best New Car for Teens,” it means it offers a top-in-class mix of predicted reliability ratings, strong crash test scores, available advanced driver-assistance features, and top recommendations from critics in its price category.
Pushing innovation, the 2025 Civic Hybrid with its 9-inch touchscreen is compatible with the Honda Driver Coaching app. This app is specifically designed to help new drivers, especially teens, improve their driving skills and promote safe driving habits. The app offers real-time analysis of driving inputs like acceleration, braking, and steering by connecting to the car via Apple CarPlay. After each drive, users get a personalized driving score and tailored coaching tips to help them improve. The app even provides a detailed map of the route taken and a summary of driving performance, turning every trip into a valuable learning experience.
It’s no secret that the 11th-generation Civic has been a huge success. The Civic is often the first Honda many people own and has become incredibly popular with Gen Z, first-time buyers, and multicultural customers¹. In fact, the Honda Civic has been America’s best-selling compact car since 1973². Its combination of style, efficiency, and most importantly, safety, continues to make it a top choice for drivers of all ages.
When you get behind the wheel of a new car, you want to feel confident in its performance and safety. Honda’s long-standing philosophy of “Safety for Everyone” guides our commitment to advancing safety for everyone on the road. This dedication can be seen in 2025 Honda Civics with increased system visibility for motorcycles and bicycles for the Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™) with Pedestrian Detection, and smoother, more natural feeling to the functions of both Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS).
Every 2025 Civic comes equipped with the Honda Sensing® suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies. Standard features include Forward Collision Warning and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), which incorporates Lane Departure Warning (LDW). For 2025, these systems are even better. For instance, the Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™) with Pedestrian Detection now has increased visibility for motorcycles and bicycles, helping to prevent more types of accidents. You’ll also notice a smoother, more natural feel to the functions of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), making your drives more comfortable and secure. The Sport model also includes blind spot information with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, providing an extra layer of awareness. Honda Sensing® is now standard on all new Honda models, and over 9 million Honda vehicles on U.S. roads today are equipped with this essential technology.
Honda’s commitment to safety goes deeper than just advanced features. All Honda vehicles benefit from the proprietary Honda Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure. This innovative design is built to help protect occupants in a wide range of frontal collisions. When the Civic was fully redesigned for the 2022 model year, Honda engineers even enhanced ACE™ with a new structure integrated into the front sub-frame and side-frame. This improvement boosts the Civic’s crash compatibility with smaller vehicles and enhances occupant protection in oblique frontal collisions.
The 11th-generation Civic also introduced groundbreaking airbag technology. It was the first passenger vehicle in the world to feature an all-new driver’s airbag designed specifically to reduce head rotation in a collision, particularly oblique ones. This innovative donut-shaped airbag cradles and holds the head, significantly reducing rotation and the likelihood of brain injury. In a similar vein, the Civic also uses an award-winning Honda front passenger airbag. This airbag utilizes a unique three-chamber design that is especially beneficial in angled frontal impacts. In such collisions, lateral forces can cause an occupant’s head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the risk of serious injury. This specialized airbag helps mitigate that risk.
It’s not just Honda that says the Civic is safe. In addition to rigorous IIHS testing, every Honda model that has been fully evaluated in the NHTSA’s 2024 and 2025 model year NCAP testing—including the 2025 Civic hybrid—has received a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score³. These top ratings provide independent verification of Honda’s commitment to protecting you and your loved ones on every journey.
2. Based on total sales data from WardsAuto and Sales Flash 1973-2025CYTD April
3. Government 5-Star Safety Ratings are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) New Car Assessment Program (www.SaferCar.gov).