2022 Civic Hatchback Buying / Leasing Tips, Details, & Photos! (Sport Touring in Sonic Gray Pearl)

[josh_hp]

I really like your write up and pics!! Thank you so much! I tend to disagree with the tip above though, based on personal experience. I went through this with our new Odyssey. No one would budge on price over the phone. If they had a mark-up, they all said "take a test drive" then we'll talk. If I said no, they say "okay, cool we'll find another buyer. We only have 2 vans." Maybe it's different for Civics. But in my mind, if you're there ready to buy, they WILL deal. On the phone? No way. It sounds like you found a great dealer.

BTW, I thought the only reason people bought the ST Hatch was to get the manual!?!?!?

Thanks so much! I could see that -- our longtime dealer (the one that changed ownership) originally had us schedule an appointment in order to come in and work out pricing, and they ended up refusing to give us any lease quote on the new Civic, because they were worried the MF/residual values would change, yet they still wanted to take a $500 deposit for "first right of refusal" if a car that meets our criteria comes in, without knowing what they might decide to price it at. Paying $500 to wait a month or more only to get a call saying "it's here and it'll cost you way above MSRP, and otherwise we'll give it to someone else"? I don't think so.

I'd say ~3-4 of the 10-12 dealers I contacted were willing to give prices over the phone, that came out around MSRP. There were another 2-3 that gave crazy lease quotes which were equivalent to $4-5k markups on MSRP. Either way, I'd much prefer to get a few prices from multiple dealerships before spending an hour or more in a physical location with a salesman. Either way, the most important thing is to be clear about the price you should be paying, and know that you should be able to find at least one halfway decent dealer (as long as there are a few within a range you're willing to drive to in order to seal the deal).

The ST Hatch is where it's at! Especially if you want a manual. In my view, here's how this gen's Hatchback tiers compare in pros:

LX:

Pros: The best best base model Civic yet! Even has Honda Sensing, which is great.​

Cons: Lacks a lot features and styling advantages. Wheels are 16", not 17" or 18".​

Sport:

Pros: Styling. Has the nice wheels & colors.​

Cons: The "Sport" model has the slower, non-turbo Civic engine now? Shame on Honda.​

EX-L:

Pros: Performance. Now we get the turbo engine. Comfort. Leather/heated seats and moonroof are nice.​

Cons: Styling. EX-L's wheels are 17" and more boring than the previous gen's IMO. They also took away the best colors from the EX-L, including Sonic Gray Pearl and Boost Blue (even though the lower Sport trim gets them). Also, we should really get the 9" infotainment at this trim.​

Sport Touring:

Pros: Performance. Gets the good engine. Technology. Now we're talking -- bigger infotainment, digital customizable gauge cluster, wireless CarPlay & wireless charging, Bose 12-speaker system, parking sensors, low speed braking. Styling & interior are top notch and only model to include the exhaust ports and the fog lights. Also comes in more colors & with the pretty 18" alloys. All this together, a massive step up from EX-L, I think.​

Cons: Thousands of dollars more expensive -- unless you leverage the current market like I did, then it's not more expensive.​

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For me personally, I felt a bit like Honda took a small step back in terms of bang-for-buck on the new gen's trim levels. Whereas my 2018 Civic Hatchback EX (the middle trim) came with the turbocharged engine, moonroof, heated seats (albeit cloth), fog lights, and nice wheels and black accent styling, the only way to get this combination of benefits is now with the very top Sport Touring trim. Sport has the styling but not performance or interior features. EX-L has the performance and interior features, but not the styling. And the Sport Touring has all of these, while also going way above and beyond in a bunch of domains.

I feel quite lucky that in the midst of this, the used car market has saved the day and allowed us the pay similarly or less than our previous EX -- because to be honest, I was a bit bummed at first that all those nice features from our 2018 EX were now only attainable in the very top trim.

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[jimmybean123]

Cons: Thousands of dollars more expensive -- unless you leverage the current market like I did, then it's not more expensive.​

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This makes no sense. Obviously its still a bit more expensive than the EX-L trim. You just had positive equity on a car you loaned, and managed (or will manage) to sell it by a lot more than you paid+owned in the current market. $442/mo. with $1,000 down comes out to $17K for 3 years which just seems crazy to me even for a top trim Civic. Then again, I don't lease cars.

I do agree selling a car right now makes a lot sense if you can get a good offer and a good price and want to buy a new car. I am still curious who the hell is buying these used cars, such as yours will be after a sale, for a price of new one (or more!).

 

[josh_hp]

This makes no sense. Obviously its still a bit more expensive than the EX-L trim. You just had positive equity on a car you loaned, and managed (or will manage) to sell it by a lot more than you paid+owned in the current market. $442/mo. with $1,000 down comes out to $17K for 3 years which just seems crazy to me even for a top trim Civic. Then again, I don't lease cars.

I do agree selling a car right now makes a lot sense if you can get a good offer and a good price and want to buy a new car. I am still curious who the hell is buying these used cars, such as yours will be after a sale, for a price of new one (or more!).

Clarification -- I'm referring to price here within the frame of leasing a previous gen Civic at a lower trim level. Yes, of course you would save even more money by going with a lower trim after selling your old car in this market, like a ridiculous amount of money saved, but I was purely looking to pay the same or less per month for the new top-trim car than my previous mid-trim. Which we achieved by a fair margin.

If we account for the extra money netted through our CarMax transaction (even versus trading in with Honda), we're gaining over $9,000 (~$14k buyout, ~$24k sale). When you distribute this across the new 36 month lease term, that's $250. $442 - $250 equates to a $192 monthly payment. With trade-in at $3k, we'd be talking $14k, or with sale at $9k, that's $8k after three years. If you'd rather discount the sale price from the previous car's payment history, then you could instead say we paid $3k to have the brand new 2018 EX Hatch over the past 3 years. Either way, the 6 year period for us to own two new cars for 3 years each would be about $20k, or $10k average for each three year lease (before any sale of the new car). If you do account for buying out/selling this car at the end of its lease, again we could expect to make back $3-6k of what we paid. In that case, we'd have spent $14-17k over 6 years for two new car ownerships, for 3 years each.

Yes, the lease bill you receive (unless you sell the old car first and apply it as down on the new car) would say $442, but put the money in whatever piggy bank you like, or even invest it -- your pocket is effectively just the sum of your assets and liabilities, so you can organize your funds and parse the history of when you initially put the money into the first car that contributed a discount to your current car, etc. however you like.

I'd usually recommend leasing cars if you like to have a new car fairly hassle-free every 3 years, and buying if you plan to keep for 6 years or more. Financially, this is about the tipping point between the overall cost you pay in the long run -- perhaps fast buy/sell patterns, or certain steady/appreciating vehicles aside. Remember, the only likely significant maintenance costs you'll have to pay for when you lease is oil changes, tire rotations, and filters. No need to worry about being out of warranty. This can account for a multi-thousand dollar difference alone. We've also never had to replace all of our tires in over 20 years of leasing either, aside from the occasional broken belt on a single tire.

This being said, you could pay even less by going with EX-L or below -- if you're willing to sacrifice a seemingly larger number of features than usual, at the fault of Honda this model year. I'm purely comparing to what we paid over the same period between our 2018 Hatch EX vs. the new 2022 Hatch Sport Touring due the crazy current used market possibilities.

 

[memo90061]

Hello!

I’m new to the forum and I’ve been wanting a Civic because of gas savings and maintenance compared to the Mercedes that I have. I wish they had the new Civic in coupé form.

I’m still paying my E-350 and was upside down by so much money. Now that the value of the car has increased I’m upside down by 2k. The new civic is very tempting. My local dealer has the blue civic touring. I want to see it.

 

[CWNole95]

Awesome write up. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and advice with the community.

We literally just bought this exact trim and color from our local Honda dealer yesterday. We got the car for MSRP, but did experience some drama regarding trading in her 2021 CBP CTR. They first offered $38.5k, which was an insult considering the current market. We walked, but got a call from the “Sales Director” within 10 minutes of leaving the dealership asking us if we would come back if they gave us the value we demanded for the trade. We agreed, returned to the dealership, and now my wife is happy with her new hatchback.

It ended well, but while I realize that dealerships need to make money, I cannot understand why some of them make what should be a smooth transaction more painful than is needed. We had a firm offer in hand from both Carvana AND another Honda dealership, which I gladly provided to them. All we wanted is for them to match that. Nothing more, but nothing less.

Water under the bridge. Time to prep and coat once the sun comes up!

 

[MorrisGray]

Does your new Sport Touring have much road noise?
Does it run on regular 87 octane?
Are all of the exterior lights LED including the turn signals?

 

[CWNole95]

Does your new Sport Touring have much road noise?
Does it run on regular 87 octane?
Are all of the exterior lights LED including the turn signals?

She previously had a 2020 ST hatch (also in SGP), which was unfortunately totaled by a driver who ran a red light. This car is much quieter than the previous generation. Yes, 87 is recommended even with the turbo, although my mental ailment will not allow me to use an octane lower than 91. Regarding the exterior lighting, it is mostly LED, with the exceptions being the rear turn signal and reverse lights. I’ve attached pictures for reference and hope this info helps.

 

[MorrisGray]

Thank you. And did it have a real spare tire or just a fix-a-flat kit?

 

[CWNole95]

Thank you. And did it have a real spare tire or just a fix-a-flat kit?

You’re welcome, glad to help. And yes, it does come equipped with an actual spare.

 

[BarracksSi]

As long as you have the car title, I think you should be able to even if you have a loan -- but I'm not sure if that loan needs to be entirely paid off before selling or not, so don't quote me on that. On a lease of course, Honda still owns the car, versus taking out a loan where you more or less do. I'd give CarMax a call or look through their terms / search for what others have done to confirm if that's an option. And I'd say sell as quickly as you can. Values could start to drop as the newer Hondas roll out.

We're free and clear, owning our FK7 from 2017 — so what you've been talking about with finances is making me consider the new hatch much earlier than I've planned. Hmm.

 

[Jimi]

Nice man. Cool photos too
Does both the Dome and front map lights come ON when you open the door?

For the previous gen only the map lights came on

thanks

 

[josh_hp]

Does your new Sport Touring have much road noise?
Does it run on regular 87 octane?
Are all of the exterior lights LED including the turn signals?

Road noise is indeed much lower than the previous gen. I drove my outgoing 2018 Hatch EX and the 2022 back-and-forth a few times, and it becomes more and more impressive how much smoother the throttle response, steering, and general handling are on the new hatch. Road noise and general car noise are greatly reduced as well. You also sit a couple inches higher, which ultimately feels quite a bit more comfortable and upscale.

Can also confirm about Honda rating this year with 87 octane, and all of the exterior lights being LED except for the rear turn signals and reverse lights. Not a huge deal as the surrounding LED panels on the taillights are very high quality. They remind me of some BMW's (and of course the Kia Stinger in shape).

She previously had a 2020 ST hatch (also in SGP), which was unfortunately totaled by a driver who ran a red light. This car is much quieter than the previous generation. Yes, 87 is recommended even with the turbo, although my mental ailment will not allow me to use an octane lower than 91. Regarding the exterior lighting, it is mostly LED, with the exceptions being the rear turn signal and reverse lights. I’ve attached pictures for reference and hope this info helps.

Nice taillight shots, and congrats on the wife's new ride!

Nice man. Cool photos too
Does both the Dome and front map lights come ON when you open the door?

For the previous gen only the map lights came on

thanks

Yes, they do. Both sets of lights are equipped with a switch for "On", "Door", or "Off" as well. I've got mine set to "Door" so both map and dome come on with door open.

 

[Wingman520]

Nice man. Cool photos too
Does both the Dome and front map lights come ON when you open the door?

For the previous gen only the map lights came on

thanks

I thought the dome light had on, door, and off options. At least mine does on my 10th gen.

 

[Jimi]

I thought the dome light had on, door, and off options. At least mine does on my 10th gen.

Not my in FK8

I had to wire it so both came on when the doors opened. The hatch is different to the 4 door and coupe

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