When Honda first started breaking into the mainstream in America in the 1970s, it did so with a simple philosophy: cut down on its variations in models to the bare bones. If you got a Civic, you got a Civic, same as anyone else’s. But things are different now.

Now you are invited to buy not only the (as a sedan, coupe, and hatchback), the Civic Si, and the lofty Civic Type R, but also the Civic Sport, splitting down to a somewhat granular degree of how sporty a Civic you feel you can handle. The Sport was introduced as a Hatchback-only trim a few years ago, but now you can spec it as a coupe or sedan, too.

The has max turbo power, max suspension, max cost, and so on. The Si has turbo power, but less, and is generally less extreme from wheels and tires up. The Civic Sport has no turbo, but gets some of the looks and suspension work of the Si. It’s not exactly an Si with no turbo, but that’s the right train of thought.

(This breakdown leaves out the , which is a hybrid version of the Civic with a different face and a different name.)

If you think this is all slightly too much confusion on what a Civic is, you’ll be interested to hear that , hoping to regain some of the efficiency it had in the old days.

But it’d be a shame if all of this rationalization cut the Civic Sport. It’s a better car than you’d think, and more like an old-school Honda than you’d expect.

(: Honda invited me to come over to Malibu to briefly drive the 2019 Civic Sport and Si, eat some free breakfast and witness a PowerPoint presentation.)

The 2019 Honda Civic is largely a carry-over from the current car. The most noticeable aesthetic evolution is that Honda changed its chrome beak to black and some lower black trim strips to chrome. True fans might also notice that some of the black honeycomb has been swapped for flat pieces of plastic.

The only update of real significance is the fact that the Civic Sport, a trim level that adds tuned shocks and rear control arms which are supposed to improve responsiveness, quicker steering, and a thicker front stabilizer bar to the base Civic, is now available on the four-door Sedan and two-door Coupe instead of just the five-door Hatchback.

(It’s worth noting that if you want a Civic Si, you can get it as a sedan or Coupe, but not a hatch.)

Civic Sports also get 18-inch alloy wheels, an infotainment upgrade with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a better stereo, slightly nicer seats, a center-exit exhaust, leather steering wheel and shift knob wraps, and red coloring in the gauge cluster. The Civic Si might not be a diet version of the Type R, but the Sport does feel like a diet version of the Si, if that makes sense.

You can and should get a six-speed manual with the Sport, instead of the continuously variable automatic which is an extra $800, (with paddle shifters to override engine speed), but the only engine option is a 2.0-liter non-turbo that Honda claims can turn out 158 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque.

After a short lap around Malibu and the hills next door, it became clear that the Civic Sport is Fine. The interior feels sufficiently robust, seats are reasonably comfortable and I really like the balance Honda’s struck between what to assign a hard key to and what to bake into its infotainment system. Climate control and audio volume are always easy to find, while the computer screen responds fast enough to your requests for anything else.

2019 Civic Sport

2019 Civic Sport

+

Great manual transmission, nice tech interface

-

Lack of power below 4,000 RPM, and the fact that the Si is a lot sweeter for not a lot more money

TL;DR

Breezy commuter car with just enough personality to give driving some life

Power

158 HP • 138 LB-FT

Weight

2,838 LBS

Price

$21,150 List • $21,150 As Tested