2021 Honda Civic Sedan Ditches Its Manual Transmission, Just Like the Accord

The Honda Civic will get a complete overhaul for the 2022 model year, when we expect to see it gain a new exterior design and a more modern cabin. In the meantime, the popular compact car soldiers on with a more limited menu of options. The sporty Si model is on hiatus (you can still get the full-bore, 306-hp Civic Type R, however), and the two-door coupe is gone for good. Now, we're learning that the 2021 Honda Civic sedan will lose its manual transmission option, making it the latest legacy Honda product to do so.

The 2021 compact four-door Honda sedan is now on sale, and without its stick-shift option, it is only available with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The base 2021 Honda Civic LX sedan starts at $22,005, an increase of $250 compared to the previous year—albeit with the previously optional CVT included. It also happens to be quite a bit more expensive than the base Toyota Corolla sedan, which starts at $20,920.

Honda previously offered a six-speed manual transmission also on the four-door Civic Sport in addition to the LX, but not anymore. Prices for CVT-equipped Sport models have gone up $250, as have prices for the top-level Touring model. The EX-L is the only trim level that's cheaper this year.

Other than the loss of the manual transmission, the sedan is a carryover from last year. The LX and Sport come standard with a familiar 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 158 horsepower. Higher trims step up to the 1.5-liter turbo-four with 174 hp.

If you really want a manual transmission in a Civic this year, you'll want to look at the 2021 Civic hatchback. This model retains the six-speed manual on the Sport and Sport Touring trims. Again, for the biggest thrill-seekers, Honda is still offering the knife-edged Civic Type R 0nly with a manual transmission. Let's hope the 2022 Honda Civic ushers in the return of the manual transmission. But with Honda having recently axed the manual transmission on the Accord on the eve of its update for 2021—with no promise of its return—we're not holding our breath.

2021 Honda Civic Sedan Prices

Civic LX: $22,005

Civic Sport: $23,805

Civic EX: $25,155

Civic EX-L: $25,355

Civic Touring: $29,055