Five-Point Inspection: 2013 Honda Civic Sedan

2. Quieter cabin

In order to keep fuel consumption down, automakers tend to put small, wheezy engines in their compact offerings. As a result, the car has to work up a sweat to accelerate, and this tends to cause interior rattles, and an overall noisy cabin. In 2012 the Civic suffered from this problem, and it wasn’t even the engine’s fault. With some lightweight construction aimed at improving fuel economy, the 2012 model had no substance to it, and that meant the drive could be felt and heard inside the car.

For 2013 the Civic gets extra sound-deadening material in the dash, floor, doors and elsewhere, which allows you to carry on a conversation with your passengers while on the highway. Honda also says that a stiffer front subframe along with new thicker glass in the windshield and front doors help reduce noise, vibrations and harshness (NVH) which does its part in making the Civic a far more liveable vehicle.