We ask compact cars to do a pretty straightforward job: provide affordable, reliable transportation. For years, these vehicles focused on value. But with the 10th-generation Honda Civic, the focus has grown to include style, comfort, and quality. The 2019 Honda Civic Coupe features a handful of subtle-yet-thoughtful updates that further enhance the value for this sharp-looking coupe.

New standard driver-assistance features complement modest visual updates and a new Sport trim, which bridges the gap between budget and performance. Altogether, these changes make for an evolution that keeps the Civic fresh in a competitive compact car segment.

For 2019, Honda takes the overall design that it introduced with the 2016 Civic Coupe and evolves it with several small changes. These changes include an updated lower front-end wing, updated front “wing grille,” new bumper design, and a new lower-grille setup, featuring new chrome accents to the lower side pods. The front-end update is capped off by a pair of new halogen (or available LED) headlights.

The Civic Coupe features an interior that blends “futuristic” with functionality. It has plenty of useful cubbies and trays for all your gear, including a large tray at the base of the center stack. The futuristic theme extends to the video-game-like instrument panel. Designed with function in mind, this instrument panel conveys the most important information to the driver. Drivers can alter display information via a toggle button on the left side of the multi-function steering wheel.

Trims for the Civic include (but are not limited to) LX, EX, and Touring. The Civic is also offered in the spirited Si and performance-focused Type R, which are covered in separate previews.

The Civic comes with features like Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port, and standard reversing camera. For 2019, this lineup now includes the new Sport trim. The Sport is slotted between the LX and EX. It features dark accents and black 18-inch alloy wheels; it’s designed to have the look of the Civic Si, but without the punchier engine.

The Civic Sport and other trims feature a 7-inch touchscreen. There is certainly a learning curve to the touchscreen, but, according to Honda, the 2019 Civic Coupes with the touchscreen will finally receive a much-needed volume dial, replacing the unfortunate touch-sensitive slider along the left side of the touch screen.

The base engine in the Civic is a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated (non-turbo) four-cylinder. The EX and Touring models will come with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. Power gets sent to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual or an available continuously variable transmission (CVT). The available CVT doesn’t have traditional gears like an automatic, but functions like one. It is even available with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, to switch between simulated “gears.”

EPA estimates for LX coupe paired with a CVT transmission are 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway, and 33 combined. The manual Sport coupe offers 25 mpg city, 35 highway, and 29 combined. With the CVT, the Sport gets 29 mpg city, 36 highway, and 32 combined. The EX, which includes the turbo 1.5-liter engine, returns 31 mpg city, 40 highway, and 35 mpg combined. The Touring with the same turbo engine returns 30 mpg, 37 highway, and 33 combined.

In addition to standard features such as a reversing camera and a full array of front and side airbags, the Civic offers a suite of driver assistance features as standard equipment. The collection of features, called Honda Sensing, includes a pre-collision braking system and forward-collision warning. These systems work together to sense oncoming obstacles while driving. The car will first alert the driver, and if no action is taken, it will automatically brake the Civic Coupe.

Honda Sensing also features Road-Departure Mitigation, lane-departure warning, and lane-keep assist. All three features can sense the position of the Civic Coupe in a lane of traffic (provided there are clear lane lines). The latter, lane-keep assist, will employ very subtle steering inputs to keep the Civic Coupe in the center of a lane of travel.

Honda plans on making Honda Sensing standard on every vehicle in its lineup by the 2022 model year. But Civic owners can take advantage of this system now on any trim of the 2019 model.

The Civic Coupe is more spacious and more upscale than many other compact coupes. It already has an advantage over the competition. For 2019, Honda has found the right adjustments and tweaks to ensure the Civic Coupe continues to have that advantage.