2020 Honda Civic Hatchback vs 2021 Volkswagen Passat

Half a decade ago, Honda redesigned the Civic, which was its rival to the Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla, among others. For 2020, Honda tweaked the styling a bit, adding body-color crossbars to the huge fake air intakes, a new grille, and smoked headlights. New wheel designs also debuted. The top-of-the-line Sport Touring trim, dressed in Platinum White Pearl paint, garnered admiration from onlookers, who mistook it for a Type R. Inside, the Sport Touring trim featured stitched leather on the steering wheel, soft surfaces, and quality materials, though hard plastic was still present. The six-speed manual gearbox, previously reserved for Sport trim, was now available with Sport Touring trim, bringing the price to $28,980, including the destination charge.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat's exterior styling remained unchanged from its 2020 facelift, which was the first major update in almost a decade. The Passat bore a strong resemblance to the smaller Volkswagen Jetta sedan, giving it a more understated look compared to rivals like the Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5, and Toyota Camry. The Passat's aerodynamic shape boasted a drag coefficient of 0.28, contributing to better fuel economy. Standard features included LED headlights and taillights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and sportier exterior styling elements on the R-Line trim. The interior had a clean, functional design with analog controls and a short dashboard for enhanced visibility. However, the flat-bottomed steering wheel seemed out of place in such an un-sporty car.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback, equipped with a turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, made 174 horsepower in LX, EX, and EX-L trims, and 180 horsepower in Sport and Sport Touring trims. Torque measured 162 pound-feet with the CVT and 177 lb-ft with the 6-speed manual transmission. The engine was quiet, refined, and well-mannered, though the transmission's clutch travel and gearbox throws were long. The Civic Hatchback Sport and Sport Touring offered a softer, more compliant ride, wider seats, and a quieter cabin compared to the Civic Si. The EPA rated the test car at 32 mpg in combined driving, and it achieved 32.7 mpg on the testing loop.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat featured a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. The engine produced 174 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. While the torque output was impressive, power delivery felt uneven, especially during highway overtakes. Switching to Sport mode or manually selecting gears improved the response. The Passat's driving experience was unremarkable, lacking the sportiness of competitors like the Honda Accord and Mazda 6. Ride quality and cabin noise levels were good but not exceptional.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback offered 25.2 cubic feet of cargo space, slightly more than the Honda HR-V Touring. While it couldn't match the HR-V for maximum volume, the Civic's performance and fuel efficiency made up for it. The driver's seat was low, but the Sport Touring's heated leather front seats provided ample thigh support. The center console storage area was long and deep, with a sliding armrest, tray, and cupholders. Rear seat comfort and legroom were good, but the lack of air-conditioning vents and dark tinted rear glass made passengers uncomfortable.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat boasted 39.1 inches of rear legroom, slightly less than the Honda Accord and Subaru Legacy. Front legroom and headroom were below average, and the driving position was uncomfortable. The front seats lacked thigh support, and the rear seats felt flat and hard. The Passat had 15.9 cubic feet of cargo space, more than the Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy, and Nissan Altima, but less than the Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata. In-cabin storage was limited, and door bottle holders were improperly shaped. The layout of controls was excellent, with big buttons and knobs within easy reach.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback featured a stylish dashboard with digital instrumentation and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system in all but LX trim. The Sport Touring trim included Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite radio, text-messaging support, a navigation system, a quick-charging USB port, and a 12-speaker premium sound system. Automatic climate control and Smart Entry with Walk Away Auto Lock were also standard.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat came with the MIB2 infotainment system, featuring a 6.3-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Bluetooth, and SiriusXM satellite radio. The R-Line trim added HD Radio, built-in navigation, and an eight-speaker Fender premium audio system. Keyless entry was standard on SE and R-Line trims. The touchscreen included pinch-to-zoom capability, and the dashboard knobs and steering-wheel controls made it easy to use. However, the Passat lacked flashy features like the Digital Cockpit instrument cluster and the newer MIB3 infotainment system.

The 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback included the Honda Sensing suite of advanced driving-assistance and collision-avoidance features as standard. This suite included forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, automatic high-beam headlights, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and a Road Departure Mitigation system. Adaptive cruise control was also standard. However, the lane-keeping assist lacked smoothness, and the adaptive cruise control occasionally braked for no reason. The Civic did not have a blind-spot monitoring system or rear cross-traffic alert, relying on LaneWatch for the right-side blind spot. The 2020 Civic Hatchback did not earn a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS due to a Poor performance in the headlight category.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat received top "good" scores in all crash tests from the IIHS, but the standard headlights earned a "marginal" rating. The NHTSA had not published crash-test ratings for the 2021 Passat. Adaptive cruise control was standard on all trim levels, along with forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, and automatic high beams. The Passat also featured VW's Automatic Post-Collision Braking System and the Intelligent Crash Response System.