2020 Honda Civic vs 2021 Dodge Charger

The 2020 Honda Civic was a standout in Honda's lineup, offering a compact car experience with a level of engineering excellence typically found in more expensive brands like BMW. It came in three body styles—sedan, coupe, and 4-door hatchback—each showcasing a sharp design that belied its small footprint. The sedan featured an elongated and elegant body with a svelte roofline, while the hatchback had a quirky tall rump. The 2019 model year brought upgrades to the grilles, bumpers, and wheels, which carried over to 2020. The Civic Si sedan and coupe received new matte-black 18-inch wheels, LED fog lights, and standard LED headlights. The interior was simple yet high-quality, with soft-touch rubbers, high-quality switchgear, and pleasing design elements like gloss-black trim and a pulsing red start button.

In contrast, the 2021 Dodge Charger continued to be popular due to its variety of models, including the top-tier SRT Hellcat Redeye. The Charger maintained a consistent design over the years, making it hard to distinguish newer models from older ones. It offered both regular and widebody formats, with the latter providing a more athletically suave stance. The Charger had a plethora of tire, wheel, brake, and exterior color options, including fun names like Hellraisin and Frostbite. The interior, while updated over the years, still lacked in comfort and convenience features compared to its competitors. The fit and finish improved, but the gauge cluster and climate controls revealed the car's age. Cloth seats were standard, with Nappa leather available on higher trims, and the car offered either a six-way or eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat.

The 2020 Honda Civic offered a range of engines and transmissions, all front-wheel drive. The base LX and Sport trims had a 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder engine with 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque, paired with a 6-speed manual transmission or an optional CVT. The EX and higher trims featured a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-4 engine, producing 174 hp and 162 lb-ft, with the hatchback versions making 180 hp. The Civic Si had a boosted 1.5-liter engine with 205 hp and 192 lb-ft, while the Type R boasted 306 hp and 295 lb-ft. The Si and Type R came exclusively with a stick-shift. The Civic's engines were smooth and responsive, with the CVT performing well without hesitation. The Si offered a thrilling driving experience with adaptive dampers and a torque-rich engine, while the Type R was remarkably composed despite its power. The Si's fuel economy was rated at 26 mpg city, 36 mpg highway, and 30 mpg combined.

The 2021 Dodge Charger excelled in performance, offering a variety of engines. The SXT, SXT AWD, GT, and GT AWD models had a 3.6-liter V6 engine with 300 hp and 264 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The R/T featured a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 with 370 hp and 395 lb-ft, while the Scat Pack had a 6.4-liter HEMI V8 with 485 hp and 475 lb-ft. The SRT Hellcat had a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 with 717 hp and 650 lb-ft, and the SRT Hellcat Redeye topped the lineup with a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI high-output V8 producing 797 hp and 707 lb-ft. The Charger offered a connected driving experience with configurable drive modes and Performance Pages for in-depth vehicle settings. The SRT Hellcat Redeye's powertrain was the least fuel-efficient, with an EPA rating of 12 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, and 15 mpg combined.

The 2020 Honda Civic's interior featured a volume knob and better cupholders, with more sound insulation in the hatchback. The EX hatchback had an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat. The three-spoke steering wheel had controls for the central display and instrument panel, and the center console offered configurable storage. The Civic felt roomy for rear passengers, though it lacked rear air vents. The sedan's trunk had 15 cubic feet of cargo space, the coupe had 12 cubic feet, and the hatchback offered 26 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 46 cubic feet with them folded down.

The 2021 Dodge Charger was a four-door, five-passenger sedan that balanced speed and power with family-friendly features. The instrument cluster varied by model, with different top speeds. The steering wheel had easy-to-reach buttons, and paddle shifters were available on all but the base model. The Charger had a 60/40 split-folding rear seat, expanding the already spacious trunk. Compared to other large cars, the Charger had about average cargo space.

The 2020 Honda Civic's infotainment system was outdated, with a 7-inch touchscreen standard on all models except the base LX. It included Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with Garmin-based navigation on top trims. The Civic Si had Active Sound Control, push-button start, keyless entry, a power moonroof, and heated front seats. LaneWatch, a camera revealing the blind spot, was also standard. Automatic climate control and Honda Sensing were included on all models, with leather seats on the EX-L and rain-sensing wipers on the Touring trim.

The 2021 Dodge Charger came with standard features like push-button start, a rearview camera, rear parking sensors, a six-speaker audio system, four USB ports, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, satellite radio, keyless entry, and a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen. Available features included a sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, an 8.4-inch touchscreen, premium audio systems, HD Radio, navigation, and a WiFi hot spot. The Uconnect system was easy to navigate but had some buried functions, and the latest version was not yet available on the Charger.

The 2020 Honda Civic came with Honda Sensing, which included forward collision warning, emergency forward braking, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control. The Civic earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS for all body styles except the Type R and received a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA, with four stars in the passenger frontal crash rating on the coupe.

The 2021 Dodge Charger had not been crash-tested by the IIHS, but the 2020 model received mostly "Good" ratings and "Poor" marks for headlights. The NHTSA gave the 2021 Charger a four-star overall safety rating. Standard safety features included brake assist, electronic stability control, hill start assist, rear park assist, rain brake support, and a tire pressure monitoring system. Adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, and automatic headlights were available on some models.