Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2021 Mazda 6

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Civic are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Civic has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Mazda 6’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Compared to metal, the Civic’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Mazda 6 has a metal gas tank.

Both the Civic and the Mazda 6 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

There are almost 2 times as many Honda dealers as there are Mazda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Civic’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda 17th in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is ranked 23rd.

As tested in Motor Trend the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Mazda 6 4 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Sedan gets better mileage than the Mazda 6:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Hatchback gets better mileage than the Mazda 6:

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Civic has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

The Civic has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Civic stops much shorter than the Mazda 6:

For better traction, the Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Mazda 6 (235/40R18 vs. 225/55R17).

The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Mazda 6 Touring/Grand Touring/Signature/Carbon Edition’s 45 series tires.

The Civic Touring Sedan handles at .88 G’s, while the Mazda 6 Grand Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Civic Touring Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Mazda 6 Touring (26.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Civic LX/EX/EX-L’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Mazda 6’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.7 feet).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 550 pounds less than the Mazda 6.

The Civic Sedan is 1 foot, 1.7 inches shorter than the Mazda 6, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Civic has a liquid-filled front engine mount. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Mazda 6 uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Civic Touring Sedan is quieter than the Mazda 6 Grand Touring:

The Civic Hatchback has .9 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Mazda 6.

The Civic Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Mazda 6 (24.5 vs. 14.7 cubic feet).

On a hot day the Civic’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Mazda 6 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Civic Touring/Sport Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Mazda 6 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Honda Civic comes in sedan and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Mazda 6 isn’t available as a four door hatchback.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The Mazda 6 hasn’t been picked since 2015.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The Mazda 6 has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Mazda 6 has never been chosen.