Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2021 Nissan Altima

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 Altima’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 8 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

As tested in Car and Driver the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Nissan Altima 4 cyl.:

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

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

Both the Civic and the Altima have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All Civics have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

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 Altima doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic stops shorter than the Altima:

The Civic LX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Altima S’ standard 60 series tires.

The Civic Touring Sedan handles at .88 G’s, while the Altima SV AWD pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Civic Touring Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Altima SV AWD (26.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 pounds less than the Nissan Altima.

The Civic Sedan is 1 foot, 1.9 inches shorter than the Altima, 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 Altima uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Civic Touring Sedan is quieter than the Altima SR AWD:

The Civic Hatchback has .1 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more rear headroom and 2.2 inches more rear legroom than the Altima.

The Civic Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Altima (24.5 vs. 15.4 cubic feet).

The Civic’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Altima’s parking brake has to released manually.

The Civic’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Altima’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Altima SL/Platinum’s rear windows don’t close automatically.

The Civic Touring/Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Altima’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Civic’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Altima’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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 Altima doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Honda Civic comes in sedan and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Nissan Altima 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 Altima has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Altima was Car of the Year in 2002.