Compare the2024 Honda Civic SiVS 2024 Ford Mustang

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Si 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 Ford Mustang doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Si are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Ford Mustang doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Si are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Mustang doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic Si 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 Si’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Mustang’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the Civic Si and the Mustang have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Civic Si the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 54 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Mustang has not been tested, yet.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Civic Si for 2 years or 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Mustang.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 13 places higher in reliability than Ford.

The Civic Si’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Mustang EcoBoost’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic Si has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Mustang EcoBoost.

The Civic Si is 5.4 inches shorter than the Mustang, making the Civic Si easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces. The Civic Si is 5.7 inches shorter than the Mustang Dark Horse.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Civic Si a Mid-size car, while the Mustang Fastback is rated a Subcompact.

The Civic Si has standard seating for 5 passengers; the Mustang can only carry 4.

The Civic Si has 13.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Mustang Fastback (96.6 vs. 82.8).

The Civic Si has .7 inches more front shoulder room, 2.3 inches more rear headroom, 8.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.5 inches more rear hip room and 3.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Mustang Fastback.

The Civic Si has a much larger trunk than the Mustang Fastback (14.4 vs. 13.3 cubic feet).

The Civic Si’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The Mustang doesn’t offer folding rear seats.

The Civic Si’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Ford only offers heated mirrors on the Mustang Premium.

The Civic Si has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Mustang doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Civic Si has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Mustang doesn’t offer rear vents.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda Civic Si, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Civic was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023 and 8 more times in the last 39 years. The Mustang has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

The Honda Civic outsold the Ford Mustang by almost three to one during 2022.