2026 CarExpert Choice winner: Best Luxury Small Car

The Honda Civic has been named Australia’s best luxury small car in the 2026 CarExpert Choice Awards.

It beat out two finalists: the BMW 1 Series and the Volkswagen Golf.

"Hold up," you may be thinking. "The Civic is a small luxury car?"

Well, technically VFACTS sales data puts it in the same category as small cars like the 1 Series and Audi A3, rather than with models like the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3.

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Nevertheless, the Civic offers a level of quality and refinement that allows it to hold its head high among small cars from premium brands – mind you, with a base price of $49,900 drive-away, it still undercuts them all.

It also offers something none of its luxury-brand rivals have, and that's a hybrid powertrain. The Civic e:HEV offers excellent fuel economy and refinement, as well as punchy performance and enjoyable handling.

Of course, like the Golf you can step up to a performance model in the Civic Type R, which offers genuine thrills. But even in base e:HEV L guise, there's plenty to like about this evergreen small car.

2026 CarExpert Choice Award winner – Best Luxury Small Car

• Winner – Honda Civic
• Finalist – BMW 1 Series
• Finalist – Volkswagen Golf

To see all the CarExpert Choice winners, click here.

MORE: Explore the Honda Civic showroom