From the front, a horizontal bar dominates the sedan grille; the Si sedan gets a monochrome version of the coupe's grille, with the iconic "Si" badge at the far right end. Slender headlamp assemblies angle upwards as they curve around the fenders. A single, broad air intake fills the lower portion of the fascia.

The coupe grille sports the Honda logo suspended in a two-tone frame. As with the Si sedan, an understated badge tucked away in the far right reaches of the grille identifies the sporty Si version. The coupe headlights are more sharply outlined. The lower air intake opens between two, geometric recesses that feed cooling air to the front disc brakes and house the optional fog lamps. The front ends, but especially the coupes', push the leading corners down and outward, emphasizing the wide track (the distance side to side between the tires).

Save for a lower body character line, drawn slightly higher on the coupe than on the sedan, the sides of the new Civic are more slab than sensuous. Understated fender blisters, more pronounced on the coupe, break up the otherwise featureless expanse. What excitement there is in the side view is in the sleekness of what Honda calls a monoform design. A central expression of this is the windshield, the leading edge of which reaches into the hood all the way to the middle of the front wheel wells, pushing the design concept of cab forward to a new extreme. On the coupe, the windshield is raked at a radical 21.9 degrees, the sedan's at a barely more upright 23.9 degrees. The sail (the body panel aft of the rear side window) is unique to each model as well. The coupe's forms an acute angle emphasizing the two-door body style, while the sedan's curves down over the rear door's trailing edge, pulling the eye through the higher roofline. The coupe's be-spoilered, rounded rear profile suggests swiftness. The sedan's somewhat abbreviated trunk lid and chopped off tail end adds perceived mass to the tightly proportioned, smallish sedan. The Si coupe wears an i-VTEC label just forward of the rear wheel well, the Si sedan the same on the lower rear side door.

Likewise, the rear view of each body style differs markedly. The coupe's sloping trunk lid settles into a deep cut in the rear bumper, with the license plate sheltered in an equally deep recess. The sedan's trunk lid drops in an almost vertical, unrelieved sheer from a relatively high crest across the top. A blue, CNG diamond identifies the GX model.