Compare the2025 Honda Civic Type RVS 2025 Ford Mustang

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Type R 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.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic Type R 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 Type R’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 Type R and the Mustang have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Honda Civic Type R is safer than the Mustang Fastback:

The Honda Civic Type R has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Mustang is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford With 33 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Ford.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda fourth in overall reliability. Ford is ranked 13th.

The Civic Type R has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Mustang. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

For better stopping power the Civic Type R’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Mustang:

The Civic Type R stops shorter than the Mustang:

For better traction, the Civic Type R has larger tires than the Mustang (265/30R19 vs. 235/50R18).

The Civic Type R’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 30 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Mustang’s standard 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic Type R has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Mustang.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Civic Type R is 1.9 inches wider in the front than the average track on the Mustang.

The Civic Type R Touring handles at 1.04 G’s, while the Mustang EcoBoost Fastback pulls only .95 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Honda Civic Type R may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 850 pounds less than the Ford Mustang.

The Civic Type R is 8.5 inches shorter than the Mustang, making the Civic Type R easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces. The Civic Type R is 8.8 inches shorter than the Mustang Dark Horse.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Civic Type R a Large car, while the Mustang Fastback is rated a Subcompact.

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

The Civic Type R has 16.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Mustang Fastback (99 vs. 82.8).

The Civic Type R has 1.7 inches more front headroom, .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 Type R has a much larger trunk than the Mustang Fastback (24.5 vs. 13.5 cubic feet).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Honda service is better than Ford. J.D. Power ranks Honda 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 20% lower rating, Ford is ranked 22nd.

The Civic Type R’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children from operating them. Ford does not offer a locking feature on the Mustang’s standard power windows.

If the windows are left open on the Civic Type R the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Mustang can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Civic Type R has a standard rear wiper. The Mustang doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Civic Type R’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Ford only offers heated mirrors on the Mustang Premium/Convertible/Dark Horse.

The Civic Type R Sedan 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 Type R has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Mustang doesn’t offer rear vents.

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

The Civic was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2025 and 10 more times in the last 41 years. The Mustang has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2025 North American Car of the Year. The Mustang has never been chosen.

The Honda Civic outsold the Ford Mustang by almost six to one during 2024.