This Autos

The fresh 2014 Honda Civic HF was revealed yesterday at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show, which displays either an upgraded powertrain and improved fuel economy.

More on that in a minute. As with all 2014 Civic sedan, HF got new continuously-variable transmission (CVT), which replaces the 2013 model five-speed automatic.

1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that also gets a small bump in power. Now produces 143 horsepower and 129 pound-feet of torque, compared to last years 140 hp and 128 lb-ft.

With a new CVT, 2014 Civic HF is EPA-rated at 35 mpg combined (31 mpg city, 41 mpg highway), an improvement over 2013 HFs 33 mpg combined (29 mpg city, 41 mpg highway).

Honda said that 35 mpg combined rating is the best in its class, so how the Civic HF stack up against its competitors?

In the combined category, the Civic HF 33 mpg combined bests were achieved by the 2014 Ford Focus SFE and 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Eco (with optional six-speed manual), two other compact sedan optimized for fuel economy.