No more S or ECON mode in the all-new 2022 Honda Civic’s CVT? It’s still there, here’s how to find it

• 2022 Honda Civic FE's CVT deletes the S mode position
• ECON button removed too
• Drive Mode function is first for a Civic

The all-new 11th era 2022 Honda Civic FE proceeds to utilize CVT-type programmed transmission like its forerunner, but highlights a few advancements on the equipment and computer program bits that presently essentially makes strides its driving encounter.

Keen drivers will notice that the new 2022 Honda Civic’s gear selector no longer has an S mode position, only the usual P-R-N-D positions.

You might also remember that the previous model’s gear selector also has an ECON button next to it, with a green leaf symbol on it. That’s also gone now.

Relax, Honda hasn’t remove any of the functions available in the previous Civic FC. They’ve just made the user interface better, removed clutter, and combined the two separate buttons into one toggle switch.

New for the 2022 Honda Civic FE is a Drive Mode toggle switch, which toggles between ECON, Normal, and Sport mode.

As before, ECON mode reduces fuel consumption further by numbing down the throttle’s sensitivity, lowers the transmission’s shift mapping to a milder, less aggressive shifts and ratios (remember it’s a CVT), as well as reduces the air-conditioning’s output.

As before, Sport mode changes the instrument panel to red and alters the CVT’s shift mapping to a more aggressive one, holding on the lower ratios a little longer. It doesn’t change the engine’s output, which remains at 182 PS and 240 Nm.

Honda Malaysia said that the E and V variants of the Civic returns a claimed fuel consumption figure of 6.0-litre/100 km for E, while the RS variant does 6.3-litre/100 km.

On the subject of shift mapping, the new 2022 Honda Civic’s CVT has been programmed to provide early downshifts during braking, while the features revised Step-Shift programming simulates physical gear changes of a regular automatic transmission when the car accelerates hard.

The transmission’s hardware has also been improved to further increase fuel efficiency. A more robust electric hydraulic pump reduces load on the mechanical pump, while a ball-bearing secondary shaft reduces friction.