Civic hatchback returns
Honda’s beloved model is new for 2017, and is all grown up, but still fun
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 17 years since a hatchback version of the Honda Civic was last sold in North America.
Sure, there was Honda’s half-hearted attempt at reviving the beloved body style in the early 2000s, with the niche three-door Civic Si, but even that was discontinued more than a decade ago. But Honda is ready to make up for lost time with an all-new Civic hatch aimed at fun and function.
Finally a five-door
In bringing the Civic hatchback to North American shores, Honda has cranked up the car’s practicality with the addition of two rear doors. It rides on the same platform as the sedan and coupe models, but measures about 114 millimetres shorter than both, giving the Civic hatch a sportier stance than its stablemates, thanks to wheels that sit closer to the corners.
Matching that athletic posture is a new design from the B-pillar back that is almost coupe-like in execution.
As well a slightly revised front fascia includes a black grille with larger openings, and larger bumper inserts front and back.
Despite the abbreviated proportions, the Civic hatch weighs 1,277 kilograms in base trim, and 1,362 kg in loaded Sport Touring guise — as much as 45 kg more than equivalent sedan models, thanks to the added heft of the tailgate.
Lift the tailgate, however, and the weight gains are quickly forgiven, with the car boasting what is easily one of the largest cargo holds in its class. With 728 litres of space behind the rear seats, the Civic hatch offers more cargo-carrying ability than hatchback versions of the Mazda3 (572 L), Chevrolet Cruze (643 L) and Ford Focus (660 L). It’s only with the rear seats folded that the Honda is surpassed, with the Mazda3 (1,334 L) and Cruze hatch (1,337 L) besting the Civic (1,308 L) in terms of volume.
When the rear seats are up, the Civic hatch also benefits from an industry-first rear privacy cover that rolls out from the side, saving space by staying tucked out of the way until it’s needed. This is one of the neatest interior features of the car. Turbo time Unlike the Civic sedan and coupe, which get the choice of naturally aspirated 2.0-litre or turbocharged 1.5litre engines, the hatchback relies on the latter across its trim range. More importantly though, a manual gearbox can finally be paired with the forced-induction four-cylinder, a welcome addition to what has quickly proven itself an impressive engine.
Output varies slightly depending on trim, with 174 horsepower on tap to go along with162 lb.-ft. of torque in cars equipped with the continuously variable transmission, or 167 lb.-ft. of torque with the six-speed manual. Sport models, meanwhile, get a slight bump to 180 horsepower and 177 lb.ft. of torque (the same 162 lb.-ft. is on tap with the CVT). With the first batch of cars only recently making landfall on this side of the Atlantic, only the base LX model was available on our two-day test. Regardless, the combination of the 1.5-litre with a six-speed manual was worth the wait, providing a level of fun the turbocharged Civic has been lacking since its launch.
The clutch is light and easy to modulate, while the shifter might be lightest on the market and slots into its gates with little effort. Playing the two-step takes a little getting used to, with the clutch and throttle a little tricky to balance at first, but once you get the hang of it, the set-up can be appreciated by novice and veteran manual drivers alike.
With the full breadth of the engine’s torque coming online at 1,800 r.p.m., turbo lag doesn’t last long before boost kicks in, while all177 lb.-ft. stick around until 5,500 r.p.m. for your driving pleasure. Winding the engine out above 4,000 r.p.m. can sound like it’s putting strain on it but it certainly doesn’t feel that way, with throttle response only dropping off as it approaches the 6,500 r.p.m. red line.
As expected, the continuously variable transmission displays a moderate amount of the “rubber band” effect, typical when the pedal is pressed hard, but quiets down when cruising. The opposite was true of the manual, which displayed a tendency to rev high at highway speeds, spinning at 2,900 r.p.m. at 120 km/h.
It didn’t, however, seem to impact fuel economy much. With more than 480 km of driving split evenly between both transmissions, the hatch managed an impressive 5.9 L/100 km of combined driving with the CVT and 6.2 L/100 km with the manual, both of which are close to the car’s highway fuel economy ratings. While far from an accurate sample size, those numbers were achieved over a mix of highway and in-town driving, as well as more spirited driving on quiet back-roads. Sporty and smooth Driving the twisting roads of Ontario’s cottage country put the Civic hatchback’s taut chassis to the test and it responded well, behaving more like the coupe than the sedan. The brake-based torque vectoring system, which is featured throughout the Civic lineup, successfully quelled much of the understeer typical of a front-driven car, helping pull the car to the inside of the tree-lined chicanes and esses.
Steering feel is still a little numb, but the variable-ratio setup helps tighten it up as the car reaches higher speeds and responds well to input.
Despite its playfulness when pushed, the Civic hatch offers the same upscale cruising ability noted in the Civic sedan. The suspension soaks up uneven pavement with the same cool confidence as the sedan, providing a ride worthy of a higher price tag.
Like the sedan, the Civic hatch also features an incredibly quiet cabin.
In short, the Civic hatch drives a bit like a mash-up of the coupe and sedan, feeling sporty enough to have fun while offering the all-important commuter comfort that is key in this segment. Different form, familiar function The front of the Civic hatch’s cabin looks and feels a lot like the sedan’s, and that’s because it is a lot like the sedan’s. In base LX guise, it looks every bit as modern as the rest of the Civic family, though it could benefit from some soft-touch materials in place of the hard plastics found on the doors and dash.
Likewise, the cloth seats don’t feel great to the touch and are supportive but not exactly comfortable.
The centre stack is well laid out, and leaves everything within reach of the driver, while a seven-inch touch screen infotainment system, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard on all Canadian cars. Unfortunately, it still features the touch-sensitive volume slider, which can be difficult to use — particularly from the passenger seat.
When it comes to safety features, the Civic leads in the segment. Features like cruise control and automatic headlights are standard, while the Honda Sensing suite adds forward-collision warning with collision-mitigation braking, lane-keep assist, road departure warning, and adaptive cruise control.
Open the rear doors and the hatch begins to separate itself from its four-door sibling. With a roofline that isn’t sloped as steeply as the sedan’s, the Civic hatch boasts reasonable rear seat headroom that is actually more comfortable than its 950 mm would suggest and offers enough room to accommodate a couple of adults with ease. By comparison, the Civic sedan offers 935 mm of rear headroom, but feels much smaller, forcing taller passengers to slouch. Legroom in the back, meanwhile, comes in at 914 mm, or about 40 mm less than the sedan. The verdict With a starting price of $21,390, the Civic hatch has been positioned at the top of the Civic heap, acting as a halo of sorts for the popular compact. By comparison, an LX sedan will run you $19,290, while a barebones DX is also offered for $16,390. But the turbocharged engine and added practicality might just be worth the price of admission.
The car also plays into the nostalgia of an entire generation, stirring up high school memories of shameful Fast and Furious mods and unadulterated fun. It’s a much more mature car now, so it’s not the same Civic hatchback we grew up with, but rather a grown-up car that’s still fun and not too grown up.