Hatchbacks: the good, the bad and the ugly
The Volkswagen Golf was the quintessential hatchback and had quite the reign until Honda decided to bring the hatchback to its fifth-generation Civic lineup.
We all know that the Honda Civic is a mighty impressive car. When it came out, it won AutoGuide.com’s Car of the Year award because we were really impressed that it seemed to elevate the segment with its solid driving dynamics, excellent features and smart attention to detail that belied its price.
The Volkswagen Golf was recently updated, so it was natural to bring the Golf and the Honda Civic Hatchback together for a comparison of these highly regarded five-doors. Style This seems like an easy pick. There’s no getting around the fact that the Honda Civic Hatchback is UGLY. All caps UGLY.
Besides all the huge fake air intakes that are just plastic shields, not one, but two spoilers, there are just too many angles and a weird overabundance of details that I can’t get behind. It’s so busy that the only colour it ends up looking half good in is black.
As a complete contrast, the Golf looks like it always has, which is handsome, neat, and conservative but on the edge of boring. The updated Golf gets attractive LED lights front and back that make it look more upscale. The Golf has a style that will age more gracefully than the Civic, which is a big plus. I will mention that our tester, despite it being quite new, had paint that looked more than 10 years old. It was scratched up and dull, so it’s a shame that VW doesn’t use higher quality paint. Interior Although the Golf still has that unmistakably German interior that feels pretty high-end, the Civic’s interior just seems to elevate its segment, where the Golf is quite status quo. With a smart attention to detail, useful cubbies to stash stuff in, and a bit more visual flavour, the Civic’s interior looks and feels more modern than the Golf, even though it once set the bar for how good a hatchback’s interior could be. Practicality The Civic Hatchback holds a huge 640 L in the trunk and 1,308 with the seats folded flat. It has a unique solution for the cargo cover, where it can retract and roll up like a scroll from either side of the trunk. When not in use, you can store it retracted or you can take “the scroll” out entirely and easily store it in the car.
It’s a different solution from the Golf’s traditional, hard cargo cover that takes up a lot more room and has a permanent shape that makes it harder to store when not in use.
The Golf has 493 L in the trunk and a huge 1,492 with the seats folded. With all seats in use, the Golf has less trunk space, but more than the Honda with the seats folded. The Golf here benefits from its more upright/taller hatch design, where the Honda sacrifices some practicality in the name of style and a more sloping, sleek roof. Driving dynamics The Honda Civic Hatchback is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 174 hp and 162 pound-feet of torque. Power gets to the front wheels via a CVT. The Sport model we had gets180 hp. Fuel economy for this model is rated at 7.9 in the city, 6.6 on the highway and 7.3 combined
The Volkswagen Golf is powered by a 1.8L turbocharged four-cylinder with 170 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque when paired with the six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy is rated at 9.6 city, 7.2 highway and 8.5 combined.
Both cars drive remarkably well: They’re both buttoned down, predictable, and balanced. Neither cars are fun, but both offer a respectable turn of speed, though the Civic is a tad more engaging and feels a bit peppier.
The Golf’s steering could be tighter, and it has kind of dimwitted transmission and never seemed to know what gear to be in, which is a shame because VW’s automatics (I’m thinking DSG) are remarkable.
In the Honda, the powertrain just seems more cohesive and never got in the way. It just worked in the background exactly as you expected it to. The verdict Despite it being much uglier, the Honda Civic is our pick as the better all-around hatchback. Its style is really the only major drawback. Although the Volkswagen Golf is a fantastic hatchback I’d be happy to own (in fact, my daily driver is a 10year old Golf I’m already very happy with), it simply doesn’t bring as much to the table as the Civic in general. The Civic is an excellent hatchback with great features, smart packaging, practicality, and driving dynamics. It’s just a shame it’s so damn ugly.