Honda recently announced an all-new 11th generation Civic sedan, as a 2022 model year. However, the Honda Civic we had for our review last week is based on the 10th generation Civic and is the hatchback version. Once the 11th generation sedan’s sales are in full swing, Honda will probably add the hatchback version as well, if in fact a hatchback version is in the works. (As I was writing this article, Honda released images of the 11th generation Civic Hatchback, so indeed, it is on the menu going forward).
The 2021 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback has a starting price of $30,400 and $33,900 for the Sport Touring. Honda is not charging extra for your transmission choice of manual or CVT. Our review car was the Civic Sport Touring Hatchback with the CVT.
The Civic hatchback is the sportiest version of the Civic, without going into the Si or Type R trims. The Civic hatchback is only offered with the 1.5 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and there are only two trims offered, the Sport and Sport Touring, with either a manual or Continuously Variable Transmission.
The 1.5 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with direct injection produces 180 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 170 pound-feet of torque between 1,900 – 5,000 rpm, on premium gasoline. I believe you can put regular gasoline in these trims and get the 174 horsepower, as the extra cost of about 30-40 cents per liter of premium gasoline is not really worth the 6 horsepower. Also, the same 1.5-liter turbo engine in the new CR-V produces 190 horsepower but doesn’t require premium fuel.
The turbocharged engine is more than enough to get the Civic hatchback moving in a hurry, the car is quite sporty for a non-Si/Type-R trim. Our review car was equipped with the CVT, which does a good enough job, however, I would’ve personally chosen the 6-speed manual. The Civic hatchback is shorter than the sedan, so it makes for a fun ride when weaving in and out of city traffic and on twisty roads. The suspension is neither soft nor harsh, it’s sporty enough without being “too sporty”, and it’s really comfortable on the road.
According to Honda, the Civic Sport Touring with the CVT should consume 8.0/6.6/7.4 liters/100 kilometers. After driving the Civic hatchback for a week, the onboard computer showed 7.0 L/100 km with 50/50 city/highway driving, which is actually better than Honda’s claimed number, of course different driving conditions and driving styles will give you higher or lower consumption.
I have been a fan of the 10th generation Civic; I think it’s a great value for the money, and it drives quite well. The Hatchback makes use of the same formula, but I found it to be a little sportier than the sedan, maybe because of its shorter size, or maybe I just perceived it to be sportier because it’s a hatchback and Honda is calling it “Sport”.
Overall, the Civic hatchback is a pretty sporty car, for a family car that is. It’s also quiet and comfortable, it’s everything the Civic sedan is, the only difference is the overall length is a little shorter and it is made in Swindon, United Kingdom. The Civic Hatchback is 113 mm shorter than the sedan but has the same wheelbase, which means the inside passenger space is the same.
The major difference between the sedan and hatchback is the way the cars look at the front and back, and of course the hatchback has a different profile. At the front, the air intakes are much larger and the chrome inserts are now black on the hatchback. At the back, it’s the same story, much larger openings in the bumper, these “openings” don’t do anything. I’m personally not a big fan of the styling, I think the front and back designs are too busy with too many fake vents etc. I think it’s just over-designed, the design needs to be much simpler and cleaner, maybe Honda can learn a thing or two from Mazda’s design language.
Like I said above, as I was writing this review, Honda released the new Civic Hatchback pictures and videos. And my complaints about the over-styled bumpers etc. have been remedied, as the new 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback has a much cleaner look, now a lot of journalists are going to complain it’s too boring… you can never please us. But on a serious note, I do like the simplicity of the new Civic hatchback; if I was in the market for a hatchback, the new Civic hatchback would be on my list, I wouldn’t even have looked at the current one because of the styling.
However, if you actually like the more aggressive look of the Civic Hatchback, then it’s a good alternative for people that need to carry quite a bit of stuff but don’t want to buy an SUV or a CUV because of its size. The Hatchback can carry a lot of stuff, especially with the rear seats folded, according to Honda, the Civic Hatchback has the largest amount of cargo area behind the rear seats of any hatchback. The Civic Hatchback is also easier to park, more fuel efficient than a CUV, and cost less.
