Road test
HONDA Civic à hayon 2017
The hatchback is back—with two extra doors and a turbo to boot
December 2, 2016
Pros and cons
Pros
- Very good handling
- Powerful and fuel-efficient turbocharged engine
- Fun and efficient transmissions
- Roomy and versatile cabin
- Generous equipment
Cons
- Poor rear visibility
- High starting price
- Sport and Sport Touring require premium fuel
- Complex and frustrating touch screen
Overview
Quick quiz: what year did Honda stop selling the Civic hatchback in Canada? No, not 2000; it was 2005, after the two-door SiR was dropped. Eleven years later, having left its mark on more than a generation of Quebec drivers, the celebrated Honda Civic hatchback is back, with two more doors and a turbo under the hood. Essentially, it is a more dynamic and more luxurious version of the sedan, itself renewed for 2016, with the “true” sportscars of the line-up, the long-awaited Si and Type R, still to come.
Like the 2002‑2005 Civic SiR, the new hatchback is built in the U.K. at Honda’s Swindon factory. The sedans and coupes sold in Canada are still assembled at their Alliston, Ontario, plant.
Verdict
In trading a trunk for a hatchback cargo area, Honda is positioning its best-selling Civic even higher on the capability scale. The 2017 Honda Civic hatchback adds versatility, vivacity and a dose of excitement to the frugality, solidity and balance already displayed by the sedan. At more than $23,000 the base LX version is not nearly as affordable as the small Civic hatchbacks of old. However, it has all it takes to attract the compact-hatchback enthusiasts of today, especially if they want a bit more luxury.
Evaluation
Body and cabin
The distinctive styling touches accenting the sporty nature of the 2017 Civic Hatchback are naturally most obvious at the back, where a sloping hatch is fitted with a pair of spoilers. Sport and Sport Touring models add a centre-mounted dual exhaust system; as we’ll see, it is not just a styling artifice. Exclusive wheels—including the first 18-inch factory wheels in the history of the Civic—an aggressive-looking front bumper and a black grille complete the exterior portrait.Adding a rear hatch, Honda shortened the Civic by 11.2 cm. On paper, the result is a slight reduction in rear leg room. In reality, the cabin seems roomier because of increases in hip and head room. All Civics provide good seating for four people, though some drivers may not like the very low driving position adopted in 2016.
Obviously, where the hatchback Civic differs most from the sedan is behind the rear seat. A very low floor combined with the absence of a trunk separation equates to an easy-to-load cargo area and 70 percent more volume than in the sedan, according to manufacturer specs. There is a slight difference in level with the cargo floor when the seatbacks are folded, but it is a very small price to pay for so much load height, despite the sharply sloped hatch.
Honda also provides an innovative cargo cover that retracts side to side rather than front to back. Light, compact and as easy to remove as it is to store, it demonstrates Honda’s exceptional expertise in maximizing interior space.
If the infotainment system demonstrated the same savoir-faire, the cabin would be hard to fault. Alas, the hatchback Civic has the same slow, complex and frustrating system as most of Honda’s other models. A few added buttons under the screen, or just a simple volume knob, like the one in the upcoming 2018 Honda CR-V, would be a big improvement. Right now, best to resort to the steering wheel controls or the standard Apple CarPlay/Android Audio apps.
Safety
The 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback offers a suite of safety technologies that includes lane departure warning with lane keeping assist, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. True to recent policy, Honda does not restrict these features to the most expensive models; they can be obtained on the most popular versions for just $1,000. Moreover, the top-line Civic Sport Touring is the first mass-produced car to pair these technologies with a manual transmission.All trims come with a standard backup camera, by no means a luxury considering the poor rear visibility. Like several other Hondas, Sport and Sport Touring models are also delivered with a passenger-side blind-spot camera. It functions well, but because it obliges the driver to glance at the centre display, it is not as efficient as a visual alert on the side mirrors.
Crash test results
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)Overall score: 5 / 5
Frontal impact: 5 / 5
Side impact: 5 / 5
Rollover resistance: 5 / 5
Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS)
Moderate overlap frontal impact: 4 / 4
Small overlap frontal impact: 4 / 4
Side impact: 4 / 4
Rear impact: 4 / 4
Roof strength: 4 / 4
IIHS Top Safety Pick
Mechanical overview
The 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback retains the essential of the sedan and coupe mechanicals with modifications designed to establish its more sporty nature.For example, the hatchback is not offered with the base 2.0-litre four-cylinder Civic engine. It is delivered exclusively with the 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that equips the most expensive models. With the automatic transmission, power and torque ratings for the LX hatchback are identical to those of the sedan and coupe: 174 hp and 162 lb-ft. However, there is a torque gain of 5 lb-ft with the manual transmission, which requires less energy than the automatic.
And there’s more: internal modifications and a less restrictive exhaust system boost power to 180 hp in Sport and Sport Touring models. They also register higher torque (177 lb-ft) with the manual gearbox. It is important to note that premium fuel is required to take full advantage of the increases. Honda Canada confirms that while regular fuel is acceptable, the trade-off is a slight decrease in performance that it declines to quantify.
Driving enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that all hatchback Civics come with a six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment. While this gearbox has neither the very short throws nor the mechanical feel that characterised Honda until recently, it is still precise enough for us to recommend it without hesitation.
Pair it with the turbocharged engine, and the Civic gets very lively. True to Honda tradition, the turbo engine responds in linear fashion right up to the top line. That’s a change from most turbos, which run out of steam at the 5,000 rpm-mark. At the same time, fuel consumption remains very frugal, even though the manual tranny runs the engine at higher rpms than the CVT automatic at highway speed.
This continuously variable automatic transmission should easily satisfy drivers not interested in a manual. It reacts without delay, and mimics the functioning of a traditional transmission in heavy acceleration. Gone then are the rubber-band effect and exaggerated engine drone that are so unpleasant with certain other CVTs. Also, Sport and Sport Touring are among the rare Hondas to propose wheel-mounted shift paddles.
With regard to the chassis, the hatchback uses the same components as the other Civics; the engineers simply refined a few tunings for more dynamic driving. The most palpable change concerns the steering system, with less assistance and more direct response improving road feel, compared to the sedan.
The excellent suspension always delivers good, balanced handling at both highway speed and in a series of fast, twisty turns. Even on wet pavement partially covered with fallen leaves, grip remains astonishingly high. These remarks apply to the LX equipped with 16-in. wheels; the 18-in. wheels on Sport and Sport Touring models will probably sharpen handling even more.