The Honda Civic hatchback is a combination of comfort, style, dependability and practicality. There is a reason as to why Honda Civic has been one of the most popular and fast selling cars in the American market and a look into the Honda Civic hatchback exemplifies all the possible reasons. While there are many similarities between the 2017 Civic hatchback and sedan, the former has a more spacious interior as well as a larger cargo-carrying area. Under the hood, the 2017 Civic hatchback is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged inline four for the all the available trims.

AT A GLANCE

Upsides:

• Great handling and steers well
• Large cabin and cargo-carrying space
• Decent powerful engines
• Excellent fuel economy for its class

Downsides:

• Frustrating touchscreen and audio controls
• Non-responsive cruise control systems

DESIGN: 4.0 / 5.0

The new 2017 Honda Civic hatchback is quite a looker. One unique thing that separates this model with the sedans or other models manufactured previously is the aerodynamic body design and black front grill. The body style is quite unique, with stylish curves and lines. The wide rear lights fit well into the design of the car making it stand out among other cars. The interior of the hatchback has also been upgraded to give it a premium touch. The cabin is quite big and the rear seats can fold to allow increased cargo-carrying space.

ENGINE, DRIVETRAIN, PERFORMANCE: 4.0 / 5.0

Previous models of the Honda Civic sedans and coupes were equipped with a standard 2.0-liter engine which is fairly powerful. However, for the new Honda Civic hatchback, a new fuel efficient 1.5-litre turbocharged inline four is adopted. This engine is paired with a six-speed manual or CVT gearbox for the sports trim while the Sports touring trim has no manual option. The Civic hatchback sport is able to churn out 174hp at 6000rpm while the higher trim sports touring adds an additional 6hp. The car accelerates quite fast, although the car becomes quite noisy at highway speeds due to the CVT gearbox. Nonetheless, Honda’s CVT is one of the best, being quite responsive and smooth.

TRIM LEVELS: 4.0 / 5.0

There are only two trim levels available for this car, which are the sports and sports touring trims. The sports model comes with a good number of high-end features such as 18-inch alloy rims, automatic headlights, daytime running lights, cruise control, expanded-view driver side mirror, 5-inch central display screen, centre-outlet dual exhaust, fog lights, rear seat armrests with mug holders, shift knob and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The sports touring, on the other hand, has all of the sports model features plus additional premium features such as heated rear seats, automatic wipers, LED headlights and the Honda safety package.

SAFETY: 4.0 / 5.0

The lower trim, sports model, comes with the standard Honda’s safety package which includes front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, brake assist and a multi-angle rearview camera. The Sports touring version, on the other hand, has all the standard safety features plus the Honda sensing system which includes lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist.

CONCLUSION: 4.0 / 5.0

The Honda Civic hatchback is an upgrade to the previous civic models produced by Honda. Most notably is the more powerful 1.5-litre turbocharged engine which gives the vehicle a much better acceleration. The new aerodynamic body design is also attractive and the car offers more space in the cabin. The CVT gearbox is the best in its class even though it would have been better for an optional manual transmission for the sports touring. Nonetheless, this is an impressive sporty hatchback.