More on the Much Anticipated 2017 Honda Civic Hatch

The hard charging Japanese brand moved the bar with the excellent 10th gen Civic. Adding to its accolades, a hatch with the 1.5T and a stick is just around the corner!

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – August 17, 2016

2017 Honda Civic Hatch (Civic Touring sedan shown) - Pricing is TBA while offering a 31/40 mpg city/highway rating for those opting for the CVT in LX, EX and EX-L trims. 30/36 mpg city/highway rating for CVT-equipped Sport and Sport Touring trims. Those choosing the 6-speed MT option in LX and Sport trims are provided a 30/39 mpg city/highway rating. All of these are based on the latest and more stringent 2017 EPA ratings.

One of the most efficient non-hybrid drives we have taken this year, the all-new 2016 10th gen Honda Civic is going to receive another exciting new platform. Remember the first hint that we would receive one was from the Geneva Auto Show in early March.

2017 Honda Civic Hatch shows its face in Geneva

Since that time, Civic Hatch news has been almost non-existent. Until now.

In the U.S. through the end of July, the great looking 2016 Honda Civic is easily beating its competitors in the hotly contested compact segment. Here are how the segment stacks up.

2016 U.S. Top 5 Compact sales through July

• Honda Civic - 222,792
• Toyota Corolla - 213,910
• Ford Focus - 117,117
• Hyundai Elantra - 116,935
• Chevrolet Cruze - 100,454

The 2017 Civic Hatchback joins the 2016 North American Car of the Year – the Civic Sedan from last year and the Civic Coupe that launched earlier this. The 2017 Honda Civic Hatch brings five-door versatility to the Civics superb driving dynamics and Honda’s super-efficient and powerful direct-injected and turbo charged 174 hp and 162 lb.-ft. of torque 1.5L. In addition, the 6-speed MT is scheduled for three of the 5 trims!!! The all-new Civic Hatch is scheduled to arrive at Honda dealerships this fall.

2017 Honda Civic Hatch

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Trims

Honda stated the 2017 Civic Hatch will arrive in LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Sport Touring trims that are all equipped with the 1.5L I4 engine. What is really interesting is that the CVT will be available on all trims and the 6-speed MT will be available on the LX, Sport, and EX trims.

The CVT equipped Civic Hatch is expected to receive a 31/40/34 mpg city/highway/combined rating. Honda did not report any EPA results for the stick and they added the adjective “performance” before the 6-speed MT so expect the BS short ratios and shifting between 1st and 6th before 32 mph.

In any case, in our experience with Honda sticks, they are more efficient despite the terrible ratios Honda equips all of them with.

The interior of the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback incorporates the award winning 10th-generation Civics details with a twist. That being the 122.9 cu. ft. of passenger and cargo volume compared to the 112.9 and 110.1 cu. ft. – LX and the EX on up trims respectively.

Available on most trims (and standard on Sport Touring) will be the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies, which includes Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) integrated with CMBS, Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Departure Warning integrated with RDM and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow. Other available features include Honda Display Audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (EX and above trims), heated front seats and heated side mirrors, power driver and front-passenger seats, remote engine start and more.

The Civic Hatch Sport Touring trim includes Honda Sensing, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED headlamps, rear seat heaters standard.

2017 Honda Civic Hatch

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Just a guess at this time but I suspect the stick could be a Guinness World Record holder!

The 2017 Civic Hatchback will be manufactured exclusively by Honda of the UK Manufacturing in its Swindon, UK plant.

 

Fuel economy numbers for both transmissions were up on the Honda Canada site. I'll see if I can find them and compare against the CVT sedan.

 

This is intriguing. Any idea what's the cargo volume, and does it have magic seats?

 

With turbo torque, I am hoping they will gear it taller than the 2.0 manual.

 

Yeah, that is a better ratio than my Fit is running. Final * 6th gear = 2.816, compared to my 3.359. Unless it has skateboard wheels, it's revving lower than my 2850 on the highway.

 

Numbers for the manual aren't too far off the CVT.

http://hondanews.com/releases/all-n...ack-arrives-this-fall-in-north-america?page=2

The turbocharged engine will be offered with either a sporty CVT (all trims) or a performance-inspired 6-speed manual transmission (LX and Sport). EPA fuel economy ratings are 31/40/34 mpg (city/highway/combined) for CVT-equipped LX, EX and EX-L models, 30/36/32 mpg for CVT-equipped Sport and Sport Touring trims and 30/39/33 mpg for the 6-speed manual equipped LX and Sport models. These numbers are based on the newer, more stringent model year 2017 EPA ratings requirements and put the 5-door Honda Civic Hatchback at the top of its class.

 

YES! I'd gladly take an official 1 mpg hit to have a manual. With the right driver it's worth +10 mpg, so it's a huge win.

 

The manual Sport also gets a bonus 15 lb-ft of torque over the CVT. Only a 1 mpg deficit on the highway has me thinking that they may have given it sensible ratios for the top gears.

 

Does it HAVE to look like a hyped-up running shoe? None of the manufacturers have the nerve to break this "trend".

Taking just a small bit, so many ugh elements in this one spot. That little orange clearance light for example, completely tacked on looking:



And of course the obligatory corner-of-bumper "ports". And the bulbous hood, rotating sycle blade rims, angry headlights, and...

 

So rated better than my Golf, not bad. But I'll probably still take a bit of a hit in real world mileage and fuel prices with the Civic.

 

I can't wait for the steady state fuel mileage numbers from Wayne.

 

Hi All:

I updated the OP with the Civic hatch's new EPA ratings and like Andrew said, the Honda MTs are worth another 10 more MPG than the CVTs despite the lower ratings! Not on the steady states but around town and slower speeds prior to 65 mph or so.

The LX hatch with the 6-speed stick is really enticing!

Wayne