Honda’s first five-door Civic hatchback for the U.S. will go on sale as a 2017 model. The new Civic joins sedan and coupe models and precedes the Type-R, which the company says will also be a hatchback when it goes on sale in 2017. Honda is expected to show a Civic Type-R concept next month at the Paris auto show.
The Civic hatch rides on the same front-wheel-drive platform as the other Civic models. But only the turbocharged engine will be available. In LX, EX and EX-L trims, the 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine will make 174 hp and 162 pounds-feet of torque. In the Sport and all-new Sport Touring trims, output is boosted to 180 hp while torque stays the same, thanks to a high-flow center-mounted exhaust.
A continuously variable transmission will be available on all models, while a six-speed manual transmission will be offered on just the LX, EX and Sport models. The Civic hatchback will go on sale this fall, and pricing will be announced closer to that date.
