Skip to main content

Honda’s Euro-inspired Civic Hatchback arrives in the U.S. for less than $20K

Honda hasn’t sold a Civic hatchback in the United States since 2005 — but the five-door drought is nearly over.

On Monday, the 2017 Civic Hatchback will finally go on sale in the U.S. for a starting price of $19,700. For the money, you’ll get an entry-level LX model fitted with a 174-horsepower, 1.5-liter turbo engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, and that’s a combination enthusiasts have been anticipating for years. The asking price creeps up as you ascend the Civic Hatchback range, with Sport, EX, EX-L Navi, and Sport Touring trims adding features like dual exhaust, a continuously variable transmission, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, heated seats, and more.

Honda hasn’t released pricing for the range-topping Sport Touring version just yet, but the EX-L Navi’s MSRP sits at a cool $25,300. For clarity, none of these costs include the $835 destination charge (for a full breakdown of pricing, click here).

The hatchback is the third member of Honda’s 10th-generation Civic family to be released, and it benefits from the same lightweight platform as the Coupe and Sedan. Unlike its siblings though, the five-door boasts 25.7 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the rear seats up. Not only is that significantly more than the standard Civic layouts, Honda says it’s the best in the vehicle’s competitive set.

The hatch is also interesting because of where it’s made. Unlike the other U.S.-bound Civic variants — which are built in Indiana and Ontario, Canada — the five-door will be assembled exclusively at Honda’s plant in Swindon, England, alongside cars for the European market. The car is on display in the metal for the first time at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

Read more: Still as pragmatic as ever, Honda’s 2016 Civic Sedan piles on the creature comforts

Perhaps even more exciting than the Civic Hatchback is what will follow it. The vehicle will eventually spawn the next-generation Civic Type R at some point during its production run, and rumor has it the high-performance model will produce something on the order of 340 hp from its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder. So while the new hatch is certainly nice, clearly, the best is yet to come.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
Cruise says it’s nearing approval for mass production of futuristic robotaxi
Interior of Cruise's Origin vehicle.

Robotaxi company Cruise is “just days away” from getting regulatory approval that would pave the way for mass production of its purpose-built driverless vehicle, CEO Kyle Vogt said on Thursday in comments reported by the Detroit Free Press.

General Motors-backed Cruise unveiled the vehicle -- called Origin -- in early 2020, presenting the kind of driverless car that we all dreamed of when R&D in the sector kicked off years ago; a vehicle without a steering wheel and without pedals. A vehicle with passenger seats only.

Read more
Modern cars are a privacy nightmare, and there’s no way to opt out
Elon Musk smirks while pointing.

Cars are changing, and quickly. Electric cars are on the rise, and at the same time, manufacturers are pushing autonomous driving technologies -- even if we're still a while away from actual self-driving cars. But there are other aspects about cars that are changing too -- the fact that they're becoming increasingly connected, and increasingly computer-controlled. And, with all the data that cars can collect, privacy is becoming increasingly important.

Turns out, however, cars aren't that great at preserving your privacy. In fact, they're terrible at it.

Read more
The state of EV chargers in the U.S. right now: We have a long way to go
What a future Mercedes-Benz EV charging hub might look like.

Charging is changing in the U.S. -- and quickly. Tesla has all but won the war for the standard charging connector, meaning that charging will likely get a whole lot more convenient in the near future. But on top of that, charging networks are also expanding -- with the likes of Mercedes-Benz jumping in on the action.

Earlier this year, Mercedes announced that it would be building charging stations in partnership with MN8 Energy. More recently, it shared that it was finally planning on opening up the first of these stations in October.

Read more