Honda Civic 2017 Review

No, this review of the new Honda Civic hatchback is not going to start with another lament about how a few years ago Honda forgot its roots, concentrated on the bottom line rather than the redline and started building dud cars.

It’s certainly true, but just maybe the arrival of the new 10th-generation Civic hatch to join last year’s sedan is further evidence of a promising revival rather than continued disappointing decline.

Sure, there are issues. We’ve chronicled the decision to omit even the option of driver-assist systems including autonomous emergency braking from all bar the top model here, the lack of manual transmissions here and the price rise here.

There’s also the inappropriate decision to badge the most sporting model in the line-up the RS, an outrage this car commits along with the Civic sedan. Attention Honda product planning department … the RS badge is reserved for hyper-hatches (Focus and Megane, etc) and stonkingly fast Audis (RS 5, etc) and the like. Real performance cars.

Applying the RS badge to the Civic simply spotlights the fact it is fundamentally no different to any other model in the range. You get the same 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and suspension settings in the VTi-L and VTi-LX models that sit either side of it on the price ladder. And they are ‘luxury’ models.

Honda should have stuck its semi-hot Si badge on this thing instead, pumped up the kiloWatts (the forthcoming CR-V gets a 140kW version of same engine), won the fight for a manual gearbox and added some more aggro to the suspension. Instead it just fitted a sportier tyre.

The RS would be worth the effort because even in its current form it shows enough driving promise to suggest there’s an entertaining small car waiting to be unlocked. The Type R will tell us more about that later in the year of course. Much, much, more…

Even as it is though, the Hatch is a vast improvement over its UK-built predecessor, which was expensive, odd-looking, an ergonomic screw-up and underwhelming to drive.

The new Hatch reunites with the sedan, meaning it is built on the same platform in the same Thai plant. They are offered in Australia with the same five-model line-up, the two base models (VTi and VTi-S) making do with the carry-over 104kW/174Nm 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, while the top three get the 127kW/220Nm turbo. All five hatches have only a CVT auto transmission. Claimed fuel economy is 6.4L/100km for the 1.8 and 6.1L/100km for the 1.5.

Underneath the hatchback also abandons its predecessor’s torsion-beam rear axle for a multi-link independent set-up. The advantages of that are debatable – a car company exec will tell you either one is best depending on what’s keeping the arse-end of his car from dragging on the ground.

The sedan and hatch sit on the same 2700mm wheelbase and from the front get the same prominent snout. Obviously, they diverge from the B-pillar back. The hatch opens up to reveal a sizable 414-litre hole. That expands much further with the split rear seats folded, Honda just couldn’t tell us the figure. Just for comparison sake, consider the offerings from some rivals; the new Hyundai i30 (395L), Mazda3 (308L) and Toyota Corolla (360L).

That long wheelbase also delivers plenty of rear-seat space – just like the sedan. There is no shortage of head- or knee-room in the back, although with no adjustable air-con vents it does feel a bit low-rent. However, there’s a neat claimed world first in the boot where the tonneau cover is side-mounted and easily transferrable or removable. Think of all the times you’ve had to pull a clumsy plastic-scarring cross-bar from your hatch or wagon and you’ll like it instantly.

Up-front, there’s not that much that differentiates the VTi from the VTi-LX. The surfaces are hard and that glovebox clangs open in a most unrefined way – just like the sedan (c’mon Honda!) – but the seats are good and the instrumentation is far less complex and far easier to understand than the multi-levelled predecessor.

The bigger differentiator is in the spec. The baseline steel-wheeled VTi includes front, side and curtain airbags, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and multi-angle reversing camera. VTi-S additions include alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors and lane watch. Added VTi-L gear includes a digital radio and dual-zone climate-control. The RS has its own body kit including central twin exhausts, LED headlights, leather trim and a powered driver’s seat. As reported separately, the VTi-LX is the only Civic with the Honda Sensing driver assist package as well as sat-nav.

What’s more interesting about the hatch design in terms of the driving – and as this is a drive review that’s what we’ll focus on now – is the use of more high-strength steel around the C-pillar, giving it increased torsional rigidity compared to the sedan.

On the downside, it’s also added weight – despite the hatch being 129mm shorter than the 4644mm sedan. How much weight is added Honda isn’t saying, but hatch to sedan the supplied tare mass figures are up as little as six kegs or as much as 36. The heaviest hatches, the VTi-L and LX, are both claimed to weight 1365kg, even though the latter has more stuff, while the VTi and VTi-S are the lightest at 1289kg. That compares to the likes of fellow front-drivers like the Mazda3 (1262-1336kg), the Toyota Corolla (1255kg-1365kg) and Volkswagen Golfs other than the AWD R (1209kg-1364kg).

But the point is the Hatch’s extra body strength, combined with some minor suspension tweaks deliver a nimbleness to the drive experience that is more pronounced than in the Civic sedan. In the case of the RS, fitted with some ‘sportier’ 215/50 17-inch Bridgestone Turanza tyres, that feeling is elevated another few degrees to warm-ish.

In the Adelaide Hills where we sampled various Civics, the RS was the one that most obviously pattered over the bumpy surfaces but also steered into corners the sharpest. The LX, on quieter 215/50 R17 Yokohama Advan db tyres (as is the L), felt that little more refined but still a frag busy.

But it was the VTi that had the best ride thanks to a softer suspension setting and the taller sidewalls of its Dunlop Enasave 215/65 16-inch tyres (shared with the S), reminding us yet again of the folly of specifying low-profile rubber for crap Aussie roads. The downside was the base model didn’t offer the same quick response from its electric-assist steering and handling surety of the ‘upper’ models. Again though, we are talking degrees.

What’s more obvious is the advantage the 1.5 turbo delivers over the 1.8. Sure, the base engine is fine for what it is, but the new engine is far more engaging and responsive and therefore enjoyable.

Now if they could just combine the comfort chassis tune with the 1.5 we’d be happy… d’oh!

Both engines are harnessed to CVT autos, but the 1.5 gets a newer-generation shift logic which makes a concerted effort to feel more like a traditional fixed-step auto than a CVT when accelerating. Can we just have a traditional auto then please … as well as a manual. At least the upper-spec CVT also comes with steering wheel shift paddles, which deliver some sense of driver involvement, if somewhat artificial.

But at least the attempt has been made to extract that interaction between driver and car. At times in the not-so-distant past Honda hasn’t even paid lip-service to such things. There’s still plenty of evidence of that in showrooms now.

But if the Civic hatchback is evidence of where Honda is at and intends to be then we’ll look to the future with great interest. This is a thoroughly competent and competitive small car. Certainly, there are plusses and minuses, but it’s headed in the right direction.

Honda Civic Hatch VTi pricing and specifications:
Price: $22,390 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol
Outputs: 104kW/174Nm
Transmission: CVT automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 150g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

Honda Civic Hatch RS pricing and specifications:
Price: $32,290 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Outputs: 127kW/220Nm
Transmission: CVT automatic
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 142g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

Honda Civic Hatch VTi-LX pricing and specifications:
Price: $33,590 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Outputs: 127kW/220Nm
Transmission: CVT automatic
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 142g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP