New Honda Civic hatchback teased ahead of Geneva debut



We have all seen the new tenth generation Honda Civic sedan that was released for the North American market. But what about hatch-loving Europeans? Honda has just announced that the five-door hatchback is now ready, but decided not to reveal in full the way it looks until March at the Geneva Motor Show.

Known as the “Civic Hatchback Prototype“, the rear section as seen in the picture above shows more than just having a shorter boot. It suggests a sportier outlook compared to the already handsome sedan. A dual exhaust setup sitting underneath the car is sported, unlike the split configuration seen in the sedan. At the same time, the hatchback shares similar rear lights with the sedan.2016-Honda-Civic-99

The hatchback’s distinctive feature is that it gets an additional engine offered next to the turbocharged 1.5-litre (173 hp) unit, that is the smaller 1.0-litre turbocharged VTEC engine. The ultra low emissions engine is capable of producing 127 hp with 200 Nm of torque, replacing the 1.8-litre naturally aspirated mill that is powering outgoing Civics. The new engine is also good for the environment as it emits just 99 grams of carbon dioxide per km!

Just like the predecessor, the rear torsion beam is retained, while the sedan gets an independent rear suspension setup. Honda reported that the new Civic platform is 25 percent stiffer than the outgoing one.

The new European Civic will be assembled at Honda’s UK plant in Swindon, hoping to give established European hatches such as Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and Peugeot 308 some competition.

Just like the sedan, the outgoing ninth-generation hatch did not perform as expected, falling behind competitors. That similar scenario is echoed over here in Malaysia, as the Civic FB lost its lustre compared to the successful eighth-generation Civic. Although it’s unlikely for Honda Malaysia to introduce the hatchback variant (seeing how Malaysians favour the model with a boot), but give it a few years and you’ll surely spot a unit or two at your trusty parallel importers.

中文版:AutoRepublic.my