Opinion: It's Fine If the Honda Civic Si is Sedan Only

We gave you all the goods on the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback yesterday, and part of that reporting also mentioned the Si performance trim — and how it’s likely that the Si trim will be offered only on sedan models.

Some Civic enthusiasts, remembering how the Si was once offered on hatchbacks, likely got agita at the news. But I am here to tell you that if that’s how things play out, it’s not a problem.

It’s worth remembering that the previous-gen Civic Si was coupe and sedan only — no hatch.

It’s also worth noting that while hatchbacks might offer more utility than a sedan, and the idea of a “hot hatch” is always appealing to enthusiasts, the Civic wouldn’t be giving up much to the competition.

Let’s take a look at the vehicles the next Si will contend with. By my count, the only hopped-up compact cars that come in hatchback form are the Hyundai Veloster/Veloster N and the Volkswagen GTI. The rest of the performance-boosted compacts are sedans — Hyundai Elantra N Line, Volkswagen Jetta GLI, and Subaru WRX.

Yes, I get it from the hatchback-buyer’s perspective. If you want a Civic hatch that offers performance beyond the “mainstream”, your only option is the Type R — the next Type R will likely be hatch only like the current one. I understand that the Sport and Sport Touring trims might not be enough for you, even with the available six-speed manual transmission.

But at least the Si will continue to exist, and for many buyers, the sedan body style will be good enough. And hey, you can always buy a Type R.

More to the point, Honda likely has business reasons to not make the Si available in the hatchback body style. Considering that Honda enthusiasts didn’t seem to howl too much when the last Civic Si wasn’t offered in hatchback form, the company likely believes there won’t be enough takers.

Even a brief scan of the comments on our news post seemed to show that most of you seem quite content that the Si is sedan only, as long as it a) continues to exist and b) will still offer a shift-it-yourself option.

There are a lot of product decisions that outrage us enthusiasts. While this one is a bummer for some buyers, it’s not worth getting too upset about.

Now, the lack of a Coyote V8 in the Ford Bronco, however…

[Image: Honda]