Honda Civic Hatch "Near Identical" To NY Coupe Concept, Will Get Hybrid

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

If a report from Britain’s AutoExpress is to be believed, the front clip of the next-generation Honda Civic hatchback – due to arrive in North America for the first time since 2000 (in non-Si form) – will look “near identical” to the Civic Coupe concept revealed in New York.

Head of Honda UK, Philip Crossman, told the UK outlet the next Civic hatchback will only differ from the coupe at the rear third of the car and all sheetmetal fore of that will be the same. In addition to a coupe, sedan, and hatchback, AutoExpress also posits a new Tourer model will likely be available, though we can’t see this version of the Civic coming to our shores.

The Civic will ride on a common architecture for both European and North American models. Under hood will be a brand new drivetrain with a hybrid version available later.

“We’ll come back with a class-leading hybrid powertrain in the next five years,” said Crossman, “and it’s likely to make as much impact as the VTEC valve system.”

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  • Gtem Gtem on May 01, 2015

    I wonder why Honda has this dichotomy in design, the Accord being some straightforward and handsome, this Civic is so tortured and contrived. One thing I really enjoy about my plain jane 2012 is how simple and clean the styling is (boring to some).

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    • Minnesota Nice Minnesota Nice on May 03, 2015

      I absolutely agree. The Civic design definitely pales compared to the classy, well-proportioned look of the Accord. I can see they borrowed elements of it for the upcoming Civic - it looks a bit out of place to me. Mazda did a great job styling the new Mazda3 to look like a mini Mazda6 - and both designs are stunning. Even the Corolla (minus the backend) has more brand consistency with its larger brother. The 2006-2011 models were knockout. It's taken several years since that model ended for the sedans to start looking a little dated (though that could also be due to the condition many I see in)- the coupe body still looks good to me...it has aged well. The same can't be said of the 2012+ models. I owned a 2012 coupe Si and it wasn't even a year before I traded it in for a 2013 Si sedan. The styling was excessively plain (to a fault) and the interior, for me, was a miserable place to be - decontenting and cheap, hard plastic everywhere. The road noise was also unbearable. The 2013 addressed much of that (and the styling of the 2013 Si sedan was vastly, vastly improved). The interior is quieter, materials are top-notch in this segment, and the handling/styling is much improved, particularly the front and back. The 2012 was sedate. And maybe that's not a bad thing for some people, but it looked like a last gen Civic sedan and Corolla made some monstrous baby devoid of any personality. The improvements for 2013 were a welcome change. The 2012 wasn't a bad car as a whole, but the design is already exceedingly tired in my opinion and it definitely wasn't Honda's best effort on execution. They really misjudged the market, even though it sold well. Still, I have no doubt they'll be running for many years to come. I'm pretty happy with my 2013 Si sedan. Of course, just my opinion - I know a lot of people love their 2012s. It was definitely not the right car for me. However, I don't see any Honda's in my future - that mandatory touch screen on mid to upper trim levels with no volume knob is an absolute deal breaker for me.

  • Miketve Miketve on May 01, 2015

    Ugh, sooo nasty. Clearly they are determined to max out the current Star Wars storm trooper/Predator helmet inspiration, like all the Asian manufacturers, save Mazda. Stop the madness.

  • AH-1WSuperCobra AH-1WSuperCobra on May 01, 2015

    Personally I think it looks great and I am really digging the color. In a world of beiges and whites there needs to be more cars with loud shouty colors.

    • Minnesota Nice Minnesota Nice on May 03, 2015

      +1. I am tired of black, grey, silver, and white cars permeating the market. Even the blue's are often so dark you'd mistake them for black in some lighting conditions. While I'm not a fan of the lime green and magentas (or god forbid yellow) I've seen on some cars, I'd like to see more effort put into color palettes. Honda's Kona Coffee looks great on some cars, and they're blue's are really stunning (though I still think Dyno Blue Pearl should've been reserved for Si's - it looks weird on the LX/EX models). Still, I desperately miss the Fiji Blue Pearl paint job my 2006 Si had. That color was incredible.

  • JMII JMII on May 01, 2015

    Cool old school 3 door hatchback or another me too 5 door? I wouldn't mind the look so much if it was functional stuff, but half those grills are just for looks they don't do anything (turbo? brakes?)

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