Save the Manuals: 2022 Honda Civic Hatch Will Have Three Pedals
Honda has sent us a teaser pic of the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback, seen above, but buried in a press release that’s mostly filled with the usual P.R. spin is this nugget: “An available, fun-to-drive 6-speed manual transmission.”
Yep, the stick ain’t totally dead yet.
The release is light on specs — full details won’t be revealed until June 23rd at a virtual concert featuring H.E.R and Majid Jordan. In fact, the only other news is that the car will built in Greensburg, Indiana, and that it would be available later this year. This marks the first time the Civic hatchback will be built in the U.S.
Even with little in the way of news, we can guess which trims will get a stick. An Si with a stick is almost certainly happening, though we need to note the last Si wasn’t offered in hatch guise, and the next Type-R will probably offer a manual, too. It’s possible those two cars could be manual-only, as the last versions were.
Our other best guess is that a Sport trim returns and offers the stick. The last-generation Sport trim was a slightly less high-strung version of the Si with more luxury and a hatchback bodystyle, and we’d bet our meager paychecks that Honda will bring that trim back.
A base model could also offer three pedals, as well.
The full skinny will be available on Youtube at 6 pm Pacific on June 23rd, if you like getting your car news from concerts.
[Image: Honda]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
More by Tim Healey
Comments
Join the conversation
I don't know about the Sport hatch, but the Si continues to be a beacon of hope in a car world that gets dumber every year. I hope that a fun-to-drive, simple, low-$20k sedan continues to be available from someone after the transition to electric is complete. Hell, maybe I'll buy a new Si once they come out instead of the used manual hoopties I've been looking at.
I will never drive car with MT ever again. Until year 2000 I'd never seen or driven a car with AT. 99.99% of cars on the road were cars with MT. After year 2000 I had never driven car with MT. 99.99% of cars on the road were cars with AT. What happened in year 2000?
This is the last one that will have a manual. If you really care about driving more than making TikToks during your commute, buy it. I will never again have a new car. No manual= no way.
I think we have to face the fact that as "enthusiasts," we are not enough of a market for automakers to worry about in mainstream offerings. They build what is cost effective for the most buyers, and they don't want to pump a clutch pedal in rush-hour traffic. I think the loss of manuals will be easier, philosophically, for me to accept when the majority of cars become electric with a flat torque curve, hence no need for a transmission at all.