You’re doing something right when an automobile reaches its 11th generation in production.
It’s an exclusive club that means it has been endorsed by the American public across multiple generations.
The car in question is the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring sedan, a family that includes EX, Sport, LX and Touring trim levels.
Hatchback Sport is an Euro-inspired, class-above design that raises the bar in every conceivable way – design, performance, fuel efficiency, safety features and technology. It provides increased versatility to fit the lifestyle needs of young, active buyers on a budget.
My tester was powered by a 1.5-liter, direct-inject, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The pairing delivers 180 horsepower and 38 miles per gallon fuel economy down the highway. The sedan seats up to five adults and includes a surprisingly generous trunk.
The new Civic Hatchback also ramps up its sporty driving characteristics with ride and handling developed in Europe and North America. Almost a relic, I enjoyed the six-speed manual transmission with its short throws and solid feel. Something about a manual creates a bond between driver and road.
The Civic Hatch comes with a new user-selectable SPORT mode, in addition to the Normal and Eco driving modes. Sport mode is designed for a powerful feeling of torque and high acceleration responsiveness. In SPORT mode, the minimum engine speed is 2000 rpm, even when cruising, to ensure quick throttle response.
Built on the same platform as the all-new and critically acclaimed Civic sedan, the new Civic Hatchback features the same low cowl, excellent visibility and exceptional attention to detail. Its sporty hatchback design not only adds a sleek coupe-like silhouette and a fastback roofline, it also has a wider cargo opening than its predecessor to make it easier to load large items.
Up front, the Civic Hatchback is immediately distinct from the sedan thanks to its more aggressive honeycomb grille, which is tilted slightly forward and features a smaller body-color area for an even sportier look. Like the sedan, Civic Hatchback’s front-end styling emphasizes width with slim, wide-set LED headlights and 18-inch alloy wheels.
The simple and clean interior delivers on the new Honda user experience and adds best-in-class cargo capacity behind the rear seats, more rear seat legroom and an open and airy greenhouse for improved visibility of all occupants. It is also noticeably quiet, thanks in part to the first use of urethane spray foam.
Creature comforts are plentiful, highlighted by a navigation system with multi-view rear camera, Bose premium audio system with 12 speakers, dual-zone climate control with air filtration, heated leather-trimmed front seats, wireless phone charger, USB ports, 12-volt power outlet, and XM radio.
Civic’s standard Honda Sensing suite of driver assistive and safety technologies is thoroughly reengineered for the 2022 Civic Hatchback. Two new features are traffic jam assist and traffic sign recognition.
They join a long list of safety technology that includes collision mitigation braking system, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, road departure mitigation, lane departure warning, anti-lock brakes, tire pressure monitoring, daytime LED running lights and LATCH system for child seats.
Base Price: $30,865
Price As Driven: $30,865
Destination charge is included in base price. Vehicles are provided by the manufacturer. List price may vary at local dealerships.
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