Photo: Catalin Garmacea
The majority of car owners in the US think hatchbacks are dorky and small. However, the Honda crowd doesn't see things the same way. To take advantage of this, the automaker is planning to finally answer its fans and bring 5-door models over from Europe to North America.
The Civic hatchback is made at a factory in Swindon, England, along with the CR-V. The location has huge excess production capacity, over 100,000 cars per year, so instead of cutting jobs (or worse), Honda is bringing the hatch over the pond.
According to business magazine Nikkei, the move will happen in the sumer of 2016. What's really puzzling is that a projected 30,000 to 40,000 units are supposed to be imported. That's too high a volume for the Civic Type R hot hatch, which was previously rumored as in import.
But considering the Civic hasn't been sold with a trunk lid since the seventh generation, 40k sales sounds hard to do. Volkswagen is a great example of a company struggling to shift hatchback perceptions right now. Even though their Golf won the Car of the Year Title in Europe, US buyers usually turn their noses. In Febraury 2015, a shift in the trend was noted, as 3,921 Golfs were sold, 142% more than last year.
The engine that's likely to be offered with the car is a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated 4-banger matched to a 6-speed manual or automatic. It will put out about 150 horsepower, which isn't exactly groundbreaking. There might also be a turbo option, as last week we reported that a 1.5-liter VTEC with forced induction is coming to the next-gen sedan, offering outputs similar to the 2-liter.
According to business magazine Nikkei, the move will happen in the sumer of 2016. What's really puzzling is that a projected 30,000 to 40,000 units are supposed to be imported. That's too high a volume for the Civic Type R hot hatch, which was previously rumored as in import.
But considering the Civic hasn't been sold with a trunk lid since the seventh generation, 40k sales sounds hard to do. Volkswagen is a great example of a company struggling to shift hatchback perceptions right now. Even though their Golf won the Car of the Year Title in Europe, US buyers usually turn their noses. In Febraury 2015, a shift in the trend was noted, as 3,921 Golfs were sold, 142% more than last year.
What is the 2017 Honda Civic 5-door going to be like?
We've already tested the European Civic a while back. It has a bigger trunk than the Golf and arguably more aggressive styling as well. A facelift was introduced last year after the Paris Motor Show, bringing even more dynamism. The Civic has a more direct feel and better handling than the German hatch and should be a great alternative to the Ford Focus.The engine that's likely to be offered with the car is a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated 4-banger matched to a 6-speed manual or automatic. It will put out about 150 horsepower, which isn't exactly groundbreaking. There might also be a turbo option, as last week we reported that a 1.5-liter VTEC with forced induction is coming to the next-gen sedan, offering outputs similar to the 2-liter.
Google News