A few months after the arrival of the Honda Civic Sedans (both Sport and Touring were reviewed here in October), the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback has landed.
Despite my earlier erroneous assumption that the chip shortage might have played a part in the staggered release dates, it was part of the plan, as it was for the last-generation Civic. That's a smart move. Honda has a series of introductions, advertising and publicity that gets separate pops for the Sedan, the Hatchback, the Si (later this year) and the Type R (early 2022, maybe spring). The effect is to continually draw attention to an expanding lineup of the all-new Civic throughout its first model year
The only major complaint about the new Civic line from the faithful? The hatchback is a four-door, not a two-door. But coupes don't sell well enough to make the business case. And to my eye, at least, Honda's done a great job of making an attractive four-door hatchback.
As with the Civic sedans, which engine is under the hood depends on which trim level you say yes to. LX and Sport get a 158-horsepower 2.0-liter four, EXL and Sport Touring get the turbocharged 180-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. As with the sedans, neither is going to set your hair on fire. The 158-horsepower engine gets you to 60 from a standing start in eight seconds. The 180-horse only cuts that down to seven and a half. If a truly hot Civic is what you want, hold out for the Si, which will top 200 horsepower, or the Type R, which will reportedly be somewhere north of 300 horses.
The truly good news is that, unlike the Civic Sedan, Sport and Sport Touring models of the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback can be had with a six-speed manual transmission. Our tester came with the Continuously Variable Transmission, the upside of which is stellar fuel economy (an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon city, 37 highway).
The other advantage to the hatchback, of course, is the increase in cargo room. The Civic Sedan has a 14.8 cubic foot trunk. But the hatchback, even with the rear seats up, boosts that to 24.5. Honda says the cargo volume with the rear seats folded is "TBD" (to be determined).
Beyond that, the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback has all the goodness of the Civic Sedans. High-quality materials, exceptional fit and finish and a new attention to detail. The base price of the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring is $29,400. The window sticker is at the end of this review so you can see for yourself, but among the standard equipment highlights at that price are leather-trimmed seats, steering wheel and shift knob, dual-zone climate control, a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system and a power moonroof.
...and yes, I'm still geeking out over the new Civic's elegant solution to in-dash vents---an intricate metal screen with toggles to direct the air. I love this.
The only extra-cost option on our tester was the Sonic Gray Pearl paint ($395), so with $1,015 destination and handling, the as-tested price of the 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring is $30,800.
Having owned one hatchback in my life (a '78 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Liftback that I traded five years later for an '84 Civic sedan), I see the appeal. The Civic Hatchback is a great addition to the new Civic lineup, one that makes an already practical choice even more so.
