2020 Honda Civic Hatchback review: You can’t go wrong

The Honda Civic is an all-around great small auto, arguably the gold conventional in its segment. This equipment has a thoughtfully intended, high-high-quality interior, it presents loads of conventional machines, which includes the Honda Sensing suite of highly developed driver aids, and its actual-planet gas overall economy is exceptional. Even further broadening its charm, this minimal Honda is provided in a range of entire body kinds, from a traditional sedan to a sporty coupe to a 5-door hatchback. If you might be in the sector for a small auto just get a Civic and prospects are you is not going to be upset.

A hatchback-to-fundamental principles auto

This hatchback is provided in 5 distinctive trims, from the entry-amount LX design up to the Activity Touring variant, which is what I am tests listed here. The most basic edition Honda presents commences at just about $23,000, which includes $995 in destination expenses. By natural means, my critique unit is pricier than that, checking out for around $29,905, which is nonetheless a entirely sensible sum contemplating all the machines it will come with.

When it is time to haul a load of merchandise from your neighborhood major-box shop, this Civic is satisfied to oblige. With the rear seats up, it delivers 25.7 cubic ft of room. Fold those backrests down and that determine grows to a Costco-worthy 46.two cubes, a determine that, when loads beneficial, is a bit much less than what you get in either a Hyundai Elantra GT or Volkswagen Golf, each of which provide much more than fifty cubic ft of maximum quantity.

Other rivals of this Honda include 5-door variations of the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla. These rivals have their possess strengths and weaknesses, nevertheless I am not frightened to say that all of them are much more attractive than the Civic. It’s not that this Honda hatchback is ugly, it is just that it is acquired a great deal of more styling, from bogus air vents to overly busy-searching bumpers to an oddly deflated roofline to its duet of rear spoilers. It is, sadly, not a really rather auto. 

It’s what’s inside that counts

But if you can get previous that wrapper, the Civic’s interior is much much more enjoyable, and arguably a person of the very best in this segment. Front and rear, the seats are comfy and there is certainly loads of home for heads and legs. Even taller individuals ought to have no grievances when riding in this Honda, nevertheless older folks could possibly run into a minimal difficulties. The Civic sits rather low to the ground, which tends to make it almost experience like you might be finding up off the ground when alighting. 

The high-quality of this car’s cabin is very high. In actuality, some of its interior products are nicer than what you get in some luxury vehicles. Improving its flexibility, the Civic’s heart console does much more tips than a magician. The armrest slides fore and aft to much better accommodate distinctive folks, but it also flips up, revealing a deep, spacious storage bin. Inside of this compartment are quite a few cup holders as perfectly as a independent storage tray. A number of of these components also slide. There’s even an supplemental storage cubby underneath the heart stack ought to you require much more junk-stashing room.

It may perhaps be roomy and adaptable, but all is not roses inside this Honda. One aspect I do not care for is the instrument cluster. Like its entire body, the Civic’s gauges are unusually robotic, with odd-searching analog meters flanking a mildly reconfigurable heart display. The total seem is a bit hokey and is not likely to age really perfectly.

Techno-illogical

A portion of this auto which is presently out of day is the infotainment method. All variations of the Civic hatch, conserve the entry-amount LX design, appear with a Screen Audio method and a 7-inch touchscreen. With unattractive graphics and a difficult user interface, it is not a person of my favorite multimedia arrays available these days. At the very least Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are bundled. Best-shelf Activity Touring products also appear with a high quality twelve-speaker audio method, which appears high-quality, neither dreadful nor awesome.

Along with its entrance buckets, the rear outboard seats are heated, which is excellent, but the deficiency of any USB ports serving backseat passengers is not. Greater-conclude variations of this auto appear with only two this kind of shops, a person offering 1.five amps’ truly worth of juice, the other a measly 1 amp.

One characteristic of observe is the digital parking brake with automatic hold. Carrying out away with a mechanical handbrake frees up room on the heart console. And I have acquired to say, automatic brake hold has come to be a person of my favorite options. When enabled, a firm press of the pedal when stopped will hold the auto stationary, so when ready at a gentle you do not have to preserve implementing stress on the brake pedal. It’s a welcome benefit characteristic, a person which is nonetheless relatively uncommon in this auto segment.

The Honda Sensing protection suite is conventional machines listed here and it is as excellent as ever. This involves matters like ahead-collision warning, collision-mitigation braking, adaptive cruise manage and lane-keeping assist. Those last two options function very perfectly in actuality, they’re some of the very best available in the industry these days. The cruise manage with lane centering is particularly excellent, keeping the auto locked in the middle of its lane with minimum ping-ponging from a person side to the other. 

Electricity and general performance

All mainline Civic hatchbacks are run by a 1.five-liter turbocharged four-cylinder motor. In Activity and Activity Touring products, it delivers a respectable a hundred and eighty horsepower and either 177 pound-ft of torque when paired with a six-speed manual transmission or 162 lb-ft when bolted to the available CVT. Non-Activity variants brandish 174 hp in their underneath-hood stables.

Pedantic vagaries aside, this powerplant is clean and silent, even when functioning all-out. Despite the pint-dimensions displacement (technically 1,498 cc is 3.17 US pints, but I digress), this motor delivers loads of midrange punch, a thick serving of torque ideal in the coronary heart of its rev range. In typical use, the Civic is not going to depart you wanting for much more general performance as it feels quite energetic.

Though not quite as responsive as I’d like, this car’s constantly variable transmission is clean and can help provide some remarkable gas overall economy. So outfitted, the Civic Hatchback is rated at 29 miles for every gallon in the town and 35 on freeway drives. Blended, it ought to return 32 mpg, nevertheless in mixed use I have witnessed just shy of 35 mpg. It’s always wonderful when you can conquer the EPA’s estimated ratings without even hoping.

This Honda’s experience high-quality is about on par for a compact auto, being neither pillow-gentle nor buckboard-stiff. It strikes a great equilibrium amongst activity and comfort. At speed, even so, this hatchback’s cabin is a bit on the noisy side, with unexpectedly noticeable tire and wind ruckus. A different draw back is the layout of the C-pillars. They are chunky, even chonky, and critically block rearward visibility.

Still a wonderful option

The 2020 Civic hatchback is excellent at just about all the things. Guaranteed, I’d appreciate an up to date infotainment method, some nicer instruments and toned-down styling, but the auto is so essentially strong I can seem previous these slight faults. If you might be in the sector for an successful, adaptable and perfectly-outfitted auto but do not want to go the crossover route, make confident to look at out this Honda or any of the other Civic entire body kinds. They is not going to disappoint.