2020 Civic Hatch

Exterior Design

Interior Design

Safety & Technology

Driving Impressions

Performance

"The Civic with extra versatility."

There hasn't been a hatchback body style for the Civic since the sixth generation, but now for the tenth generation, the hatchback is back, but Honda did something different for this new hatchback, and it proves to be a popular seller.

Trim Levels

Trim levels and pricing applies to 2020 model year Civic Hatch.

LX

MSRP $21,650

Sport

MSRP $22,750

EX

MSRP $24,150

EX-L

MSRP $25,350

Sport Touring

MSRP $28,050

Exterior Design

For 2020, Honda gave the Civic hatch a mild refresh just like the sedan and coupe variants. LED headlights are still only available on the top Sport Touring trim, but for 2020 the lower intakes get a new accent piece that highlights the color of the body. Looks nice! Honda's "beak" is black on all trims of the Civic hatch, giving it a sportier edge.

The Civic hatch looks more of a coupe with a hatch in the back because the rear hatch tapers the most dramatic that I've ever seen. Compared to the competition, the Civic hatch has one of the smaller cargo areas than its nearest competitors, and the severely raked roofline does show it off very well. The Civic does ride on some decent standard 16" alloy rims, but get up to the Sport Touring and those will be modest 18" machined-look rims. Personally, I'd option the 19" HFP black wheels because they give the Sport Touring trim a much more dynamic appearance.

Impreza 5-door

55.3

Elantra GT

55.1

VW Golf

53.7

Cruze hatch

47.2

Mazda3 hatch

47.1

Civic Hatch

46.2

Out back of the Civic hatch is equally as influenced with a lot of design just like the overdramatic Civic Type R. They are both hatchbacks, but the non-Type-R trims have a less aggressive appearance. Sport and Sport Touring Civic hatches have a center-mounted exhaust tip, whereas others will have it tucked under the bumper. There's two spoilers on the hatchback, one on the top by the rear window, and one that connects the taillights. LED brake lights are standard, which is a nice touch, and the same little "canards" that appear on the front end also appear on the rear end. Honda does a lot of fake vents though on the Civic hatchback... just like they do on much of the Civic Type-R.

Interior Design

Honda really took the time to craft some innovation into the interior of the Civic, whether you are talking about the coupe, hatchback, or sedan. The center console is absolutely massive, with sliding cupholders and a sliding armrest, and a literal ton of storage. A 6-speed manual is standard on the Sport and Sport Touring trims, but the CVT is optional but standard on others.

Honda still uses the antiquated 7-inch infotainment screen that is very slow, very clunky, and overall just a problem. It's not very responsive, colors aren't that bright, and you have to push a button to darken or brighten the screen, when it should automatically do that for you when the ambient light sensor detects it being dark or bright enough.

The front seats are quite comfortable, although I did notice that they weren't as premium feeling as some of the competition, but it was so minimal, I'm not going to complain about it.

The rear seats are decently accommodating... that's assuming you aren't over 6-foot tall. Head room is a struggle in the Civic hatch because of that dramatic taper in the roofline, but you will be comfortable with leg and foot room in the back of the Civic hatch. The Civic hatch has one of the largest passenger capacities of the competition.

The cargo area falls short of much of the competition despite a class-leading 25.7 cubic feet of space behind the second row of seats. But fold that second row down, and the Civic hatch falls to a paltry 46.2 cubic feet, 9.1 less than the Subaru Impreza 5-door, which has the most spacious cargo area with the second row seats folded down.

Safety & Technology

Honda Sensing is standard on every Civic hatch. It includes Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow, and Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS).

The Civic hatch is based off the same platform as the other Civics, so crash test ratings are all equal to each other. The Civic earns Good ratings across the board in all IIHS crash tests, but it failed miserably in the headlights test, with the LED reflector headlights earning a Poor rating due to very excessive glare, recording some 140.9% of glare that exceeded thresholds on the straightaway tests.

If Honda would tweak the headlights just slightly and add pedestrian detection and braking, the Civic could earn a 2020 Top Safety Pick+ award, but if Honda would tweak the headlights, the Civic would earn a Top Safety Pick+ award for 2019. For more information on the ratings of the Civic hatch, click here.

Driving Impressions

The Civic hatchback is based off the same platform as the Civic coupe and sedan, so driving impressions shall merely be the exact same as those models.

I did review a Civic Si coupe back a bit ago, but I never got to drive it because of it being a manual.

The Civic hatch has a firm ride, but its just a little too stiff for me, otherwise it was average. Steering feel was actually a bit of a surprise. I personally thought it would be heavy and lazy, but the Civic's steering feel was excellent, and had just enough resistance that it wasn't too weighted or loose when steering. Body roll was minimal though, which is the trade-off for the firm suspension.

The 1.5L turbocharged I4 engine is the only available engine in the Civic hatch. It's hooked up to either a 6-speed manual standard on Sport and Sport Touring trims, or Honda's good CVT transmission. The CVT is a great pair to this 1.5L turbo, as it provides exceptional power delivery smoothly and efficiently. The CVT transmission does slip in some fake gears, but it comes in second place with having the feel of a normal torque-converter automatic (first goes to Hyundai's new IVT transmission). It's a peppy little hatchback that has enough scoot to make you smile a little.

Performance

In a surprising twist, the 158-horsepower 2.0L naturally-aspirated inline-4 found in the LX and Sport trims of the coupe and sedan don't make it into the Civic hatch. Instead, Honda makes the 174-horsepower 1.5L EarthDreams turbocharged inline-4 standard on all Civic hatches.

Again, the Civic hatch does offer a 6-speed manual option that is standard on the Sport and Sport Touring trims, but the CVT is standard on the rest and is optional if you don't want the manual transmission on those trims above.

The Civic hatch's strong suit is its fuel economy, but it falls JUST SHORT of the Corolla hatchback, but the Corolla does 35 combined MPG with a CVT transmission just like the Honda, but with 10 simulated gears rather than the 7 in the Honda, but the Honda only gets one less MPG with three less fake gears. If Honda would've matched the Corolla's 10 fake gears, for sure it would take the Corolla over in combined fuel economy. Also, don't forget that if you are looking for exceptional fuel economy, the Chevrolet Cruze is available with a 1.6L diesel engine that gives you an exceptional 45 MPG on the highway, but its not worth the $4,000 premium that the diesel has over the LT model which the Diesel trim is based off of.

35

32

34

32

The Civic is just a tiny bit more loud than some of the competition, but there is nothing that makes it annoying or noteworthy.

Performance Figures

1.5L EarthDreams turbo I4 (as tested: EX trim)

Horsepower (hp @ RPM)

174 @ 6000

Torque (lb/ft @ RPM)

162 @ 1700-5500

Transmission(s)

CVT w/ 7 simulated gears

Drivetrain

FWD

EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy)

31 / 40

0-60 Time

7 seconds*

1/4-mile (sec @ mph)

n/a

* - estimated

Final Verdict & REVIEWS Score

2020 Civic Hatch

"The Civic with extra versatility."

Trim Levels

LX

MSRP $21,650

Sport

MSRP $22,750

EX

MSRP $24,150

EX-L

MSRP $25,350

Sport Touring

MSRP $28,050

Exterior Design

55.3

55.1

53.7

47.2

47.1

46.2

Interior Design

Safety & Technology

Driving Impressions

Performance

35

32

34

32

Performance Figures

174 @ 6000

162 @ 1700-5500

CVT w/ 7 simulated gears

FWD

31 / 40

7 seconds*

n/a

Final Verdict & REVIEWS Score

The Civic Hatch is a really great compact hatch with very good value, but it lacks some gadgetry that some of the competition offers.

63/85 | Accumulated Score

07 | Reliability

09 | Ergonomics

10 | Value

08 | Innovation

06 | Electronics

08 | Wow factor

08 | Safety

56/70 | Subtotal Score

07/15 | Subjective Category

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