Design
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My only gripe with the hatch is that it's a bit oddly proportioned. They needed to break up the front/rear bumpers to avoid the bland look of say the Model X. So I'm OK with their choice in the grill styling.
I think it will sell just fine. It's out there. Younger buyers like that sort of thing.
I think it will sell just fine. It's out there. Younger buyers like that sort of thing.
b0j4ngl35
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Just for perspective's sake, I'm 28, and when I first saw the hatchback design released to the public, I loved it. I'm not crazy about every angle on the car, but the design is, as quoted, out there. It looks different and radical, setting itself apart from its competition. I dug the 10th gen design already, but the hatchback almost makes the other two look boring in comparison now. As a former Mugen Si owner, it would take a lot of non-functional plastic bits to turn me off from a car. FWIW, however, I don't think an "out there" design automatically makes a car desirable. I think the Nissan Juke is one of the most hideous vehicles ever conceived, as well as a number of different Subarus. Just so happened that this Civics design ticked all the right boxes with me.
Now, to just get rid of the ugly wheels my EX came with...
tychay
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(I get what you are saying, after all my 3g Eclipse was a flop. However, it was a flop because of the SOHC V6 from the Galant and other US market cars replaced the 4 cylinder turbo, increased curb weight, and left no room under the hood for anything, even wheels that turn (my turn radius is like a SUV), and NOT because its 3000GT-esque styling which was a radical departure from any other generation eclipse. OTOH, if I had a turbo, I'm pretty sure I would have had to junk it somewhere in the last 16 years.)
It might help if you consider that 4-door hatchback look is for the European market and after that for the urban hipsters (millennial's version of the yuppie), so the choice is between this styling, or no civic hatch at all. The design team may have been North American, but it is a global car, and the hatchback is going to be strongly influenced by European tastes. The only thing that's going to change between markets is the options on the trims, the placement of the drivers side, and the shape of the center console cup holder.
For example, to you the rear looks a bit tall, but to others (like the TTAC writer), the rear looks sloped too much/racer at the cost of cargo space (a la Impreza or Golf as I alluded to). I think of it as a hatchback with a nod to the sedan's styling (and gas mileage) while leaving enough space for the Type R team to put the spoiler they need. Besides, the extra platform space means it's still among the top of its class in trunkspace. If this means the C pillar has a fake panel window, I think I can deal.
My postulate stands: do you think the Civic hatch will flop like the Crosstour? I am willing to bet that the TTAC people would not take even odds on that bet because they know they are not the market for the hatch. Americans were the market for the CrossTour and we rejected it so when reviewers here hated it, it was a safe bet that it would fail. This is why it had to be cancelled in favor for the HR-V and a redesigned CR-V, both of which target our tastes because we buy more crossovers-as-family-cars than possibly the rest of the world combined. The Prius may look ugly to you (and me), but it does very well where I live as well as globally to be a continued seller for Toyota. Eventually design elements and tech from that have reached Toyotas other vehicles as well and even competitors (hybrid tech, push button start, split rear window design, gas mileage readouts (though the last first appeared as a flopped gimmick in the Ford Probe of the early 90's)).
The Honda Fit is the modern take on the original Civic hatch. It has even more Prius design queues than the Civic hatch. To the extent that the Civic hatch is different from an up-sized Fit, it's either to make the hatch clearly resemble a Civic OR to emphasize that unlike the Fit there is a 174hp turbo engine under the hood (race car cues). There are a lot of Fit owners who wish Honda would put a serious engine in it, but not enough to justify it. To them, there is the Focus ST and other EUROPEAN hot hatch imports. For Honda owners who want more power than a Civic in a hatch, there is the Type-R, and all the Americans had to do is give the Japanese a big enough platform to do their thing (ironic given the story of the eclipse above). Its styling will make even the Civic Hatch sport blush (body kit? how about a real front splitter. fake front vents? how about that AND functional intakes next to them. dual center exhaust? have a triple), and instead of complain that it isn't a sleeper car, we will be too grateful that Honda has finally allowed a few lucky people here to buy one. Who cares how it looks when it retakes the Nurburgring crown with ease without cheating? If you can't stand the styling, the VW Golf has you covered, and they'll even sell you options like a intermediate engine and manual or automatic transmission, or even a turbo diesel (well not in the US, oops!) in hatchback form—makes sense, as VW is based in Europe where the hatch is to them like the compact SUV is to us.
Like I said, when the 10g sedan came out last year, a number of people panned its "out there" styling (as well as the extended chrome grill you mention). Those arguments seem quaint now because it won tons of awards and retook the sales crown in this category back from the Corolla in regions it lost it. By the time the coupe was available, the styling critics were left bitching about the lime green color option instead of its crazy rear lights because they knew sales numbers would embarrass them. The same 10th gen NA design team is responsible for the Civic hatch, are we seriously going to bet against them?
Methinks in many regions on this continent the hatchback styling will definitely lose a sale, but for every sale lost, there are at least two euro-loving urban hipster who is like, "you know what? I'd rather get the Civic Hatch than the Ford Focus, Lexus CT, or Subaru Impreza", and if not that, then Honda will hope they at least try an HR-V.
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syncro87
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I don't think the Civic hatch will flop like the Crosstour (which was actually oddly popular in certain areas, like DC).
I think it will appeal to some people, but for every two people that buy because of the relatively radical looks, they'll lose 2.1 people who find it too polarizing. Maybe I'm just thinking that because it fits my view of the car's looks. I was pretty hot on getting one, can easily afford one, have owned a number of Hondas, and love hatchbacks--and we have a 10th gen sedan already. In other words, a pretty ideal customer prospect for Honda, I should be a shoe in for a sale. I signed up for the email alerts, etc, eager for the car to be released and to buy one. But...
...I just can't get excited about it though, and my eye is wandering. Mazda3, new Impreza, etc. I don't want to hassle with maintaining a dark color car, but I think the hatch trim bits look pretty heinous on my typical low maintenance colors. So I'm not sure it's a deal breaker, but it likely is, the styling. If the car was about 10% less weird looking, I'd probably have already looked into ordering one.
To summarize, this is no Crosstour. I don't think it will flop. I think, though, that there will be an initial surge of enthusiast buyers who are into the hatch and are into the look. Once those are tapped out, though, I think it will be increasingly difficult to maintain sales momentum, the way the car looks. Right now, the sales figures are skewed favorably, because Honda finally released a Civic hatch after so many years. There is pent up demand. A year from now, though, will there still be that level of demand. I tentatively think maybe not. I think it will underachieve sales-wise compared to what would have happened with a slightly less radical look.
I would totally not be surprised if the car styling is moderated a bit when it's mid cycle refresh time, with Honda tilting the scale a bit more toward mainstream and less toward Prius territory, i.e. push the envelope less.
Remember the 2012 Civic. It was not a bad car, but they missed the mark too far on the cheapened and conservative side. Honda realized this and tweaked the car a bit, and sales recovered and the press on the car got better. This is, in my opinion, a similar situation on the other end of the spectrum with the hatch. Instead of being a bit too bland, it's a bit too loud so to speak.
I think it will appeal to some people, but for every two people that buy because of the relatively radical looks, they'll lose 2.1 people who find it too polarizing. Maybe I'm just thinking that because it fits my view of the car's looks. I was pretty hot on getting one, can easily afford one, have owned a number of Hondas, and love hatchbacks--and we have a 10th gen sedan already. In other words, a pretty ideal customer prospect for Honda, I should be a shoe in for a sale. I signed up for the email alerts, etc, eager for the car to be released and to buy one. But...
...I just can't get excited about it though, and my eye is wandering. Mazda3, new Impreza, etc. I don't want to hassle with maintaining a dark color car, but I think the hatch trim bits look pretty heinous on my typical low maintenance colors. So I'm not sure it's a deal breaker, but it likely is, the styling. If the car was about 10% less weird looking, I'd probably have already looked into ordering one.
To summarize, this is no Crosstour. I don't think it will flop. I think, though, that there will be an initial surge of enthusiast buyers who are into the hatch and are into the look. Once those are tapped out, though, I think it will be increasingly difficult to maintain sales momentum, the way the car looks. Right now, the sales figures are skewed favorably, because Honda finally released a Civic hatch after so many years. There is pent up demand. A year from now, though, will there still be that level of demand. I tentatively think maybe not. I think it will underachieve sales-wise compared to what would have happened with a slightly less radical look.
I would totally not be surprised if the car styling is moderated a bit when it's mid cycle refresh time, with Honda tilting the scale a bit more toward mainstream and less toward Prius territory, i.e. push the envelope less.
Remember the 2012 Civic. It was not a bad car, but they missed the mark too far on the cheapened and conservative side. Honda realized this and tweaked the car a bit, and sales recovered and the press on the car got better. This is, in my opinion, a similar situation on the other end of the spectrum with the hatch. Instead of being a bit too bland, it's a bit too loud so to speak.
dblshock
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Forget the sedan. That's the Civic everyone else buys. In Canada, with the Civic lineup accounting for 10% of all passenger car sales, do you really need to drive the Civic that everyone else already drives?
The Civic coupe, meanwhile, is undeniably the most stylish member of the trio. But while the rear seat is decent, it's not sufficiently practical for your lifestyle.
You want that turbocharged powerplant. You don't mind driving the antithesis of vehicular beauty. Youneed flexibility. Finally, the most popular car in Canada is available in the bodystyle you require.
This is the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback, with 75% more cargo capacity than the 2017 Honda Civic sedan.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/12/2017-honda-civic-hatchback-review-canada-tested.html
The Civic coupe, meanwhile, is undeniably the most stylish member of the trio. But while the rear seat is decent, it's not sufficiently practical for your lifestyle.
You want that turbocharged powerplant. You don't mind driving the antithesis of vehicular beauty. Youneed flexibility. Finally, the most popular car in Canada is available in the bodystyle you require.
This is the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback, with 75% more cargo capacity than the 2017 Honda Civic sedan.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/12/2017-honda-civic-hatchback-review-canada-tested.html
syncro87
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Do they break out the hatch sales from the sedan and coupe? That's what we really need to see to determine whether the hatch is selling. If it is just a total of all Civic styles, becomes really hard to tell whether any particular variant is over or under performing.
It will take a year to really know, to see how sales hold up after initial pent up demand is met, and dealer stocks have built up on lots. Too early to say right now. It might be a total home run for all I know.
gtman
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One other thing. I haven't driven the car but have sat in one at the dealer. This car has some of the biggest interior C pillars I've ever seen creating some serious blind spots on both sides. Personally, I like my cars with excellent visibility.
skittles
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Ok..I'm at Honda doing my recall and I just saw the new Hatch..omg I really love it..Looks so much better in person.. On the showroom floor they have one wrapped in a matte black vinyl..with the window wing and the lip...side skirts and difusser..Looks sharp with all that..has red accents.. When time I'm going to switch to the hatch!!!
tychay
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There's been a thread of these Civic Hatches with accessory wheels and underbody kits:Ok..I'm at Honda doing my recall and I just saw the new Hatch..omg I really love it..Looks so much better in person.. On the showroom floor they have one wrapped in a matte black vinyl..with the window wing and the lip...side skirts and difusser..Looks sharp with all that..has red accents.. When time I'm going to switch to the hatch!!!
http://www.civicx.com/threads/29k-civic-ex-hatchback-at-my-local-dealership.7219/#post-130751
By any chance, did you get a glimpse of the MSRP? Looks like an EX/EX-L w/Navi, instead of the Sport. This one really looks like a poor-mans 2017 Civic Type-R prototype. They did a good job. Wonder if they'll replace it with the Sport Touring when it comes out (to get the dual center exhaust).
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skittles
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skittles
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I said negative things about it until I saw at dealership today..It is totally sharp.. Especially with the body kit on and rear window wing..
skittles
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Yes the matte black hatch with the body kit looked liked a Type R.. It was msrp at $32,000 I believe. It was an ext with navi and the body kit and wheels.. I don't like the wheels though..they're meh..
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