Newest 2017 Civic Hatchback Prototype Spotted

[Design]

My guess is that the manual will be available on EXT and EXL trims only. The honda sensing suite doesn't work with a manual transmission, so they may forgo offering a manual on the touring since the sensing is the biggest content leap over the EXL anyway.

I hope they do. But I think it will be reserved for the EX/CTR only, based on how Honda has treated other platforms. For some reason, MT buyers (enthusiasts excluded) seem to be adverse to a lot of the add-ons prevalent in the upper trims. But with Honda going after the VW crowd, that could change.

Interesting bit about the CR-Z. Hoping they give enthusiasts what they've been asking (begging) for well over a decade...

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[RobbJK88]

I hope they do. But I think it will be reserved for the EX/CTR only, based on how Honda has treated other platforms. For some reason, MT buyers (enthusiasts excluded) seem to be adverse to a lot of the add-ons prevalent in the upper trims. But with Honda going after the VW crowd, that could change.

I agree with you. But until honda makes the sensing suite compatible (or partially compatible) with their manual setups i figure touring will be auto only. In my mind, someone buying a touring level civic wants ALL the creature comforts and tech, auto transmission included. Doesn't make much sense to me to have all that automated tech but still be rowing gears. Manual makes sense on lower trims, even EXL (for those that like/want leather interior along with the tech of an EXT).

 

[jmr]

They should have made the coupe a hatchback.

 

[TChewy]

It's going to get even weirder when the new CRZ comes around. From what i've heard it's being positioned almost as a 3 door civic hatch (possibly being called the Civic CRZ) and will share both the 1.5T and 2.0T from the civics (the smaller being combined with a hybrid setup while the 2.0T will be gas only). So effectively offering 2 sedans and 2 coupes in the civic lineup.

Very interesting about the CRZ. I had a 2011 6-speed that I traded in for the Civic Touring. I miss my 6-speed and that car was fun to drive as it was but would be pretty amazing with a 2.0T.

 

[RobbJK88]

Very interesting about the CRZ. I had a 2011 6-speed that I traded in for the Civic Touring. I miss my 6-speed and that car was fun to drive as it was but would be pretty amazing with a 2.0T.

From what has been heard, the next gen CRZ is going to be even sportier. A 1.5T hybrid making around 180+ horsepower and a 2.0T gas only model with around 280 (to push it into CTR performance).

 

[TChewy]

From what has been heard, the next gen CRZ is going to be even sportier. A 1.5T hybrid making around 180+ horsepower and a 2.0T gas only model with around 280 (to push it into CTR performance).

These are the engines the car should have come with to begin with. In sport mode it was a really fun car to drive but the way it was helped by the electric motor made it so it ran out of juice from that motor pretty quick in S mode. After the juice ran out on the motor that thing was so sluggish it felt like running in econ until batteries charged again. These engines will definitely make it a competitor to things like FR86 and Genesis coupe. Too bad I now need a backseat or else I'd get another one.

 

[Design]

I think Honda has wanted to do this for a while, but never could find the right balance between green efficiency and long term reliability - two things they are passionate about preserving. Reports suggest they and Toyota have avoided forced induction in mainstream patforms due to common issues ranging from piston ring integrity to heat dissipation. And it's probably why they chose to retain the NA 2.0 for now.

 

[staylurkn]

Anyone else thrilled they went with this lift back design over the traditional hatchback? I can spare a couple of cubic fee...inches, in exchange for something interesting to look at

 

[zx2down]

From what has been heard, the next gen CRZ is going to be even sportier. A 1.5T hybrid making around 180+ horsepower and a 2.0T gas only model with around 280 (to push it into CTR performance).

If they did that then I think they would be hurting CTR sales unless it was a more soft suspension and intended to be more of a long term cruising car than the racer the CTR is. It would annoy me if they finally produced a CRZ I'd buy the same time they released the CTR. I'd want both. I can see them releasing it with the Si motor though and have a CR-Z Si.

 

[RobbJK88]

If they did that then I think they would be hurting CTR sales unless it was a more soft suspension and intended to be more of a long term cruising car than the racer the CTR is. It would annoy me if they finally produced a CRZ I'd buy the same time they released the CTR. I'd want both. I can see them releasing it with the Si motor though and have a CR-Z Si.

I agree. Like I said, it's only what I've heard so it's all speculation at this point. It's pretty much promised the new CRZ will ride on a shortened version of the new civic platform. And they want to keep a hybrid option but also do a dedicated sport model. Not sure the CRZ would hurt CTR sales that badly though considering the ctr is a compact 5 door hatch and the CRZ will remain a subcompact size 3 door 2-seater with a lot less utility. It remains to be seen what Honda has up their sleeves with other cars like the baby NSX/S2000 predecessor. In a recent statement they made when they posted sales numbers they made an interesting comment about future innovation coming to both their mainstream models as well as expanding their portfolio of niche models to raise appeal of the brand (CTR, CRZ, Baby NSX, Si models, etc)

 

[zx2down]

I agree. Like I said, it's only what I've heard so it's all speculation at this point. It's pretty much promised the new CRZ will ride on a shortened version of the new civic platform. And they want to keep a hybrid option but also do a dedicated sport model. Not sure the CRZ would hurt CTR sales that badly though considering the ctr is a compact 5 door hatch and the CRZ will remain a subcompact size 3 door 2-seater with a lot less utility. It remains to be seen what Honda has up their sleeves with other cars like the baby NSX/S2000 predecessor. In a recent statement they made when they posted sales numbers they made an interesting comment about future innovation coming to both their mainstream models as well as expanding their portfolio of niche models to raise appeal of the brand (CTR, CRZ, Baby NSX, Si models, etc)

To that last statement, I'd personally like to see a new Prelude, but with how many FWD cars they have I feel an S2000 sequel would make more sense. I always did think that a RWD lude would be cool though.

 

[RobbJK88]

To that last statement, I'd personally like to see a new Prelude, but with how many FWD cars they have I feel an S2000 sequel would make more sense. I always did think that a RWD lude would be cool though.

A prelude sucessor would be cool. and the baby NSX images we've seen look like a coupe, not a roadster.. but it might actually have a removable hardtop (like the DelSol did).

Alot of publications/reviewers feel that the Accord coupe V6 is actually a pretty good spiritual successor to the prelude. A roughly midsize coupe with pretty impressive performance numbers (similar to those of the Camaro and Mustangs but with better handling). the only thing it lacks in spirit from the old prelude is the 4 wheel steering. Actually the old prelude was loosely based off the accord coupes of the day.

 

[zx2down]

A prelude successor would be cool. and the baby NSX images we've seen look like a coupe, not a roadster.. but it might actually have a removable hardtop (like the DelSol did).

Alot of publications/reviewers feel that the Accord coupe V6 is actually a pretty good spiritual successor to the prelude. A roughly midsize coupe with pretty impressive performance numbers (similar to those of the Camaro and Mustangs but with better handling). the only thing it lacks in spirit from the old prelude is the 4 wheel steering. Actually the old prelude was loosely based off the accord coupes of the day.

The accord coupe was around the same time as the Prelude for 2 generations. In both, I believe the Prelude had more aggressive gearing and a more performance oriented engine than the Accord had. Personally, I feel the Accord coupe should have been killed, but I get that how financially killing the Prelude made more sense.

At one point Honda had the Civic Si, DelSol Si, Prelude SH, Integra GSR and Integra Type-R. All performance coupes with many parts in common and in some places overlapping, the Accord coupe was the only coupe Honda made (that I recall) that had no performance trim during those years in the US. Thre was the Euro-R and I think a Type-R overseas, but they were mostly just an Accord with slightly upgraded Prelude drivetrains.

We still have the Civic Si, and we are getting a Type-R again, the CRZ has the potential to replace the CRX/DelSol if given a better drivetrain, the ILX... it's there but it's basically a shadow of what the Integra was (it had potential but then they killed the manual version, and I have not heard any 2.0t version announced, nor a coupe). The v6 manual Accord is rather impressive, I would like to see it get a turbo i4 though instead of the v6. It feels like Honda is trying to return to the heydays of the 95-2001 years, but they have a lot of work to do if that is their goal.

Part of what helped in the "fast and furious" days was that even though we got the B16 in our Si in 2000 it had bene used since 1989 in Japan, and already had a HUGE aftermarket in parts. Honda doesn't have that luck any more since everything is global They can't just bring over a 10yr old engine design and smile because it was so advanced it was considered amazing by American standards, because we had had decades of terrible i4 cars.

Also just a random side observation/rant. Japan had the gentleman's agreement to limit sports cars to about 276hp for a number of years. I kind of feel like that led to the huge boom they had in the US as they then, while still "saying" they had 287hp, would slightly increase power (many usually were close to 320) but they focused more on:
1. Making the engine stronger and more reliable (example the 89-02 GTR have almost the exact same engine, with just incremental improvements for durability)
2. They focused a lot more on rigidity, handling, gearing, technology and weight as when everyone makes the same power you have to figure out ways to make better use of it (vtec and other variable cam timing for example)
3. Better quality, interior, safety and design. Also figuring out how to make higher end features available at a lower end price point.

The US never had this period. it went from POWER to gas crisis, to "terrible car but we call it sensible since we forgot how to make non-v8's", to shit Japanese cars ar allowed in now without the huge tax penalties, and then most of the 90's till about 5yrs ago or so working really hard to catch up. I kind of think only Ford has as they started to focus on technology instead of displacement when they moved away from the old 5.0 and started to use smaller DOHC v8's and work with Mazda to merge what it learned from Cosworth in the UK to apply that to designing better i4's and then use that for better v6 and v8's. Resulting in them having great engines in every segment and having smaller engines that outperform GM/Chrysler's much larger ones.

/rant.

 

[RobbJK88]

The accord coupe was around the same time as the Prelude for 2 generations. In both, I believe the Prelude had more aggressive gearing and a more performance oriented engine than the Accord had. Personally, I feel the Accord coupe should have been killed, but I get that how financially killing the Prelude made more sense.

At one point Honda had the Civic Si, DelSol Si, Prelude SH, Integra GSR and Integra Type-R. All performance coupes with many parts in common and in some places overlapping, the Accord coupe was the only coupe Honda made (that I recall) that had no performance trim during those years in the US. Thre was the Euro-R and I think a Type-R overseas, but they were mostly just an Accord with slightly upgraded Prelude drivetrains.

We still have the Civic Si, and we are getting a Type-R again, the CRZ has the potential to replace the CRX/DelSol if given a better drivetrain, the ILX... it's there but it's basically a shadow of what the Integra was (it had potential but then they killed the manual version, and I have not heard any 2.0t version announced, nor a coupe). The v6 manual Accord is rather impressive, I would like to see it get a turbo i4 though instead of the v6. It feels like Honda is trying to return to the heydays of the 95-2001 years, but they have a lot of work to do if that is their goal.

Yea, i totally get that of the coupes the accord was the least sporty, but in terms of sporty coupes on todays market, the accord coupe is a pretty good performer, just highly highly underrated.

I think we'll see alot of changes coming in the next 3-7 years from honda/acura now with the new turbo engines in play and the new global scalable platform in use we might see a huge shift towards not just better performing mainstream cars (like the new civic) but more and better sport variants as well. Honda's even been quoted saying it's got a focus on future niche models. Right now it's a waiting game while we have to wait for current generations to expire.

The new accord is moving to the scalable platform. The 1.5T will most likely replace the current 2.4 in the base models. I don't see honda doing away with the V6 quite yet, its a great engine and still has plenty of potential, but eventually the 2.0T will replace it. All this will result in an even better performing accord model (even though the current model isn't bad at all in that area). Making the accord coupe even more of a spiritual successor to the prelude IMO.

The civic as we've seen has the 1.5T now and is 300% better than it has been the past 9 years. We've got the Si and CTR coming in the next 8-12 months.

The new CRZ will probably have the two turbo engines as well (or at least one of them) and be a sport focused niche performer able to compete with tiny coupes like the GT86, BRZ, Miata, etc (even being most likely FWD, or potentially e-AWD at some point)

The baby NSX i think will get the 2.0T as well, and ride on a scaled down version of the NSX platform that we already know is a great platform that had tons of time and money invested into it.

The CRV will definitely move to the scalable platform as well and possibly adopt the 1.5T. The Fit and HRV might (should) move to the scalable platform and also potentially adopt the new engines, a sport variant 1.5T fit would be awesome and everyone would agree the HRV could benefit from the 2.0NA or 1.5T from the civic because it struggles with the old 1.8.

Acura is whole other story. Most likely the ILX and TLX will move to the new scalable platform as well. Acura has plans to move its cars slowly up market and that starts with adding e-AWD across it's lineup. Pair that with the no doubt liberal use of the 2.0T (just like Audi) and you've got a recipe for much more upscale and better performing luxury brand that currently struggles to be relevant. I'd still like to see an integra/rsx/ilx coupe variant be made to satisfy the luxury sports coupe buyers that can't afford an NSX. Acura also could stand to bring back the Type S monicker or make the A-Spec models more than just cosmetic upgrades.

 

[Akirazstylin]

Honda Better release it soon before other car manufactures release a better hatch and the attention shifts to the other company or all the buyers are choosing the sedans and coupes cause this hatch is taking forever to be released.

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