Will all body types be about same size?

[Golf6]

Are we expecting that the sedan, coupe, and hatchback will all be the same length? After seeing the sedan looking kinda big I'm not sure the car can look like a real sporty hatchback, it might just be too long to achieve the sport hatch look. Any chance the hatchback will be inches shorter than the sedan?

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[CaptK]

No doubt the hatch will be smaller than the sedan. Here is the current sedan and hatch compared:

Wheelbase 2,595 mm (102.2 in) (hatchback)
2,670 mm (105.1 in) (sedan and hybrid)
2,620 mm (103.1 in) (coupe)

Length 4,300 mm (169.3 in) (hatchback)
4,525 mm (178.1 in) (sedan and hybrid)
4,472 mm (176.1 in) (coupe)

About 9 inches shorter than the sedan so unless there is some bonkers homologation of different body styles, we shouldn't have anything to worry about as far as the hatchback looking like a minivan.

 

[Golf6]

Thx for doing the work for my lazy a$$ . 9 inches is a ton! You've restore my faith in a sporty hatchback

Is the hatchback also significantly lighter since its that much smaller?

 

[manhunt]

I really wish the coupe was a lot shorter than the sedan but if it remains faithful to the current difference in length it won't be.

 

[RobbJK88]

I really wish the coupe was a lot shorter than the sedan but if it remains faithful to the current difference in length it won't be.

We don't even know the official length of the sedan yet so we don't know how long it is compared to the current car. And from pictures the car looks long because of the new body style. The coupe in the spy shots so far doesn't have that overly long look like the sedan does, its all body shape causing that illusion of the car having grown too much. I don't think the coupe will look as long as the sedan will be plenty small for the compact coupe market even if it is only a few inches shorter in length.

They can't really make the coupe that much shorter as it has the same wheel base as the sedan, and to maintain trunk space they can't shorten the overhands too much.

 

[05 Si]

We don't even know the official length of the sedan yet so we don't know how long it is compared to the current car. And from pictures the car looks long because of the new body style. The coupe in the spy shots so far doesn't have that overly long look like the sedan does, its all body shape causing that illusion of the car having grown too much. I don't think the coupe will look as long as the sedan will be plenty small for the compact coupe market even if it is only a few inches shorter in length.

They can't really make the coupe that much shorter as it has the same wheel base as the sedan, and to maintain trunk space they can't shorten the overhands too much.

That's a good pt about the coupe not being able to be much smaller than the sedan because of the shared wheel base. How is the 9th gen hatchback 9 inches shorter than the sedan and coupe then? Lack of a traditional trunk and even shorter overhangs?

 

[Kane76]

We don't even know the official length of the sedan yet so we don't know how long it is compared to the current car. And from pictures the car looks long because of the new body style. The coupe in the spy shots so far doesn't have that overly long look like the sedan does, its all body shape causing that illusion of the car having grown too much. I don't think the coupe will look as long as the sedan will be plenty small for the compact coupe market even if it is only a few inches shorter in length.

They can't really make the coupe that much shorter as it has the same wheel base as the sedan, and to maintain trunk space they can't shorten the overhands too much.

Looks like the coupe is 3" shorter wheelbase, so it can be at least that much shorter plus any trunk space shaved. Assuming the new one coupe wheelbase is also 3" shorter, maybe we can see up to 5-6" shorter car overall compared to the sedan.

 

[RobbJK88]

That's a good pt about the coupe not being able to be much smaller than the sedan because of the shared wheel base. How is the 9th gen hatchback 9 inches shorter than the sedan and coupe then? Lack of a traditional trunk and even shorter overhangs?

The current hatch doesn't ride on our civic's platform. It rides on a stretched fit platform. That's partly responsible. Also the fact it has a hatch shaves off some length too.

 

[RobbJK88]

Looks like the coupe is 3" shorter wheelbase, so it can be at least that much shorter plus any trunk space shaved. Assuming the new one coupe wheelbase is also 3" shorter, maybe we can see up to 5-6" shorter car overall compared to the sedan.

Where are you getting 3"? The current coupe has a 2" difference from the sedan. And we don't know if that'll be the case for the current coupe or if the modular platform will keep the coupe at the same wheelbase as the sedan.

I hope it is a bit shorter. I don't see it being more than 3-4 inches shorter than the sedan however. But we shall see

 

[05 Si]

Where are you getting 3"? The current coupe has a 2" difference from the sedan. And we don't know if that'll be the case for the current coupe or if the modular platform will keep the coupe at the same wheelbase as the sedan.

I hope it is a bit shorter. I don't see it being more than 3-4 inches shorter than the sedan however. But we shall see

Oops I read the hatchback wheelbase as the coupe's. 'Modular' sounds like it would allow more wheelbase variations? That's the hope anyway.

Honda never released dimensions on the Coupe concept right? Would be interesting to know that stat because the concept doesn't look overly big.

 

[RobbJK88]

Oops I read the hatchback wheelbase as the coupe's. 'Modular' sounds like it would allow more wheelbase variations? That's the hope anyway.

Honda never released dimensions on the Coupe concept right? Would be interesting to know that stat because the concept doesn't look overly big.

Yea, the whole point of the modular is that it's size variable because it's also going to be used in the accord, CRV and next gen CRZ.

As long as the coupe keeps the same width as the sedan, which it should, then i definitely wouldn't mind it being a few inches shorter. It's worth losing some of the back seat space and trunk area to have a smaller coupe. From the spy shots of the coupe it doesn't look as long as the sedan, and the trunk area is shorter too. As far as i know they never said the dimensions of the concept, but no saying that the production version would keep those dimensions anyway.

 

[05 Si]

Yea agreed. Coupe definitely gives the perception of being smaller in the spy pics so far. Would be nice if coupe and sedan had been spotted side by side so we can tell exactly how they compare. We've seen people next to the concept coupe anyway and the size looks just fine. Seeing the concept again in the pics from LA reveal really fired me up again for it. Such a nice looking car!

 

[Red Traveler]

Yea, the whole point of the modular is that it's size variable because it's also going to be used in the accord, CRV and next gen CRZ.

As long as the coupe keeps the same width as the sedan, which it should, then i definitely wouldn't mind it being a few inches shorter. It's worth losing some of the back seat space and trunk area to have a smaller coupe. From the spy shots of the coupe it doesn't look as long as the sedan, and the trunk area is shorter too. As far as i know they never said the dimensions of the concept, but no saying that the production version would keep those dimensions anyway.

I'm somewhat new to hondas so forgive the ignorance but I understand modular platforms cut costs for car companies looking to leverage a platform across multiple vehicles. Do they actually have different Civic wheelbases for coupe, sedan and hatchback? It seems like an awfully expensive endeavor creating a whole new body length just for one body style.

Along those lines, what is the take rate for sedan, coupe and hatchback? The sedan still significantly outsells the other two?

 

[RobbJK88]

I'm somewhat new to hondas so forgive the ignorance but I understand modular platforms cut costs for car companies looking to leverage a platform across multiple vehicles. Do they actually have different Civic wheelbases for coupe, sedan and hatchback? It seems like an awfully expensive endeavor creating a whole new body length just for one body style.

Along those lines, what is the take rate for sedan, coupe and hatchback? The sedan still significantly outsells the other two?

Currently our sedan and coupe ride on their own platform, the coupe being a few inches shorter. The euro hatch rides on a lengthened fit platform. A modular platform is built to be scaled to fit different cars. Civic, Accord and CRV as well as the new CRZ will all use this platform. It's built for easy size changes but fits multiple engine/transmission configurations as well as AWD applications. The coupe has always had a slightly shorter wheel base and been a slightly shorter car, as is the hatchback currently. So we're assuming honda will take advantage of the new platform and do these small variations again, but they might not. We don't know yet.

As for take rate. Here in the US the sedan outsells the coupe by a pretty large margin. Coupes only make up about 15-20% of total sales. Currently we don't have a hatchback civic here, and in the UK they ONLY have the hatchback, so sales of that car over there are 100% hatchback. But the civic hatch doesn't do nearly as well in the UK as the sedan does here. Even when you don't factor in the fact that the US is huge by comparison, honda's don't sell as well over in europe because of all the competition from german and french automakers that tend to sell better and offer nicer cars for the same or less money than the civic.

Honda's goal is to make the civic class leading in america. Which so far, they're doing just based on interior space, base engine power and estimated fuel economy that they've revealed. They benchmarked the audi A3 during development, i suspect, less so for the US's benefit but more for the benefit of european sales where the VW Golf holds the crown for the compact class because of it's audi-esque driving dynamics and fit and finish.

 

[Tegster]

@RobbJK88 great primer for this gen versus pervious!

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