Dubai News at your Fingertips!
With its high performance and sporty feel, the Civic Hatchback Sport was named a 2017 AUTOMOBILE All-Star – honored on a list dominated by sports cars and luxury marques. The Civic Hatchback makes an important contribution to a Civic line-up that has maintained its position as the top-selling car in America.
For 2018, the Civic Hatchback again will be available in LX, Sport, EX, EX-L and Sport Touring trims. Powered by a 1.5-liter DOHC direct-injected turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder with peak output of 174 horsepower4 with CVT in LX, EX and EX-L Navi trims, the 2018 Honda Civic Hatchback in Sport and Sport Touring trims bump the horsepower peak to 1804.
The 2018 Civic Hatchback offers premium features including the 7-inch Display Audio with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ compatibility standard on EX and above trims. Also available on LX, EX and EX-L Navi trims and standard on Sport Touring trim is the suite of Honda Sensing® safety and driver-assistive technologies. The suite includes Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) integrated with CMBS, Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) integrated with RDM and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow.
The iconic Honda Civic epitomizes compact-car excellence with its mix of practicality and a fun-to-drive personality. The versatile Honda has a version for everyone; its lineup includes a two-door coupe as well as a four-door sedan and hatchback. It’s available with two excellent four-cylinder engines and either an adroit continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) or a slick-shifting six-speed manual. We appreciate its comfy ride and fuel efficiency, but the Civic’s optional touchscreen infotainment system is plagued with usability issues. While that’s proof that the affable Honda isn’t perfect, it excels everywhere else and ranks near the top of its class.
Our Touring sedan test car served up its infotainment features through its 7.0-inch touchscreen, including navigation, SiriusXM satellite radio, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The front compartment has two USB ports and a single 12-volt outlet. Sadly, rear-seat passengers are left unconnected, as not a single USB port or 12-volt outlet makes its way past the Civic’s front seats.
Performance
Neither cushy nor harsh, the Civic’s ride quality is just right. Quick, well-weighted, and surprisingly feelsome steering makes piloting the Civic that much more enjoyable. Those looking for even sportier vibes should consider the Sport and Sport Touring hatchbacks, which feature quicker steering.
Despite possessing a firm brake pedal with good feel, the brakes lack the stopping prowess of competitors. We also found in testing that after repeated use, the brakes are prone to slight fade, a phenomenon where brakes get too hot, resulting in longer stopping distances.
Interior
Practical and modern in appearance, the Civic’s interior is roomy and offers sufficient storage space. Even the base Civic LX is far from a penalty box. Upper-dashboard plastics are of the soft-touch variety, and convenience items such as automatic climate control and steering-wheel-mounted audio controls are all standard.
Regardless of model, the Civic’s seating surfaces leave much to be desired. The standard cloth trim attracts stray hairs like a moth to a flame, while the Civic EX-L, Touring, and Sport Touring models’ leather is of a lower quality. Silver-painted plastic trim on the steering wheel and door handles further cheapen the Civic’s interior. These aren’t deal breakers, but they’re details you won’t find within the Mazda 3’s class-leading cabin.
The interior of the Civic sedan is on the roomier end of its class, though the coupe’s rear seats are all but useless to anyone of above-average height. Those looking for a truly cavernous interior in the compact class ought to check out the Toyota Corolla, which offers rear-seat legroom that bests the mid-size Honda Accord’s.
