Video: 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Review

Now there's no question that the Hatchback is the most radically styled of the three Civic body styles. Upfront things do look similar to the Coupe, except for one large difference found on our test vehicle. It has a blacked out front grill, which replaces the large crump strip found on the Coop. Now, this is a look that I prefer. It actually makes the front look more cohesive and a little bit less gaudy. Out back there are also large changes. There's a central mounted dual exhaust, which comes on sport models, such as this one. That's following a trend found on many hot hatches and even exotics. It makes the back look more aggressive and more sporty. The final unique feature to this tester is a Sonic Gray Pro paint job, an exclusive color for the Hatchback. Obviously the largest difference between the Hatchback and the other two body styles, is the addition of the hatch. And what that does is it gives it a significantly more usable cargo area. Now, the Sedan has 15.1 cubic feet of cargo space. While the Hatch has 25.7 or 22.6 cubic feet on sport models, such as this one. The large hatch opening also makes it much easier to load and unload cargo. We've been taking luggage and camera equipment out of this thing all day without much incident. And it also has a very low loading height, which makes loading heavier items, a breeze. One final feature that we like is this horizontal cargo cover, which adds privacy. Now the Hatchback does come with the same powertrain and transmission options as the Sedan and the Coupe. However, there is one small difference. In sport models like this one, powers boosted at 180 horsepower and a sport models with a manual transmission, it also gets an additional 15 pounds ft of torque up to 177 from 162. Does this make a difference on the road? Not really. You do notice that when you're pulling up hill, but in most situations you won't. But that's not a bad thing. The power trans are actually one of my favorite things about the current Civic. And to say that it keeps driving the same is actually a compliment. Now it seems to me that all the changes given to the 2017 Civic Hatch are positive with no real negative drawbacks. It keeps the same sporty and aggressive driving fuel found in the Coup and Sedan, but adds more usable cargo space and easier to access opening thanks to the hatch and unique styling that makes it more sporty and aggressive. A direction we definitely feel fits the Hatch. Now this is also foreshadowing thanks to comm. The forthcoming Civic Type R, the hottest of hatches will only be available in this five door body style.