According to Honda, this iteration of the Civic Hatchback has the roomiest back seat ever. There's 37.4 inches of legroom back there, and 37.1 inches of headroom, while the front passengers get the lion's share with 42.3 inches and 39.3 inches, respectively. The simplified interior makes it feel even more spacious than it actually is, and the overall layout is ergonomic. Although base models have manually adjustable front seats and only the top trims offer eight-way power adjustment, the driver's position is good and visibility is clear. Heated front seats and leather upholstery are standard on the top-end models, and with the safety suite offering more standard tech than before, the Civic Hatch is a great place to spend your time.
Inside, Honda wanted to focus on clean, simple and sporty, and we think it succeeded. The Sport Touring trim sports soft leather seats with a new seat frame and cushion. Honda says it improves support of your "sitting bone" and offers additional thigh and chest support. In practice we found them extra comfortable, but a little flat for zigging through S-curves.
The dash is dominated by the cool metal honeycomb panel that hides the vents. Below that we get gorgeous climate control knobs, and on the Sport Touring they have a metal finish. They also have a satisfying click when turned, making it easy to adjust while driving. Rotary dials are the best way to control that feature, hands down.
The A-pillars were pulled back giving a wider view of the road ahead, and all of the controls are easily within reach, including automatic gear selector, which is canted towards the driver. The rear feels comfortable for an average sized adult, and those passengers also get their own USB ports. It's equipped for five passengers, but we think four would be plenty for a long trip.
Honda Civic Hatchback Trims | LX Hatchback | Sport Hatchback | EX-L Hatchback | Sport Touring Hatchback |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seating | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Headroom Front Seat | 39.3 in. | 39.3 in. | 37.6 in. | 37.6 in. |
Headroom Back Seat | 37.1 in. | 37.1 in. | 37.1 in. | 37.1 in. |
Legroom Front Seat | 42.3 in. | 42.3 in. | 42.3 in. | 42.3 in. |
Legroom Back Seat | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. |
Shoulder Room Front | 57 in. | 57 in. | 57 in. | 57 in. |
Shoulder Room Rear | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. |
Hip Room, Front | 54.3 in. | 54.3 in. | 54.3 in. | 54.3 in. |
Hip Room, Rear | 48.9 in. | 48.9 in. | 48.9 in. | 48.9 in. |
Black cloth is what you'll have to settle for on the LX and Sport trims, while you can have leather on the EX-L and Sport Touring. Black leather is standard on these trims, but if you choose Meteorite Gray Metallic or Platinum White Pearl exterior paint on the EX-L, you get the option of gray leather upholstery, too.
The minimalist interior looks neat and uncluttered, and while there are many plastic touchpoints, all models except the entry-spec version get a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.
At the time of writing, Honda has only released figures for the cargo capacity with the rear seats in the upright position: 24.5 cubic feet is allocated in the trunk, which is much more than the 14.8 cubes that the sedan variant has on offer. Folding down the seats in a 60/40 split opens up even more space if you need to load larger items.
Small items can be stored in the center console's storage compartment, which features a sliding armrest. There are door pocket storage bins front and rear, but only the front gets cupholders on the bottom trims, with rear cupholders added for EX-L and Sport Touring, as well as passenger-side seatback pockets. Only the Sport Touring gets a sunglasses holder overhead.
Base models come with automatic climate control, push-button start, adaptive cruise control, and the Honda Sensing driver assist suite. This includes collision mitigation, road departure warning, lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition system. The cabin is trimmed in durable, upscale cloth upholstery. Heated front seats and leather upholstery are added from the EX-L, as is a one-touch power moonroof and dual-zone automatic climate control. You also get blind-spot monitoring, a power sunroof, and eight-way power adjustment for the driver from this level while the Sport Touring adds front and rear parking sensors, rear cross-traffic monitoring, wireless phone charging, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and four-way power front passenger seat adjustment. It gains a 10.2-inch driver information display, which is larger than the regular seven-inch display on other trims. Low speed braking control comes standard if you equip the CVT to the top-spec Sport Touring.
The standard infotainment on the LX, Sport, and EX-L is a seven-inch touchscreen on top of the dash which is easier to see, with a nine-inch touchscreen fitted to top-spec Sport Touring trims. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability is also standard, though wireless connections only work on the bigger display. This is also the only setup that gives you HD Radio and SiriusXM.
You can move your frequently used apps to the front screen, while other shortcuts are created automatically through predictive learning on the nine-inch. Everything seems to work quickly and swapping between apps was a breeze. We love the analog volume knob on the screen and the standard home button to get out of Apple CarPlay quickly.
We were only able to experience the premium Bose setup as this is the standard sound system for the Sport Touring we had on test. It comes with 12 speakers including a subwoofer and sounded good enough that we switched off our normal podcasts for West Coast gangster rap. The standard system on the base model is a 160-watt four-speaker unit, while the mid-grade trims get a 180-watt eight-speaker system.