Of all the concept cars displayed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, arguably one of the more important for us in the States was the Honda Civic hatchback design study. Though we didn't actually feature it in our 'Top 5 Concepts of Geneva 2016' article, there's no denying that the production car it will eventually spawn will be an important one for the American market. Not only will it mean we'll finally have access to a Type-R Civic, it will also give Honda of America the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus rival you see in these spy shots.

Though the headline-grabbing Type-R model is still some way away, Honda will at least offer a pretty perky range of engines to keep us occupied for the time being. Entry-level models should get a 130-hp three-cylinder engine, with a punchier 200-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder unit being on offer for buyers looking for a Type-R stopgap. And, as they're both turbocharged VTEC units, they should be nicely flexible units with a smooth and linear power delivery. Plus, we highly expect the new Honda Civic hatchback to be just as lovely to drive as the sedan, with the 'hands down, best in the business' six-speed manual transmission that's available across all the engines perhaps being the highlight of the driving experience for us gearheads.

Furthermore, it seems the regular Honda Civic hatchbacks won't sacrifice the bolder styling cues from the Geneva Show concept car on its journey to production-ready spec. Though it's hard to spot the finer details on the camouflaged development cars, it's plain to see the steeply raked rear window, prominent rear spoiler, distinctive LED light clusters and aggressively sculpted bumpers. In fact, the only concession we can spot is the removal of the central exhaust port in favor of a tip towards the left of the car - and we imagine that the mid-mounted tailpipes will return on a far sportier Civic hatchback variant. Though it's still very early days yet, we have high hopes for the new Honda Civic hatch when it eventually goes on sale in the US.