When the Honda Civic Hatchback concept debuted at the at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, we started to get cravings. It's been a decade since a Civic hatchback was available in the US, after all. The concept car shown off looked great but Honda didn't bother to drop any details regarding its release date or engine and transmission options. Now, though, Honda's broken the silence by confirming this more versatile Civic variant will be going on sale in the US sometime this fall. But that's not all the automaker said. Oh, there's more, and it's awesome.

Though more concrete pricing details haven't been disclosed just yet (we expect those to come out at Paris), Honda has revealed a fair few technical specs on the five-door Civic. All models will come with fully independent suspension and driver aids like hill start assist, and the LX, EX and EX-L trims from the Civics we currently have access to will be joined by Sport and Sport Touring trims. Plus, with claims of 31 mpg and 40 mpg for the city and highway respectively (albeit only with models that have the CVT auto in place of the six-speed manual) the Civic hatch is at the top of the class in terms of on-paper fuel economy. However, those expecting an extensive engine range will find themselves sorely disappointed.

Only a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine will be available from launch, with the 180-hp Sport and Sport Touring models being granted a six-hp advantage over the other Civic hatches, although both engine tunes have the same 162 lb-ft torque output. More motors will undoubtedly be introduced in due course, though it wouldn't be a surprise if Honda decides not to offer the diesels that'll be very popular with European buyers under the hoods of the US-spec cars. In its press release announcing the car Honda explicitly mentioned the Type-R, saying the "Civic Hatchback will serve as the basis for radical new Civic Type-R" which will be launching in 2017. Honda, you're being too good to us today.