2022 Honda Civic Hatchback

It wasn’t surprising to see this 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback join the Sedan for its 11-th generation. It’s a commuter with sporty European flair, and an excellent value. 

This Sport Touring, along with the EX-L, comes with a 180-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four.  LX and Sport models get a 158-horsepower naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter I4; both engines provide a quiet and efficient day-to-day experience.

All models are paired with a CVT automatic as standard, but Sport and Sport Touring offer a six-speed manual for no cost. Our three-pedal tester was lots of fun, letting us shift with little fuss-- few beat Honda in this department-- and the clutch was light, too, meaning even in rush hour traffic, a manual Civic is still… civil.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: "The Honda Civic, to me and I think to a whole lot of other people, has always sorta been a known quantity of sorts. What I mean by that is it’s a vehicle that’s always been relatively practical, affordable, reliable and usually pretty fun to drive. And I’m really happy to say that the 11th-gen Civic that I have here-- it retains all of that."

As to practicality, the Hatchback offers an impressive 24 and a half cubic feet of storage with the seats up; 10 more than the sedan’s. And standard 60/40 folding rear seats allow for even bigger hauls.

In our case, top trim meant a Bose Premium Sound System, wireless charging and a 9-inch touchscreen. All great for daily drivers.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: "Sorta going back to my whole 'known-quantity' thing, I have to be completely honest with you: when I first sat in this car and started it I said 'Yeah, that’s a Honda Civic.' And now after a day of driving it I can officially say 'Yeah, this is a Honda Civic.' But that’s not a bad thing. If anything, really, it’s a round of applause to Honda for finding a winning formula all those years ago and just sticking with it. Kind of like the reliability the Civic is known for: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it."

A winning formula for a base price of around $24,000; near $31,000 for Sport Touring.

A straightforward, sporty, and practical drive for just about anyone. No wonder the 4-door Honda Civic is our MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice pick for Best Family Sedan. And with this hatchback spawning a new Type-R just around the corner, we think the good chemistry will just keep on coming.