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August 16, 2016

Honda Unveils Civic Hatchback and It Could Arrive in the Philippines


There’s no denying that Honda got its A-Game back with the all-new Civic. After driving both the RS Turbo and the 1.8 E, the venerable compact sedan is back to its sporty ways. And now, the sporty treatment comes full circle with the reveal of a hatchback version. Revealed for the North American market, it’s also been confirmed that the Thailand plant will also be producing the five-door version as well.

Built on the same platform that underpins the Civic Sedan (and the  Coupe for the North American market), the Civic hatchback is jointly developed by Honda R&D teams in both Europe and Japan. The unmistakable sporty lines translate very well on the five-door variant giving the Civic hatchback a well-toned and muscular appearance. Backing up the striking looks is the segment’s best rear legroom and largest cargo capacity in terms of volume.

Of course, this car won’t be a Civic without touching on the performance aspect and on that end, Honda obliges with the 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Shared with the Civic sedan, this Earth Dreams engine peaks out at 174 horsepower and 216 Nm of torque. Meanwhile, a high-flow center exhaust on the Sport models increases the output to 180 horsepower and 216 Nm of torque. And the best bit of news is that the turbo motor is now available with a 6-speed manual transmission alongside the regular CVT.

The advanced powertrain is backed up by a rigid, lightweight body, sophisticated chassis design with full independent suspension with liquid-filled bushings, and a sport-tuned electric power steering with variable ratios.


Honda engineers think so highly of the new Civic Hatchback’s potential that it’s going to form the basis of a “radical” Type-R version that’s launching as a global model come 2017.

While Honda fans in North America will enjoy a taste of the Civic Hatchback this Fall, a great piece of news also came out of the Gaikindo Indonesia Motor Show where the Civic Hatchback Concept was shown.

According to automotive blog, PaulTan.org via Car Advice, the all-new Civic Hatchback will be built alongside the sedan version at the company’s Thailand assembly plant. Currently destined for the Australian market, where there’s also a free trade agreement in place, it could certainly open up the possibility of seeing this on Philippine roads as well.

Examining the current 2016 Honda Civic line-up, where there are only two variants, the 1.8 E and RS Turbo, it makes sense for Honda Cars Philippines to beef up their line-up with the hatchback to fill in the sizeable price gap between the P 1,088,000 entry-level model and P 1,398,000 range-topper.

That being said, the ASEAN Civic Hatchback will likely come powered by both the 1.5-liter turbo and 1.8-liter normally aspirated motor. Perhaps they’ll take a page off Mazda’s pricing strategy for the Mazda3 where the model ladder alternates between the sedan and hatchback.

Additional Sources: Paultan.org, Car Advice

32 comments:

  1. I'm the Mazda fanboy and this Civic hatch looks pretty darn good.The sedan is just too big for city driving, this hatch is better.

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    1. On the contrary, I saw a Civic E 2016 and I didn't like the looks. Especially those hideous mags. The front face and mags are ugly. The rear is striking though.

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  2. Replies
    1. Ohh yeah nice one dude! Ako time to upgrade from SIR to FD Civic hahaha. Pero di ko pa rin kaya idispose kahit anong gawin mahal ko pa rin SIR ko haha.

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  3. Kahit anu pa sabihin nyo, Crosswind pa rin ang maaasahan. Isuzu ang pinakamatatag kung tibay at reliability ang paguusapan!

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    1. Kapag naakisdente ka, tignan natin kung reliable ba yan.

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    2. Ok lang yang crosswind sa aksidente kasi hindi naman ka makatakbo ng mabilis. Isuzu engineers really designed it to be safe!

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    3. What if ibang sasakyan naman tatama sa iyo? Tapos mabilis pa ang takbo niya?

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    4. Why so bitter about Isuzu?

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  4. Ang layo naman. Isuzu Crosswind hinirit but the post is about the 2016 Civic Hatchback. They are not in the same league. Yung Crosswind kalaban Revo and Adventure na sobrang luma na.

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    1. you're right, at outdated na ang technologies ng isuzu, sa safety and reliability walang wala na ang isuzu.

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  5. Haha mga bitter sa isuzu... dahil wala na un alterra ....

    crosswind is comparable to crv in terms of size...

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    1. outdated technologies ng isuzu mo wag mong ipagyabang, dahil crosswind mo indi pwedeng itapat sa ibang brands in terms of advance technologies.

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    2. yung crosswind??pang FX nalang yan tol..hahahahaha

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  6. Was reading comments in case some update on its release comes up kaso its just the typical brand wars. Plus some retard crosswind fanboy na sobrang taliwas yung comment.

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  8. Any news on when this will be released here in the Philippines?

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    1. We'll have to wait until Thailand gets theirs first. I presume sometime this year if ever HCPI does decide to bring it in.

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    2. thailand has already honda civic hatch.

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  9. For me, the front is aggressive to look at, the sides are common for a hatchback image and the rear is a bit ricey/crowded.

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  10. any news on the Philippine release??

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  11. Narelease na ba sa Thailand?? So next na sa Philippines? Kelan marerelease dito sa pinas? sana this year na. This june or july.

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  12. Waiting for the Philippine release, hopefully with M/T variant.

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  13. kelan po kaya launch ng hatchback sa pinas?? any idea??

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  14. 2018 na ngayon hindi na dumating yan Hatchback MT na yan, bulok talaga dito sa pinas.

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    1. i agree you men...laging late ang pinas sa mga new cars ng honda ..so sad

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  15. 2019 na po may balita na ba? kase iniisip ko kung mazda 3 hatchback or civic

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  16. Feb 2019 na. May update naba sa hatchback release

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  17. any news wen release civic hatch?

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