2024 Honda Civic Hatchback Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Have you ever seen “The Strike,” that Seinfeld episode in which Jerry is dating Gwen? The current-generation Honda Civic Hatchback is like Gwen. Depending on the angle, the lighting, the paint colour, and the wheels, the Civic Hatchback can look dowdy and homely or sporty and attractive.

Our test car, dressed out in Sport Touring trim with fetching 18-inch alloy wheels and an eye-catching colour called Boost Blue, mostly appealed to us. The car’s rear end remains just a little too stubby, but otherwise, we found the Civic Sport Touring’s styling agreeable.

The Sport Touring sits atop the Civic Hatchback lineup in Canada, which also includes the value-oriented Sport trim. Base prices range from $36,094 to $39,594, including a charge of $1,964 that covers destination charges and other mandatory fees. Boost Blue is an extra $300, and pricing is otherwise all-in apart from accessories. The Honda Civic Si, which is reviewed separately here at CarGurus.ca, lands between these two trims at $37,594.

Open the driver’s door, and the Civic Sport Touring justifies its high price with quality materials, elegant detailing, and just the right amount of technology. The attention to detail is remarkable, particularly regarding the metal honeycomb mesh decorating the dashboard, the knurled knobs for the stereo volume and climate controls, and the high-resolution digital instrumentation and infotainment screens.

In Canada, the Civic hatch skips over the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque that acts as the base powerplant in other markets. Instead, we default here to the turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine. It provides 180 hp at 6,000 rpm and 177 lb-ft of torque between 1,700 rpm and 4,500 rpm. This positions the Civic Hatchback as a sportier alternative to the staid and uber-practical Civic sedan.

With Sport Touring trim, you can choose between a six-speed manual and a CVT with paddle shifters and a Sport driving mode. The Sport trim comes only with a CVT. Womp, womp, said the sad trombone.

Our Sport Touring test car had the CVT and a great-looking set of 18-inch wheels wearing 235/40 Continental ContiPro Contact all-season tires. So, it wasn’t quite as much fun as it would’ve been with the manual transmission, but aside from some occasional high-rpm groaning when accelerating to get on a highway, the CVT is a decent transmission that takes proper advantage of the turbo engine’s torque.

Feeling light, lively, and lithe from behind the steering wheel, the Civic Sport Touring is delightful to drive no matter the situation. It can add some zing and zest to a daily commute, it brings some joy to the task of running errands, and when you decide to tackle a favourite twisty road, it is fun and fling-able. It and the Mazda Mazda3 Hatchback are the best choices in terms of driving enjoyment.

However, the Civic is loud inside on the highway. If you live someplace where the pavement is less than perfectly smooth, you might want to invest in a pair of earplugs.

A Honda Civic Hatchback with the manual transmission is expected to average 8.5 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 6.3 on the highway, and 7.5 combined. Choose the CVT, and those figures drop to 7.7 L/100 km city, 6.3 highway, and 7.1 combined. On the evaluation loop, our test car averaged 7.8 L/100 km while driving in Normal mode in the city and on the highway, and running the car on mountain and canyon roads in Sport mode.

We must have been enjoying the car a little too much. It is easy to do.

Whether you choose the relatively basic Sport trim level or the Sport Touring, you get lots of appealing features.

Standard equipment includes dual-zone automatic climate control, heated exterior mirrors, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a rear centre armrest, and a power sunroof. On the Sport Touring, you’ll add leather upholstery and a driver’s seat with eight-way power adjustment.

Our test car’s power driver’s seat and tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel meant we could find a perfect driving position. Not only that, but the seat is also exceptionally comfortable with great long-distance support. The centre console includes a sliding centre armrest for added satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the front passenger’s seat lacks height adjustment. While Sport Touring trim adds four-way power operation for that seat, we’d trade it for a manual seat-height adjuster.

The Civic Hatchback’s rear seat is roomy enough for two adults or three kids. It offers good support and, with Sport Touring trim, a couple of 2.5-amp USB quick-charge ports. But there are no air conditioning vents, which you would expect at this price.

Behind the back seat, you’ll find 693 litres of cargo space, nearly 300 litres more volume than in the Civic Sedan’s trunk. Honda doesn’t provide a measurement for when the 60/40-split rear seat is folded down, but it is reasonable to assume the cargo space doubles.

With the Sport trim level, the Civic Hatchback has a 7-inch digital instrumentation panel and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Both are basic, and not up to par with rivals like the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla Hatchback. Even the base Subaru Impreza’s tech is more appealing.

However, when you get a Civic Sport Touring, you receive an exclusive 10.2-inch digital instrumentation display and a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

Both add colour, improved graphics, and a palpable level of sophistication to the Civic’s cabin. We particularly like how the Civic icon in the middle of the digital gauges shows when the headlights and taillights, turn signals, hazard flashers, and brake lights illuminate.

Sport Touring trim brings other technological and connectivity benefits. The upgraded infotainment system adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (instead of wired), SiriusXM satellite radio, HD Radio, a navigation system, and wireless smartphone charging. An impressive 12-speaker Bose premium sound system is also standard with Sport Touring trim.

We have no complaints with how easy it is to pair an iPhone to the infotainment system, run Apple CarPlay, or use the voice-recognition system. It responds quickly and accurately to spoken commands and queries.

Honda equips every 2024 Civic with Honda Sensing, a package of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS).

On this model, the features list includes:

Forward-collision warning

Automatic emergency braking

Lane-departure warning

Lane-keeping assist

Adaptive cruise control

Traffic jam assist and low-speed follow capability (only with the CVT)

Automatic high-beam headlights

Traffic sign recognition system

Blind-spot monitoring is not part of the Honda Sensing suite, but it’s also standard on the Honda Civic Hatchback in Canada. However, only the Sport Touring has a rear cross-traffic alert system and front and rear parking sensors with low-speed automatic braking. That sort of exclusion is disappointing to see on any new car.

Overall, the Honda Sensing technology is refined, sophisticated, and accurate. It handled curves and nuances without incident and performs well on highways and rural roads. In addition, the graphic within the digital instrumentation depicting driving assistance activity is legitimately helpful.

However, the adaptive cruise control responds with lethargy when slower vehicles ahead move out of the lane and the Civic’s path, and we did experience brief, unnecessary emergency braking due to parked cars on the side of a highway as well as inaccurate attempted steering into a left turn lane.

As far as crash-test ratings go, the Civic Hatchback earns Good ratings in nearly all assessments performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In a new, updated side-impact test, the car gets an Acceptable instead of a Good rating. Otherwise, the Civic hatch earns top marks from the IIHS.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Civic Hatchback an overall crashworthiness rating of five stars, the highest possible. It even earned a rare five-star rollover resistance rating.

There aren’t many alternatives to a 2024 Honda Civic Hatchback.

A Mazda3 costs more but also offers more in the form of a more powerful turbocharged engine option, available AWD, and more sophisticated standard tech. Plus, the Mazda is exceptionally refined, looking and feeling more like an entry-level luxury model.

The Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte are great cars, and the 2024 Kia Forte5 is worth a cross-shop for many buyers. The Honda Civic tends to garner a lot of loyalty among Canadians because the sedan has been built in Alliston, Ontario, for many years. However, it’s worth noting the Civic Hatchback is built in Greensburg, Indiana, which may have more buyers willing to consider alternatives.

A Subaru Impreza is competitively priced and comes with standard AWD. But it looks and feels cheaper inside, and the infotainment technology isn’t as well sorted as the Honda’s.

A Toyota Corolla Hatchback costs less while offering trendier looks and more equipment for competitive value. But it’s not as visually, tactilely, or dynamically appealing.

A Volkswagen Golf GTI is expensive, with prices starting where the Honda Civic Hatchback leaves off, making it a premium-priced alternative. But with its added power and in-bred German driving dynamics, it might be worth the added cost.

Overall, the Honda Civic Sport Touring hatchback is undeniably compelling, but the price is too high. At our test vehicle’s pushing-$40,000 window sticker, the upgrade to an Acura Integra A-Spec amounts to roughly $2,000, and you’ll get Civic Si specifications in a more upscale and attractive vehicle.

Note: Images show a US model.