Honda Civic Hatch officially revealed. Arriving early 2017

Honda has released the first official images and details of the 2017 Honda Civic Hatch after a series of spy photos.

Set to arrive in Australia early in 2017, the all-new Civic Hatch will sport Honda’s direct-injected turbo engine and will also serve as the basis for the radical new Honda Civic Type-R next year.

“Like the Civic sedan, the Honda Civic Hatch, will be a very important car in the Honda line-up in Australia,” Honda Australia Director, Mr. Stephen Collins said.

“In the small car segment in Australia, hatches reign so we expect the Honda Civic Hatch to be a relevant option for Honda customers looking for the versatility of a hatch but with the proven quality, style and performance of a Honda.”

Mr Collins said customers would see clear styling and design touch-points across both the Honda Civic Hatch and sedan models.

“From the front, both the Honda Civic Hatch and sedan look similar; the interior packaging and features too will be the same,” he said.

Mr. Collins said since its launch in May, the Civic sedan had been warmly received by both customers and dealers alike.

“Our customers have really been impressed by the interior packaging, significantly improved quality and luggage space of the new Civic sedan, as well as the performance of the new 1.5-litre turbocharged engine and proven reliability of the 1.8-litre engine,” Mr. Collins said.

Built on the same platform as the 10^th-generation Civic sedan, the Civic Hatch will boast the same engine lineup as the sedan. It also features fully independent suspension system front and rear and sport-tuned electronic power steering with variable gear ratios.

A raft of the latest active and passive safety features will be available on the Honda Civic Hatch, including the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assist technologies.

Honda Sensing includes: Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) – Including Forward Collision Warning (FCW); Lane Departure Warning (LDW); Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) – with Low Speed Follow (LSF); Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS); and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM).

Other available features include Honda Display Audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats and heated side mirrors, electric driver and front-passenger seats and push-button engine start.

The Honda Civic hatch will go on sale in Australia in the first half of 2017. Pricing and full Australian specifications will be announced closer to launch.