How to Tell If Hatchback Life Is for You
There are some questions you must ask
Hatchback life ain’t no strife, mainly because you can fit your whole life in the trunk. Hatches offer a different aesthetic to the sedans that make up most of Honda’s lineup. There isn’t much of a weight penalty compared to a sedan, and the practicality is tough to beat. If you’re still on the fence, ask yourself the following questions.
1. Do you like the Honda Fit?
Do you want the modern day interpretation of an EF hatch? Then the Honda Fit is for you. The concept is simple: lightweight, low power, and tons of storage space. Currently sold as Honda’s least expensive vehicle to get into, you can get into a brand new Fit for $16,000, and likely less if you’re ready to negotiate. If new cars aren’t your thing, you can pick up a first generation car (2007-2008), the smallest and most nimble of the three generations, for around $6-7,000. Gen One may as well be Gen Won, because in our opinion, that’s the one to have. It is the lightest and most simplistic of the bunch, and it’s smaller footprint, and the fact that it’s almost all wheelbase, with short overhangs makes it a blast in the twisty roads.
2. Do you like the 10th Gen Civic?
With the new Civic, you have the option of the 4-door sedan (liftback) and the proper 5-door hatch. More importantly, for Gen 10, Honda has finally introduced a new powerplant for the Civic, and boy is it good. Sure, the base model still has the old R18, but we are going to conveniently neglect that and focus on the new 1.5t engine. Huzzah, Honda has finally embraced turbocharging! Barring the excellent, but now defunct K23 turbo in the first-gen RDX, this is first modern Honda to use direct-fuel injection and turbocharging. Codenamed L15B7 (yup, same engine family as the Fit), this 1.5L turbocharged inline-4 doles out 174hp and 162 ft/lbs of torque in stock trim. If you know anything about tuning a turbo car, that’s a downpipe, intercooler and tune away from easy 200+ horsepower and torque figures. That will make for one sweet daily. Until the Civic Type-R comes stateside, the hatch, in touring trim with the 1.5t and a 6-speed is the Honda to have.
3. Do you like the EP3?
Internationally, the EP3 was a well-received hot Honda, with its 200 horsepower K20A2, shared with the U.S.-spec Acura RSX-S. For reasons unknown, the U.S-spec EP3 Civic Si got the detuned, low compression K20A3, shared with the base RSX. With a 160hp and 132 ft/lb of torque it was never going to live up to the fan’s expectations. That said, the EP3 offered European styling, that sweet rally inspired dash-mounted shifter and the great starting point for a build. A nice 240whp naturally-aspirated K motor is always what the EP3 deserved. Although they were relatively slow sellers, enough of them are on the market at such low prices, that budgeting for that K20A/K24 Frankenstein motor seems pretty realistic. Throw on some Type-R goodies, wheels, lights and bumpers, and you will be the envy of Honda fanboys far and wide.
4. Do you like old cars?
Then the choice for you is obvious, it has to be a CRX. Coming in at right around 2,000 pounds, the CRX far and away the lightest choice on this list. That low weight means less power required to accelerate it, less braking needed to slow it down, and less work on those tires under hard corning. The one to get is a later Si model with the D16. The CRX Si motor is dead reliable, and has an unlimited amount of support in the aftermarket. The stock motor will never be a powerhouse, and that’s alright because we care about the suspension on this car. As is the way with Hondas or yore, the CRX utilizes double wishbone suspension in the front with an independent trailing arm setup in the rear. This means that under hard cornering, those front tires aren’t prone to positive camber gain, and instead gain negative camber as the suspension moves through it’s stroke. This design massively increases available grip to the front tires, and in tandem with its low weight means that the CRX is one hell of a momentum car, requiring minimal braking before hitting the next corner. Throw on some sticky rubber and you have one fun, downright cheap track toy.
5. This is the stretch, but do you like the Accord Crosstour?
Just kidding, no one liked the Crosstour. We apologize to the five or so people who actually bought one, the Crosstour is a fine vehicle. Actually, it’s an interesting concept because it combines a lot of elements together in one vehicle. If you ticked the right options off the list, you could end up with a J35 V6-powered, all-wheel drive Accord wagon with what is basically a lift kit. The Crosstour is the biggest and most practical car on this list, so if you need to haul a ton of stuff, but don’t want to abandon the hatchback life, this is the hatch for you. That said, there are obviously two ways to go from here, either lift it higher and put big tires on it, making it a proper family truckster, or lower it and run some nice wheels, making it look like the true successor to its 90’s Accord station wagon forefather.