2022 Honda Civic Sedan vs. 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback – Which One Is Right For You?

In so many ways, they're identical. The 2022 Honda Civic sedan and 2022 Honda Civic hatchback are built on the same platform, share much of their bodywork (at least from the B-pillar forward), and look identical when you're perched on the driver's seat. 

Yet the new 11th-generation versions of the Civic sedan and Civic hatchback are obviously configured differently. They're also specced differently from the factory with various trim level equipment changes. There are differences under the hood. There's a major transmission contrast. And, of course, there's a significant way in which the two cars diverge behind the rear seats.

MODELS

While the 2022 Honda Civic covers a four-model range from LX to EX, Sport, Touring, and the Si, Honda Canada's 2022 Civic hatchback lineup currently involves three models: LX, Sport, and Sport Touring. Expect the Type R to be fully unveiled soon. 

ENGINES & TRANSMISSIONS

In the 2022 Honda Civic sedan lineup, the primary engine is Honda's 158-horsepower 2.0-liter engine. Honda serves up the 2.0L in the LX, EX, and Sport. The 180-horsepower 1.5-liter turbo is standard in the Civic Touring – more power with no more fuel consumption. In the Civic sedan's performance edition, Si power comes from an upgraded 1.5T with 200 horsepower. The Si is equipped exclusively with a 6-speed manual transmission; all other sedans use an automatic.

The 2022 Honda Civic hatchback lineup's powerplants are the same, but they're distributed in a different fashion. The only Civic hatchback equipped with the 2.0L engine is the LX; both the Sport and Sport Touring run the 1.5T. (Expect the Civic Type R to be fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo producing in excess of 300 horsepower.) In the hatchback, the LX, Sport, and Sport Touring are all available with either an automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission.

CARGO

Of all the factors that distinguish the 2022 Civic sedan from the 2022 Civic hatchback, this is the most consequential. By traditional definitions, a sedan is generally a four-door car with a separate cargo compartment. It's a "three-box" car, with the engine compartment, passenger compartment, and a cargo compartment. In some parts of the world, you'll hear it referred to as a saloon or berline.

A hatchback (or liftback as it's sometimes called when shaped with the Civic's sloping rear glass) is generally a "two-box" car, with the engine compartment sitting ahead of a conjoined passenger/cargo compartment. In a hatchback, the cargo area is open to the cabin, which allows for greater cargo-carrying capacity. Granted, the Civic sedan's cargo area can be made more flexible with the 60/40 split-folding rear seats. But folding the seats in the Civic hatchback opens up the entire back of the car, not just a portion. There are 693 litres of cargo capacity in the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback, 65% more than the Civic sedan's 419 litres. With the seats folded, the 2022 Civic hatchback's cargo area expands to 1,308 litres.

SEDAN vs. HATCHBACK

The 11th-generation Civic ended 2022 as Canada's best-selling car for a 24th consecutive year. It's the North American Car Of The Year, the critics love it, and it's part of a Honda lineup that offers the best retained value of any brand. In other words, whether you choose the sedan or the hatchback, the Civic is most definitely the right choice. 

Which Civic wins? That depends on your priorities, your subjective styling preferences, and your desire to shift your own gears.