Is it just me or is this new Civic hatchback from Honda kinda weird and ugly looking?

Didn't they make an Accord-hatchy thing called the Crosstour that was a flop? This looks to me like they dusted off those plans and applied it to a Civic!

I don't get this fastback styling that all cars seem to be going to with a weird sloping rear deck like that. The Civic sedan doesn't look much different that this either. They are all starting to look alike again?

Mustangs were fastbacks. Those are hatchbacks.

Honda seems to be styling the Civic more aggressively as it had become rather sedate again in the last few years. Our son has one of these Hatchbacks. If I really wanted a another Civic, this is the one I would get. It loads much more easily than the regular models with the skinny little trunk lid and it holds more since there is no rear deck behind the back seats to limit items.

My biggest complaint is the price. He paid more for it than I paid for my 2015 CRV EX!

Lots of things contributing to the fast back vehicle shape these days.

First, is that the fastback shape is more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient. That's probably the biggest driver of the design.

Secondly, people are demanding more spacious interiors in increasingly compact external dimensions. This can be accomplished by moving the rear wheels towards the rear of the vehicle and extending the roof line. Extending the roof line further to the rear of the vehicle results in a hatchback or fastback shape as it blends into the rear deck.

People like the convenience of an interior space that can be reconfigured to carry larger objects. In a fastback or hatchback design, the internal deck lid can usually be removed to allow people to carry boxes and the like that normally wouldn't fit in a trunk.

The new Honda Accord also has a fastback shape.

The Civic Sport/Hatch isn't bad looking in person. An improvement over the prior generation, IMO.
The Civic TypeR on the other hand....not a big fan here. The performance is awesome, but the looks kill it for me; just a bit too boy-racer.

I have a 2015 Accord, I'm not a fan of the prominent Acura-like solid grill they put on it in 2016 and onward. They have that design in all their cars now. Evidently the new Accord is going to have a more fastbackish look to it also. Honda yanked its V6 though and instead is going with turbos and direct injection and CVT or 10 speeds to try to squeeze another .5 mpg out of it on a completely flat and smooth stretch of asphalt at 55mph with no AC. At least they kept the manual as an option if you want to row your own boat. I've never driven a Civic, but I assume they will just keep making it bigger every couple years and then introduce something new that is micro sized similar to original Civic proportions and then make that bigger every two years.

I think it's hands down the ugliest car on the road today. The first time I saw one in person I couldn't believe Honda would make something so hideous. Who in their right mind approved this design?!

Yes, it is very ugly but so is pretty much everything Honda makes these days. Their styling dept needs to quit huffing glue.

quote:

I think it's hands down the ugliest car on the road today.

Seriously? So then that would make the Fiat 500 a better looking car than the Civic?

The thing I really dislike about the new Civic look is that Honda really jumped on the current trend of fake grill vents in all the bumpers. I was just musing to my friend last night that if I owned one, would the bumper design integrity hold up if I carved out the spaces and installed real mesh? I hate that fake grill look on all the current cars!

quote:

Originally posted by LastCubScout:
The thing I really dislike about the new Civic look is that Honda really jumped on the current trend of fake grill vents in all the bumpers. I was just musing to my friend last night that if I owned one, would the bumper design integrity hold up if I carved out the spaces and installed real mesh? I hate that fake grill look on all the current cars!

I second that emotion and offer Exhibit 2.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:

quote:

I think it's hands down the ugliest car on the road today.

Seriously? So then that would make the Fiat 500 a better looking car than the Civic?

Yes. The Fiat 500 is plain, bland, etc., but I wouldn't say ugly. The Civic is down right ugly.

I LOVED Honda in the nineties. They were fun, affordable and exciting. Once they switched from 4 wheel independent suspensions to macphereson fronts they went downhill. Styling is horrible. Handling is meh. Even the damn interiors suck. VTEC engines just aren't the same either. Last great car from Honda was the S2000.

quote:

Originally posted by zdog16:
Last great car from Honda was the S2000.

I know. I put 50 miles on my 'S' today. Wonderful car.

A year ago I had 3 Hondas. A Fit, a 6MT Accord and the S. I sold the fit and Accord because they were just plain boring.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:

quote:

Originally posted by zdog16:
Last great car from Honda was the S2000.

I know. I put 50 miles on my 'S' today. Wonderful car.

A year ago I had 3 Hondas. A Fit, a 6MT Accord and the S. I sold the fit and Accord because they were just plain boring.

Mike

Yeah once my Chevy Colorado ZR2 I special ordered arrives in the next two weeks I'm going on the hunt for a real nice S2K. My youth is coming back to haunt me. Good ole times when I owned a import performance shop in the very late 90's.

If you think that's ugly, you probably would hate my 2016 Hyundai Veloster Turbo!

All Hondas are ugly other than the S2000. People buy them because they run a long time. I have never thought they were all that great. My Chevy's are always on the road longer than my cousins Hondas. The old 3.8 GM used will go 250,000 without using a drop of oil. They should have kept making that engine.

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:
I think it's hands down the ugliest car on the road today. The first time I saw one in person I couldn't believe Honda would make something so hideous. Who in their right mind approved this design?!

When I first saw this on the road it reminded me of something from Starwars. Storm Trooperish.

quote:

Originally posted by LastCubScout:
I hate that fake grill look on all the current cars!

Originally posted by Scuba Steve Sig:
I second that emotion and offer Exhibit 2.

Yes! Those Lexuses that look like my old electric razor definitely count.

Seen the ass end of a Corvette?

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:
I think it's hands down the ugliest car on the road today. The first time I saw one in person I couldn't believe Honda would make something so hideous. Who in their right mind approved this design?!