Prepare to feel old video gamers – Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy, spiky avatar of early 1990s Sega enthusiasts turns 25 this year. And in celebration of Sonic being old enough to rent a car, Honda put together a celebratory Civic in time for the awesome nerd fest that is San Diego Comic-Con.

The Sonic Civic, as Honda's taken to calling it, features a vinyl wrap over parts of the Sonic Blue body, while the Sonic Yellow accents add some pleasant contrast. Honda went with two different wheel colors for the Civic – the rears honor Sonic's iconic red-and-white sneakers and the fronts are reminiscent of the long-running series' gold rings. It's pretty obvious Honda aggressively lowered the Sonic Civic's ride height, too.

We don't have interior images, but Honda claims the blue theme carried over to the Katzkin leather seats. In the trunk is a pair of ten-inch, 500-watt Rockford Fosgate subwoofers, a pair of 400-watt amps, and a flip-up, 32-inch TV for play throughs of Sonic's classic adventures. Cool upgrades, but where's the performance stuff? Speed is Sonic's defining characteristic, so it seems a little strange that a car built in his honor is rocking a base 1.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder.

2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Debut – New York Press Briefing Remarks

Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Honda Division

Mar 22, 2016

Jeff Conrad:

Good afternoon and thanks to everyone joining us here today, in person or via livestream.

It was roughly a year ago that we set off on our epic 10th-generation Civic launch, right here in New York with the debut of the seriously sporty and seriously green Civic Coupe Concept.

We promised that this would be the sportiest, most sophisticated and most ambitious Civic lineup in our best-selling model's 44-year history.

And since then, we've revealed more of our Civic story, how our designers and engineers set their sights not on our mainstream competitors but on compact-class sports sedans from Europe.

Their goal, to create one truly world-class platform for all 10th-generation Civic models.

This new Civic platform is simply a cut above offering a new level of sporty and refined ride and handling a more spacious and premium-quality cabin class-leading safety and advanced new powertrains.

This includes our first-ever turbocharged engine for our U.S.-model Civic.

We launched our first epic new Civic, the 2016 Civic Sedan, last fall.

And we were honored to have Civic named the 2016 North American Car of the Year just two months ago.

More importantly, our customers have truly embraced this new Civic … with sales up an amazing 43 percent this year.

And just last week, we upped the ante on Civic sportiness and style with the launch of the all-new 2016 Civic Coupe.

Today, we're ready to share the next chapter in our Civic story.

For years, many Honda and Civic enthusiasts have looked longingly across the Atlantic to Civic models like a hatchback, and Type R that until now have been forbidden fruit.

That begins to change right now.

Because, today, we have another first for Civic in North America a 5-door hatch model.

Here, straight from its global reveal at the Geneva auto show and in its first appearance on American soil, welcome the all-new 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Prototype!!

This new Civic Hatch continues the steady progression of new Civic models that are advancing the stylish and fun-to-drive performance of Civic.

This new Civic Hatchback takes all the goodness of the new, tenth-generation Civic platform and wraps it in emotional, Euro-inspired styling together with the added cargo and people-hauling flexibility of its five-door design.

The Civic Hatch will feature a sporty and fuel-efficient engine our 1.5-liter, 174-horsepower Turbo powerplant mated to either a sporty CVT or a 6-speed manual transmission.

And experts have been quick to note how this amazing new powertrain is delivering fun-to-drive performance and fuel economy like nothing in its class with an EPA highway rating of 42 mpg and a zero-to-60 time that matches the previous-gen Civic Si!

Inside, the new Hatchback will benefit from all the stunning upgrades we've made to the Civic cabin in terms of high-quality materials, added legroom, and leading edge technologies.

This includes our Display Audio touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

I have one more piece of news that all Civic enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear and that's our announcement today that ALL of our turbocharged Civic models … Coupe, Sedan and Hatch will be available with a slick-shifting 6-speed manual starting this fall!

We said this would be our sportiest Civic ever and we meant it!

Next year, we'll be rounding out the lineup with the launch of high-performance Si variants and some more goodness from across the pond a radical new Civic Type-R based on this hatch body style.

So, our Civic story is far from complete. And we will be sharing all of the details on this new Civic Hatch as we get closer to its fall launch.

Thank you.

ALL of our turbocharged Civic models … Coupe, Sedan and Hatch will be available with a slick-shifting 6-speed manual starting this fall!

Aug 15, 2016

• First 5-door Hatchback for Civic lineup in the U.S.
• Civic Hatchback combines Euro-inspired styling and five-door versatility
• All models powered by 1.5-liter DOHC direct-injected turbo engine
• Civic Hatchback will serve as the basis for radical new Civic Type-R

TORRANCE – Arriving this fall in North America, the 2017 Civic Hatchback is the latest addition to the much-heralded 10th-generation Honda Civic lineup, joining the 2016 North American Car of the Year – the Civic Sedan, and the Civic Coupe that launched earlier this year. The 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback combines striking, Euro-inspired styling and five-door versatility with the Civic's world-class driving dynamics and Honda direct-injected turbo engine technology. The Civic Hatchback, scheduled to arrive this fall at Honda dealers nationwide, also will serve as the basis for the radical new Civic Type-R launching in the U.S. in 2017.

"The Civic Hatch has been a staple for Honda in Europe, but has long been the forbidden fruit for Honda fans in the U.S.," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Now, we're bringing this sporty, stylish and versatile Civic Hatchback to North America, as we amp up the performance of our incredible Civic lineup with each new Civic model."

Built on the same world-class platform as the 10th-generation Civic Sedan and Coupe, the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback offers an appealing combination of sporty styling, efficiency, interior utility and premium features. The Civic Hatchback will be available in LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Sport Touring trims, and will feature a single engine for the U.S. market: a 1.5-liter DOHC direct-injected turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder with peak output of 174 horsepower and 162 lb.-ft. of torque in LX, EX and EX-L trims and 180 horsepower and 162 lb.-ft. of torque in the Sport and an all-new Sport Touring grade, which feature a high-flow center-mounted exhaust.

The turbocharged engine will be offered with either a sporty CVT (all trims) or a performance-inspired 6-speed manual transmission (LX, Sport, and EX trims). Anticipated EPA fuel economy ratings of 31/40/34 mpg (city/highway/combined) for CVT-equipped models, based on the newer, more stringent model year 2017 EPA ratings requirements, put the 5-door Honda Civic Hatchback at the top of its class.

Working in concert with the Honda turbocharged powertrain is the Civic's more rigid and lightweight body and sophisticated chassis design, featuring a fully independent suspension system with liquid filled bushings, front and rear; sport-tuned electronic power steering with variable gear ratios; and powerful 4-channel anti-lock disc brakes with Electronic Brake Distribution and Hill Start Assist.

The interior of the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback carries through on the modern, sophisticated and premium quality of the 10th-generation Civic lineup, with high-grade materials and finishes applied liberally throughout. In terms of packaging, the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback delivers class-leading volume and cargo capacity, including a roomy interior (122.9 cu. ft.), best rear seat legroom (36.0 inches) and largest cargo carrying capacity in the competitive set.

Available on most trims (and standard on Sport Touring) will be the Honda Sensing™ suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies, which includes Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) integrated with CMBS, Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Lane Departure Warning integrated with RDM and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow. Other available features include Honda Display Audio with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ (EX and above trims), heated front seats and heated side mirrors, power driver and front-passenger seats, remote engine start and more.

The Civic Hatchback's all-new Sport Touring grade makes Honda Sensing™, Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ and LED headlights as standard equipment, while adding heated rear seats and other features.

The Civic Hatchback will target top-class safety ratings – an NCAP 5-star Overall Vehicle Score and an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK rating with a GOOD rating in all crash test modes and a SUPERIOR rating in frontal crash prevention, when equipped with Honda Sensing.

The 2017 Civic Hatchback was developed jointly by Honda R&D teams in Europe and Japan and will be manufactured exclusively by Honda of the UK Manufacturing in its Swindon, UK plant.

For more information about the 10th-Generation Honda Civic Sedan, Coupe and new Civic Hatchback please visitHonda News.