[Sportymonk]

Had a brief look at the new hatchback and immediately noticed it is shorter. Looked at the door to gas cap and gas cap to taillight distance and it is definitely shorter. Considering the purpose of a hatchback is more room, it appears the only increase is going up due to the lack of a rear shelf. Did they work some magic to make it bigger after making it shorter?

 

[Cabeldude]

yes and no! It is shorter than the sedan but due to the small seat opening, high trunk edge, low deck lid, and seats that don't lay flat, that extra length was hard to take advantage of. With no deck lid in the hatch(lift back) it's easier to get larger items in, even long ones. I also read here that the sport trunk is shallower due to the dual center exhaust, but I don't know if that's true.

 

[Engineer Paul]

Had a brief look at the new hatchback and immediately noticed it is shorter. Looked at the door to gas cap and gas cap to taillight distance and it is definitely shorter. Considering the purpose of a hatchback is more room, it appears the only increase is going up due to the lack of a rear shelf. Did they work some magic to make it bigger after making it shorter?

I suppose you mean shorter than the sedan? Well, it's 4.5 inches shorter, according to one of the reviews. The reason they make the car shorter is the trunk area is not as structurally rigid without the metal-"shelf" that is present in the coupe or sedan.

I also read here that the sport trunk is shallower due to the dual center exhaust, but I don't know if that's true.

The sport HB gets a different trunk mat. Not sure what the difference is.

 

[fear24]

i too remember seeing that the sport models cargo area is smaller than other ones due to the center exhaust - which would tell me that it'd be difficult to get an aftermarket center exhaust change over from the standard set up in non-sport models.

i also think that if they kept the same overall dimension in length, the car would look like a dead ringer for the accord crosstour. and those didn't sell well. similar to mazda's new 3 hatch, the front end is too long for my liking. i like everything else about it...but, the long nose...just turns me away. (i apologize for the off-topic discussion about the 3)

 

[Eatmoreveal]

Having recently purchased my hatch, cargo loading and unloading was the deciding factor over the sedan. My research showed that the wheelbase and back seat dimensions were the same. These civics are kind of funky looking cars, so to me the hatch isn't too different than the sedan. This coming from an EP3 owner.....now that is different from the sedan...lol

 

[Engineer Paul]

Take a look at the new Motor Trend magazine, March 2017. The size differences throughout the car are discussed "at length". (Sorry, couldn't help myself)