Honda eyes Civic Type-R hatch

HONDA Australia is considering importing a hot Type-R version of the British-built Civic hatchback that's not sold here to leverage the popularity of its Japanese-sourced Civic sedan.

Honda Australia’s managing director Toshio Iwamoto confirmed last week that the Type-R model variant was under investigation but said the costs involved with importing vehicles from Honda’s plant at Swindon, England, made the business case more difficult.

Mr Iwamoto believes that buyers will appreciate the premium "European" build factor of a high-performance Civic hatch as it imparts an impression of quality. This will go some way to ameliorating its higher cost.

Although not officially confirmed, Honda is expected to launch the Type-R hatch in the UK early next year.

Honda Australia is also believed to be looking at building the hatchback at its Thailand factory, which builds the Jazz, Civic sedan and Accord. If this occurs the hatch will benefit from the free trade agreement between the two countries.

Honda believes it would have to sell around 500 hatches a month to make a viable business case with a price premium 10 per cent above the four-door sedan.

"Obviously we would like the hatch," he said. "We’d certainly get it from the UK if the price was right.

"It’s on our wish list but it must be price competitive." Honda has previously said it could be up to 18 months before Australia sees the futuristic Civic hatch. If introduced today it would cost about $35,000, far too much when its direct competitors are significantly cheaper.

Honda unveiled a three-door Type-R concept at this year’s Geneva motor show.

Although details were limited, the concept had a 150kW 2.0-litre i-VTEC four-cylinder, high-performance brakes, big alloy wheels and none-to-subtle body adornments.

Left: Honda Civic hatch.

Reports out of Japan have suggested that apart from a three-door Type-R there may also be a four-door variant based on the Civic sedan Si concept shown at the Chicago motor show early this year.

The Si featured a 147kW I-VTEC four cylinder that would rev to 8000rpm, a six-speed close-ratio manual gearbox and limited-slip differential for improved traction.

Meanwhile, Mr Iwamoto confirmed that Honda Australia expected to launch the new CR-V at the end of this year or early next year.

Rather than being built in Japan, Australian-bound CR-Vs may be sourced out of Thailand.

"Hopefully we can offer a more attractive price if we source from Thailand," he said.

The new third-generation CR-V is said to be marginally longer and wider than the current car but with a lower roofline.

It will share its platform architecture with the new Civic and Acura RD-X, which is sold in the United States. A single hatch has replaced the rear swing door and the rear-door mounted spare has been moved to underneath the cargo floor.

It is expected to carry over the same 2.4-litre engine but power is believed to have been lifted from 118kW to around 126kW and may also feature a six-speed manual gearbox.

Apart from petrol and diesel engines, Honda is also believed to be working on a hybrid CR-V, but remains tight-lipped about it.

Unlike Toyota, which plans to have hybrid available across most of its passenger cars by 2010, Mr Iwamoto believes Honda hybrids work best with smaller cars, while diesels would be the preferred option for larger cars.

Honda has recently announced expanding its diesel line-up from the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel offered in the Accord Euro and CR-V in Europe to include a V6 diesel for future large cars like the Legend.