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We compare five manual hatchbacks for those who insist on bucking trends.
Enthusiast-oriented hatchbacks are a healthy genre of the U.S. car market, despite their relatively narrow appeal. Even as the demand for SUVs encourages automakers to tack body cladding on to increasingly improbable vehicles, sporty hatches are hanging on. Read the full story here.
There's an undeniable logic to buying one of these row-your-own hatches if you've only got the cash for one car.
Hatchbacks are compact, so they're relatively efficient and feel light and lithe on the road. They typically have more cargo space than sedans do, so they're practical for drivers who demand flexibility from their cars.
And these not-quite-hot hatches are often tied to performance variants of the same cars, so you can have a taste of what you can't quite afford.
The Honda Civic Sport hatchback isn't exactly fresh, having made its debut in 2017, but it earned its spot here as the winner of an April 2017 comparison test.
The Sport hatch comes standard with a 180-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four—that's six more horses than you get in the base Civic—and a manual transmission.
A CVT is available for $800, and it's possible to spend a few grand extra on a fancy set of wheels or a performance appearance package.
We like the Civic just as it is, so our test car cost a completely reasonable $23,170.
2019 Honda Civic Sport
2019 Honda Civic Sport
2019 Honda Civic Sport
2019 Honda Civic Sport
2019 Honda Civic Sport
2019 Honda Civic Sport
Europhiles will recognize the GT as a rebadged Hyundai i30. It was new to these shores in 2018, and the N-Line trim, intended to evoke the hard-edged sportiness of Hyundai's Veloster N, is new for 2019.
The GT starts at $21,370, but to get the N-Line's 201-hp turbo 1.6-liter four, retuned steering and suspension, and manual transmission, you'll have to pay at least $24,220.
2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line
2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line
2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line
2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line
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