First look Honda Civic Si hatch

The hatch been on sale in the UK since 1996 but until now exchange rates have prevented the stylish front-driver from lining up in local Honda showrooms.

To be called the Si hatch, the five-door complements the hotter Type R but has a smaller 1.8-litre four cylinder engine shared with the sedan.

With prices opening at $38,990 for the six-speed manual, rising to $41,290 for the five-speed auto, the Si is batting in some serious European territory and even facing up against the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart hot all-wheel drive turbos.

The Civic Si hatch gets the same edgy body shape as the hot 2.0-litre Type R, but its 1.8-litre four cylinder does not pack as much punch.

The 1.8-litre engine develops 103kW at 6300 revs and 174Nm at 4300 revs.

The engine reaches 100 km/h of 8.6 seconds and delivers a combined fuel economy figure of 6.9 litres/100 km for the manual.

Like the Type R, the Si is built at Honda's Swindon plant in the UK and gets a five-star crash rating.

The car has been designed with European drivers in mind.

The Si has a wide track and comparatively long wheelbase to aid handling.

The front suspension uses MacPherson struts with a front subframe to isolate noise and harshness.

The rear suspension is a torsion beam setup.

Like the Type R, the Si gets electric power steering, anti-skid brakes with brake assist and electronic stability control.

Passive safety gear runs to a rear seatbelt reminder system, dual front, side and curtain airbags.

Despite its compact dimensions the Si boasts the same rear “magic” seat setup as the Jazz.

The rear seat cushion can fold up for extra storage and the seats have one-motion, dive-down feature that creates a flat load area.

The front passenger can be reclined to accommodate objects up to 2.6m long and the rear seatbacks split 60/40.

The luggage area has 415 litres of space with the seats up.