Honda will keep manuals for the all-new Civic

Honda is saving the manuals for the 11th-gen Civic

The eleventh-generation Civic is out, and we know a lot about it. We're glad to report that it has more power, but it seems that something is missing in the spec sheet. That's because the launch models are not available with a manual transmission.

Does this mean Honda is giving up on the stick shift? They can't drop it now, especially since they have a strong enthusiast following. This is the company that gave us slick-shifting manuals in entry-level Civics and NSXs. Thankfully, the Japanese automaker understands that by keeping it an option.

That is great news indeed, especially for die-hard Honda fans. But before you get too excited, its availability might be limited. Honda could make it exclusive for the upcoming hatchback, the Si, and the Type R. Unless you get the future Si, it doesn't look like the standard sedan will get a manual transmission. Of course, Honda might throw in a surprise by adding a manual to the four-door later on, but it could only be for the base model.

While it's unlikely that we'll ever see a standard Civic with a manual transmission in the country again, it's good to know Honda isn't forgetting about the enthusiast crowd. Having that 180 PS, 1.5-liter turbo paired with a manual transmission is an exciting prospect, indeed. And given that the standard 1.5-liter turbo has more power, we're expecting the Si and Type R to get a little bit more boost.

For now, Honda isn't saying when they will show the Hatchback, Si, and Type R, but we suspect the five-door model will come out first. It would be nice if Honda Thailand built the Si for Southeast Asian markets, too. That gives us the chance to get a true SiR successor complete with a manual gearbox.