Honda, Acura Updates: Civic Hybrid Hatchback, Buy a ZDX Online, and More

• Honda and Acura announce a number of new products coming out in the next year or so.
• High-performance Integra Type S is due this summer.
• 2024 Ridgeline will see a TrailSport variant.
• ZDX and Prologue EVs will release early next year, and the ZDX will only be available to purchase online.

Honda and Acura have been on a roll the past 12 months, with a new product offensive that includes the launch of the redesigned Honda CR-V, Pilot, HR-V and Civic Type R, along with the reintroduction of the Acura Integra nameplate. There's also the next-gen Accord, which should be appearing on dealer lots any day now.

If 2022 was a story of redesigns and relaunches, 2023 will be mostly about building inventory supplies so potential buyers can actually get behind the wheel. Even though the focus is now on producing vehicles, there are a handful of new vehicles that Honda and Acura fans can look forward to over the next year. Here's everything the manufacturers have coming up.

Civic Hybrid will be available as a sedan or hatchback

The old Honda Insight was a Civic Hybrid in all but the name, but Honda's making it official now that the Insight is discontinued. From 2023 onward, Honda will sell a true Civic Hybrid. We always assumed the Hybrid would come as a sedan, but Honda just announced there will be a five-door hatchback version as well. With a fuel-sipping engine and a sizable cargo area, this will likely be the most practical Civic in the lineup.

Sales of the Acura ZDX electric vehicle will be online-only

We were surprised to learn that Acura would be reviving the ZDX name — previously used on a little-loved SUV — for the brand's first electric vehicle. Here's another shocker: Sales of the ZDX will be conducted completely online. Prospective buyers will be able to go into a dealer and test-drive the ZDX, but then handle the actual vehicle order themselves online. That means no price haggling, but you also won't be able to take delivery of your ZDX right away. We don't know yet whether every ZDX will be built to order or if Acura, like Tesla, will produce vehicles that aren't presold and hold them in inventory.

Ridgeline soldiers on but gains a TrailSport variant

This generation of Honda Ridgeline has been on sale since 2017, and since it's based on the Pilot, we expected to see a new version of the midsize pickup following the Pilot's 2023 redesign. That won't come to fruition in the near future, as the existing Ridgeline will continue on for a little while longer. However, a new TrailSport model will join the lineup in 2024, giving the Ridgeline a beefier appearance and hopefully some true off-road performance. It remains to be seen whether the Ridgeline TrailSport will hew closer to the Passport TrailSport — primarily consisting of visual upgrades and a different tire package — or the Pilot TrailSport, which adds a vehicle lift, all-terrain tires and protective skid plates. To help combat the Ridgeline's soft-roader image, we think the latter is the way to go.

Integra Type S, ZDX and Prologue are staying on target

Acura's next major debut will be that of the Integra Type S — a high-performance version of the standard Integra. We believe it will share a powertrain with the Honda Civic Type R, so expect a turbocharged four-cylinder with around 315 horsepower, a six-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive. The Integra Type S is still expected to go on sale this summer.

Sales of the automaker's first long-range electric vehicles, the Honda Prologue and mechanically related Acura ZDX, are still expected to commence in early 2024. Order books for both vehicles will open later this year.

Edmunds says

While Honda's and Acura's product offensive is slowing down, there are still quite a few new vehicles in both pipelines over the next 12 months or so.