Honda still has a manual transmission.
The new Honda Civic Si , Type-R 11th generation has something for everyone who loves the manual transmission. The high-performance Civic models will continue to be available in manual transmission, as per Honda tradition. A live video of the 11th generation Civic is shown by Carl Pulley, Honda Public Relations representative. He confirms that the manual transmission Civics will be available at the 9:35 mark.
There are many online discussions about manual transmissions versus high performance automatics and double-clutches. Some prefer to row your own gears, while others prefer an automatic transmission’s better performance and predictability.
It doesn’t matter what philosophical arguments are circulating online, it is important to remember why car companies build cars. Your favorite auto brand is just building a product to make money. Companies create products that are appealing to a wide audience and then tweak them to capture specific market segments.
The only thing that makes the Civics so hot is their lack of an automatic transmission option. Honda would have to offer an automatic transmission option if they wanted to sell more Civic Si and Type-R’s.
Although there isn’t a clear explanation as to why Honda chose to keep the Type-R and Si manuals, I strongly doubt that it is tradition. Honda doesn’t have the financial resources to develop a new transmission for a high-performance vehicle for low volumes. This is especially true when you consider that most of their other vehicles use CVTs.
Honda has some of the most reliable manual transmissions on the market. They are sufficient for the Civic Si/Civic Type-R. We’ll just have to wait to see.