It was introduced in February 1980 in Japan as a five-door liftback version of the Honda Civic, being more upscale than the Civic,[1] and was sold at the Honda Verno sales channel in Japan.

The car came with a 1,602 cc four-cylinder engine which develops 80 PS (79 bhp; 59 kW) and 126.5 N⋅m (93.3 lb⋅ft) of torque.

This engine was coupled with a five-speed manual transmission or an optional two-speed semi-automatic with overdrive.

[3] Speed sensitive power steering (not on the base model) and fully independent suspension with MacPherson struts and front and rear anti-roll bars were also featured.

Japanese specified versions claim 90 PS (89 bhp; 66 kW) because of the EP Engine JIS.