With the sheer number of crossover options these days, it’s easy to forget that small hatchbacks like the Honda City Hatchback RS are still being offered. It may seem out of place in today’s traffic populated by SUVs, but this little car has some features and experiences the SUVs (even small ones) just can’t match. We go over some of the best traits of the City Hatchback and why this kind of car should still be considered, particularly as a daily driver.

Introduced as a replacement to the well-loved Jazz, the City Hatch was designed to appeal to the young and young at heart, while still matching the practicality of the Jazz. The hatchback is offered in only one variant, this RS. That’s quite appropriate considering most of the buyers considering this body style will also be delighted by the sporty upgrades.

The City Hatch comes with sporty front and rear facades. These includes a blacked-out front grille, front splitter, rear spoiler, shark fin antenna, and diffuser integrated to the rear bumper. It’s topped off which blacked-out 16-inch wheels.

Inside are sporty touches too. The seats get leather accents, the steering gets red stitching, and even the power button is red. Dual dials greet the driver from the instrument cluster, with an digital display information to cycle through all the driving info. In the center is a nine-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It may not be the Jazz, but you’ll be forgiven for being reminded of it. The City Hatch still has the same ULTR seats. These means the cushions can be folded up to accommodate tall cargo. The backrests can be folded down for long cargo, and you can even have combinations of both simultaneously. Even the front seat can be reclined fully to meet the rear seats and form a bed. It all adds up to some surprising versatility for carrying your stuff, which I have yet to see offered in any SUV. Even with the seats in the default position, the trunk offers a surprising amount of space.

Powering the City Hatch is a 1.5-liter, naturally aspirated i-VTEC engine paired with a CVT automatic. It produces 121-PS and 145-Nm of torque. Granted, the CVT doesn’t make that drive that exciting, , it’s actually quite a lot of power for a car this size. When I first started driving, 120-PS could only be enjoyed in 2.0-liter executive sedans, and yet here we are today spoiled by it in a 1.5-liter hatch. Perhaps it’s the long and stepless acceleration of the CVT that makes it feel mundane, yet glance and the speedo and you’ll be surprised to find you’re already doing 100-km/h.

That aside, the City Hatch can also be quite economical when it needs to be. It can easily achieve 12 km/l in the city and approach 20 km/l on highway drives.

Another appreciated feature is the Honda Sensing suite. It has easily just the right amount of driving aids, offering the right amount of convenience without being as intrusive as the more fully loaded models. Its best enjoyed when on cruising on expressways.

Perhaps the real treat to the City Hatch is how it can make even the old and jaded journalists like myself young again, even just for a few days. There’s really no replacement for the sporty feeling that cars, not crossovers, provide. Simply slip it into sport mode (with an actual stick), and watch the revs climb. Nothing beats being low to the ground in a car that seems to relish sweeping corners, and looks the part too.

And when traffic does not oblige, the car is happy to adjust too. Slip it back into D and the ride is still comfortable, the cabin is quiet, and the fuel consumption is quite low.

After all these years with an SUV as a daily driver, I’ve nearly forgotten just how fun regular cars can be. The City Hatchback RS (P1,199,000) is proof that not everything can be replaced by an SUV. There’s still some enjoyment to be had from sporty yet practical hatchbacks. And the City Hatchback will reward any driver that dares to stray from the norm.