The sedan seats provide excellent support and utilize a rigid structure with aggressive side bolsters. The seat cushions stand about an inch higher than the previous design to make entry and exit easier.

The Si seats are excellent, comfortable for long drives, and supportive for hard driving. They look and feel upscale with alcantara-like trim on the side bolsters and a sporty fabric in the middle with red accent stitching. The seating position in the Si reminds me of the Volkswagen Beetle, with the big dash and the sharply raked windshield. The Civic Si seems more comfortable than der Beetle, however.

The first thing people notice about the Si interior is that the shifter is mounted on the console like on an old Alfa Romeo. Though it looks odd at first, it turns out to be perfectly located for quick and easy shifting. It's close to the steering wheel. It's almost reminiscent of a formula car. Honda calls it rally style, but I've never seen a rally car with a console-mounted shifter. Regardless, it works really, really well and we instantly liked it.

In the coupe, the front seatbacks stretch broad and deep, and headrests are open at the center like a doughnut. Front seatbelts attach to a side anchor bar that slides out of the way when someone climbs into the back seat. The seat also cooperates for rear entry by sliding forward under power when the seatback tilts forward, then returns to its original position due to a memory setting. That forward movement creates the largest possible portal for rear entry, but it's still not an easy matter to fold your body into the rear seat of this (or any) coupe, much less haul yourself out.

The rear bench seat is large enough for two adults to ride comfortably. Three is a crowd. In the sedan, rear legroom increases by nearly two inches over the previous-generation (pre-2001) Civic sedan. The coupe gains about a half inch over the previous-generation coupe. Rear-seat space for hips and shoulders is fractionally larger in the new Civic than in the previous-generation model. The flat floor allows rear-seat passengers to spread their feet out, and is among the best compacts in this regard. This is particularly noteworthy in the coupe where traditionally a two-door format skimps on rear foot space.

The hatchback is quite practical with a big cargo compartment that opens up further when the rear seats are folded.

The cockpit looks clean and efficient with a new instrument panel tucked beneath a barrel cowl. Round white-on-black analog instruments include an oversized speedometer and tachometer in a central position flanked by smaller fuel and coolant gauges. In the coupe, gauges show silver highlights and glow with amber light at night. The Si features black numbers on white gauges, giving it a sporty appearance; a bright red Si badge adds color.

HVAC controls are wonderfully designed with large rotary dials for heating, ventilation, and fan speed stacked just to the left of the audio system controls. Separate buttons for air conditioning, recirculate, and rear-window defrost are arrayed just below the audio system. It's a clean design that's very easy to operate.

We wish we could say the same for audio system, which suffers from small buttons and knobs. Also, the stereo sounded only mediocre.

Safety equipment includes front seatbelt pretensioners for lap and shoulder, two-stage frontal airbags, three-point safety belts for five seat positions, child seat anchor brackets for the back seat and an emergency trunk release lever inside the trunk. Optional side-impact airbags are available, along with anti-lock brakes.