Driving the Civic EX sedan with the five-speed manual transmission is a sporty, satisfying experience. With its more powerful engine, the EX delivers lively acceleration, while the manual gearbox affords more driver control. In EX tune the engine produces 127 horsepower. Throttle response is good at any speed because the engine extends its torque across a broad power band. Shifting is smooth and precise, with notched stop points between gears. The four-speed automatic also works well, shifting quietly and smoothly.

DX and LX offer some of the best fuel economy in the class with an EPA-estimated 33/39 mpg City/Highway. Extracting 115 horsepower out of just 1.7 liters represents impressive efficiency, but the DX and LX models offer tepid acceleration performance. This is most noticeable with the automatic transmission, where more time and space are needed to pass another vehicle.

Most fun to drive is the Si. Around town, the Si is tractable and pleasant, pulling strongly from a fairly wide range of rpm. Honda's latest i-VTEC engine is tuned for torque. You can short-shift through the gears: snick, waahh, snick, whaah, snick, whaah. Downshifting short is fun, too. Barely push in the clutch pedal, and casually flick the lever into the next-lower cog. The Civic Si's transmission ratios seem perfectly matched to the engine. The ratios are close together, allowing the driver to keep the engine in the power band. Out on the highway, the Civic Si engine is very responsive, giving it good performance for passing. It accelerates from legal highway speeds to super-legal speeds fairly quickly. Anyone who remembers the 2.2-liter Prelude VTEC engine may be disappointed when they stand on it, because the Civic Si does not deliver the same rush of power, nor does it make the same exciting race-car sounds. But the Si can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 8 seconds, which is only a tick slower than the Ford SVT Focus. If you want better performance from a Civic, you'll have to modify it or wait for Honda to ship us an R model.

Charge too fast into a corner and the Si will understeer. (The front tires will lose grip before the rear tires.) The Civic Si features front and rear stabilizer bars and firmer dampers and springs than other Civic models, yet its ride quality is still pleasant. Transient response (left, right, left) is a little squishy, however. A high-performance set of tires may improve this behavior. At 80 or 90 mph, however, the Si feels very stable.

Civics come standard with rear drum brakes and braking is well controlled. We recommend getting ABS, which comes standard on the EX. Stopping performance in the Civic is okay, but not up to the standards of the class. The Si comes with larger disc brakes in front and disc brakes rather than drum brakes in the rear. Stopping performance is about average for the class.

Though not the quietest cars in their class, the Civics are not as noisy as a Ford Focus. When driving at highway speed, riders may converse in a normal voice without distractions from mechanical racket or wind noise.