The de-contenting plague of the compact-car spectrum isn't unique to the Sentra, though. Sales leader Honda Civic, now in its seventh generation, has shed a few parts of its own over the years - rear disc brakes on the Civic EX and Honda's famous double-wishbone front suspension, to name two. It's perhaps no longer as fun as it once was, and the hardware downgrades have cost it some credibility in the tuner world. In exchange, the Civic has advanced in size and space and holds a few key points in its favor. The Civic sets the standard for resale value, which might make the ever-increasing MSRP easier to swallow. Its motors reign supreme in output efficiency and environmental friendliness. Finally, the Civic is alone in offering three body styles, even if not all styles can be had with the six available engines. Or the three transmissions.
For a car whose ad line reads "Simplify," this is one complex child. The Honda hierarchy in use since 1990 - DX, LX, EX - still applies, but that's just the starting point. Civic DX is still the stick-only stripper. Next, and new for 2004, is a "Value Package" that adds air conditioning, a CD player, and replaces manual-only with automatic-only. The popularity-leader Civic LX offers both transmissions and adds power windows, locks, and mirrors, cruise control, a tachometer, keyless entry, 15-inch wheels, and front and rear stabilizer bars. The Civic EX adds VTEC valve timing to the engine (boosting horsepower from 115 to 127), a sunroof, antilock brakes, two extra speakers, variable wipers, and upgrades the steel wheels to stylish alloys. Finally, there are the natural-gas-powered, 100-horsepower Civic GX (Earth's cleanest combustion-powered car) and the 85-horsepower Civic Hybrid. Following Honda tradition, there are no options to be added (except side air bags); simply pick a trim line and live with it. While this facilitates shopping, it also limits the possibilities and sometimes interferes with needs. Vertically-gifted people wanting to avoid the sunroof have always had to avoid the high-end EX model Hondas.
Still with me? The coupe lineup deletes the two specialty models and the DX, then adds the efficiency-minded HX, which is almost equivalent to an LX except for missing stabilizer bars and shrunken wheels. The Civic HX gets VTEC (which adds - hold your breath - 2 horsepower) and is the only way to get a Continuously Variable Transmission to replace the 4-speed automatic on a mainstream-model Civic. Finally, there's the racy Civic Si model, which only comes as a hatchback, and is the only way the hatchback comes. Si is to Civic what SE-R is to Sentra: suspensions, wheels, and engines get the "Fast and Furious" treatment. Power and torque get big boosts over other Civics (to 160 and 132), thanks to sharing its 2.0 engine with the Acura RSX.
But in today's raging horsepower climate, 160 ain't what it used to be for a so-called sports model. More pressingly, all of the Honda Civic's engines, as marvelous as they are, are a bit on the small side and therefore torque-deprived, which puts modest limits on flexibility and immediacy in normal driving. Steering and handling don't rise above this lukewarm level. The Civic's repair record and resale value are probably enough to make it a smarter buy than the Sentra, but except for people who have a pressing need for a coupe, a hatchback, or a CVT transmission, that doesn't spell first place when there's Toyota to contend with.
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