Brake feel is solid.

The automatic transmission is just that, a select-it-and-leave-it gearbox, and it does the job admirably. Thankfully, Honda has not fallen prey to the Sport-Shift fad. We do wish, though, that Honda would insert a tab below the D setting in the gate, as we routinely passed that one right by when shifting out of Park or Reverse and ended up in the D3 notch.

The five-speed manual gearbox is less pleasant than the five-speed automatic. The shifter's a bit rubbery, and hitting the desired gear requires careful aim.

The 2.0-liter four-cylinder models have 140 horsepower, 128 pound-feet of torque. In the two Si models, these numbers jump to 197 and 139, respectively. The Hybrid makes 113 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque, the GX 113 horsepower and 109 pound-feet.

Fuel economy, as estimated by the U.S. EPA, is 30/38 mpg City/Highway for the five-speed manual, 30/40 mpg for the five-speed automatic, and 23/32 mpg for the Si six-speed manual. The Hybrid earns a 49/51 mpg rating, the GX a gasoline-equivalent of 28/39. As curb weights vary by a few pounds plus or minus across the line, differences to throttle inputs are miniscule at best.

The Si Sedan is almost as much fun as the Si Coupe. Tempering the fun somewhat, although not to any significant degree, is the fact the sedan weighs about 80 pounds more than the coupe, which in itself reflects no small achievement in metallurgy, and rides on a wheelbase that's two inches longer. So, it's a tick or two slower in acceleration, although not enough for anybody without a stopwatch to notice. And steering response isn't quite as sharp, despite a thicker front stabilizer bar and different shock tuning than the coupe.

The more-powerful Si engine returns more front wheel-drive syndrome, where hard acceleration excites the steering wheel demanding more driver effort to keep the car going in the desired direction. And along about 6000 revolutions per minute, the engine delivers a power surge not unlike that of a turbocharger spooling up, only here it's where the i-VTEC's variable valve mechanicals shift emphasis from torque to horsepower.

The Hybrid uses a CVT automatic, which takes some getting used to, as the shiftless transmission leaves the tachometer needle roving seemingly aimlessly around the dial while the engine management system's electronic brain works to keep the engine speed at its most efficient given road speed and load.

The 60/40, front/rear weight bias means understeer (where the car wants to go straight when the driver wants it to turn) is the dominant directional dynamic; thankfully, the electronic stability system that's standard on the two Si models (it'd be nice to see this on the other Civics, too, at least as an option) suppresses this at elevated speeds where the consequences of over-zealousness can be more dire. Both Si editions also get larger front discs than the rest, which add confidence to the stopping power of the standard, four-wheel disc system.