Who'd have thought Civic could be 'primal'?
Honda's redesigned 2006 Civic shows evidence of being the latest in a long, laudable line.
The redesigned Civic Si is where the fun really starts.
Honda is putting all Civic models on sale within a few months instead of over several years to "step out with our best foot forward," says Prexa Doshi, senior product planner for Civic. Introducing the normal models, the hybrid and the high-performance Si between Sept. 15 and Dec. 1 should "avoid watering down" the impact of the redesign.
The gas-electric hybrid was reviewed Sept. 9. Today we look at gas models.
The Si, available only as a coupe (a two-door car, by definition) is a stunning performer with more finesse than expected. It's easygoing in traffic for a car so quick, so solid, so primal when the driver's throttle foot inches toward the floor.
It has a 2-liter, four-cylinder engine rated 197 horsepower coupled to a six-speed manual transmission that slips through the gears almost without effort, seeming to anticipate where you plan to shift. The regular sedan and coupe have 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines rated 140 hp and five-speed manuals.
Honda likes to trumpet Si's "thrilling acceleration" and "razor-like handling," and for once a car company's not guilty of hyperbole.
Honda's engineers left a peak in the power-delivery curve at about 6,200. It feels almost as if a turbocharger is kicking in. Honda figured enthusiasts would like the power slap.
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