2006 Honda Civic Si Review

I drove the new 2006 Honda Civic Si this past weekend at the Civic Live event. The new Si has good power. Off the line, it quickly accelerated to redline and I up-shifted smoothly into second gear. Handling is top notch, expecially for a FWD car. Extremely responsive, agile and tossable although when pushed too hard, it showed a little bit of understeer. Excellent brakes and no sign of fade. I like the exterior design but I didn't particularly like the interior. Lets just say that I don't hate but don't love it either. The dual dash layout will take some getting used to. Overall, except for the Integra Type-R and Mini Cooper S, the new Civic Si is the most fun FWD car I've driven and with the MSRP at just under $20,000, Honda has another winner on its hands.

On another note, the Civic Live event was poorly organized unlike similar events hosted by Mazda, Lexus or BMW. We walked through metal detectors and were searched before we were allowed in. Ghetto. Honda didn't even bother to display its own halo car - the S2000. Weak. Finally there was no instructions given to participants. Just walk up and drive. Stupid.

Since there weren't any instructions, I drove it somewhat conservatively on the first run to get a feel for the car and the track layout. On the second run, it was all or nothing. I drove it very hard, probably at 95% of my skill level and harder than when I autocross. So hard, that when we finished, my best friend who was riding shotgun was pale and I received a stern warning from the track marshalls and wasn't allowed to drive anymore cars.