TOCHIGI, JAPAN - Throw the 2006 Civic Si into turn 1 of the Twin Ring Motegi road course, and it's immediately clear that this is the best Civic ever built. It gobbles up corners, rotates willingly, and steers effortlessly on the throttle like some...
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TOCHIGI, JAPAN - Throw the 2006 Civic Si into turn 1 of the Twin Ring Motegi road course, and it's immediately clear that this is the best Civic ever built. It gobbles up corners, rotates willingly, and steers effortlessly on the throttle like some sort of a poor man's Lotus Elise. With 197 hp-37 more than the outgoing Si's engine-its 2.0-liter DOHC i-VTEC four shrieks to its 7800-rpm redline, sounding better than any Honda engine in years. Lap after lap confirms that, once again, the Si is a real car, a credible performance flagship for a new, eighth-generation Civic. And what a difference the new car is from the outgoing Civic. Although reliable, well built, and a huge seller since its 2001 debut, it no longer was the innovative, class-leading small car that we had come to expect since the 1973 original. The utterly lackluster Si hatchback was an especially bitter pill for the Honda faithful to swallow. Sport-compact enthusiasts sought their medicine elsewhere or tended to their old,... See less
Highlights:
SPECS Price: $19,500 (est., Si) Engine: 2.0L DOHC I-4, 197 hp, 139 lb-ft (Si)