From the passenger’s seat: The 2012 Honda Civic reviewed and tested

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The Honda Civic is a well-rounded and value-packed small car that is a favorite among both street racers and everyday commuters, with a flavor for everyone from Eco-minded tree-huggers to track-day enthusiasts.

From the passenger seat, it seems as though Honda played it safe with the new civic and frankly, it’s not a bad thing as the outgoing civic was a winner, too. Only slightly polishing the exterior and merely updating the interior, the new civic also looks strikingly similar to the 2011 model.


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The Si that I sampled had supportive, heavily bolstered buckets with a puffy, roomy and squishy rear bench seat good for three people that lacks a bit in head room. The trunk is large for a car this size, but still lagging behind the Volkswagen GLI. Up front, the split-level dash and air vents look futuristic and exude a solid feel, especially the well-placed buttons and dials.

However, there is a large quantity of wasted space between the face of the dash and the windshield. The navigation system works well and is intuitive, with a helpful birds-eye view display. With eight airbags, the civic is every bit as safe as buyers expect, along with ESC and ABS as standard equipment.

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The civic also scores both a top safety pick award and a best pick recognition for its overall safety. From the performance perspective, the civic takes top honors among small and sporty sedans. The power bump from 197 to 201 horsepower, thanks to the Acura TSX’s inline-four banger, doesn’t do much more than bring the civic into the 200-horsepower arena for snob appeal.

Acceleration feels linear and strong, with more than enough low-end torque to get you off the line. The inline-four is happy pushing us passengers rearward into our seats and putting a large grin on our faces, while also returning smile-inducing gas mileage that may still be a bit low for this segment.

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All in all, the new Honda Civic Si certainly fills the shoes that the outgoing model left- sporty, efficient and practical, this new Honda offers some of the best bang for your buck.

About the Author: Colin Chambers, age 13, has been writing car reviews since a very young age. He has been invited to many different car crash test facilities and has a strong passion for cars, sparked by his mom and dad.

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