The Honda Civic's title as America's best-selling compact car is safe.
The eighth-generation Civic arriving in showrooms now offers more of what consumers look for.
The 2006 Civic is a bit wider than its predecessor for a more comfortable interior, much quieter inside, more powerful and fuel efficient and also comes with six standard airbags for the first time.
The new Civic also is decidedly more sleek and upscale in its looks, especially as a two-door coupe.
Unfortunately, prices have increased, particularly for the base Civic sedan, whose manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, tops $15,000 for the first time. This compares with $13,810 for a base, 2005 Civic DX sedan.
The lowest-priced 2006 Civic overall is the DX coupe, which starts at $14,910, an increase of $700 over the base 2005 DX coupe.
Civic competitors include the 2006 Toyota Corolla, which is sold as a sedan only and starts at $14,545, and the 2006 Nissan Sentra, which starts at $13,680 as a sedan. All prices for base models, including the Civics, are for cars with manual transmissions.
Honda's Civic dates to 1973 in the United States. A little hatchback, it was the first high-volume Honda sold in this country.
Over the years, the Civic grew larger and added models. In recent years, the Civic's average annual U.S. sales of approximately 300,000 have made it the top-selling compact car in the country. Last year, it also was the third best-selling car overall among Americans.
Besides the sedan and coupe, the Civic line includes a high-performance model called the Civic Si and a gasoline-electric Civic Hybrid.
Each 2006 Civic has a more distinct personality.
The Civic coupe, for example, doesn't share outer body sheet metal panels with the Civic sedan.
The Civic Si gets a big increase in horsepower - to 197 from last year's 160 and compares with the Civic sedan's 140 horsepower. The Si also now rides on the largest standard Civic tires ever, 17-inchers.
And the Civic Hybrid provides a different driving experience with a hybrid powerplant that for the first time can power the vehicle solely via electric power in some driving situations. The hybrid's fuel economy rating is improved, too - to an estimated 50 miles a gallon in city and highway driving. This is up from 47/48 mpg for the 2005 model.
All the new Civics benefit from a new front-wheel-drive platform that provides a tighter-feeling, more refined ride. For example, the Civic sedan keeps jolting bumps away from passengers in an upscale ride, while the Civic Si's sporty ride conveys most road bumps and vibrations to passengers.
The Civic sedans also are quieter inside compared with the Civic Si, and they're noticeably quieter compared with their predecessors. Road noise, in particular, is muted in the four-door models compared with the Si with its sport-oriented tires.
The Civic steering wheel is compact, and combined with the new, quick steering gear ratios, gave me the feeling I was at the controls of a video game. This sensation wore off as I spent more time behind the wheel.
Front-seat passengers are bound to notice the prominent rake of the windshield. Seats are a bit wider and redesigned for improved comfort, and interior plastics have a quality appearance with a minimum of silver-colored accents.
But the Civic horn still sounds wimpy.
All Civic interiors now feature a more high-tech dashboard where the gauges in front of the driver are split between a curved arrangement up near the windshield and a lower group located in the traditional spot behind the steering wheel.
Honda officials said the effect is a pseudo head-up display, like that found on some more-expensive, sporty cars where pertinent driver information, such as speed, is projected onto the lower part of the windshield so a driver doesn't have to divert his or her eyes from the road.
But in the Civic, this arrangement contributed to my initial reaction that I was in front of a video game, rather than driving a car. Again, the sensation passed as I spent more time in the driver's seat.
More powerful engines are new across the Civic line and continue to be four-cylinder powerplants.
The 140-horsepower, 1.8-liter, single overhead cam, inline four cylinder with Honda's i-VTEC variable valve timing system in the Civic coupe and sedan is rated at an impressive 40 miles a gallon in highway driving. The rating is 30 mpg in city travel. This is for a Civic with new five-speed, automatic transmission that's the first five-speed automatic in the compact car class.
The power came on in a peppy manner in the sedan I tested. I especially liked how it accelerated across a wide range of driving situations, including on the highway.
Safety enhancements in the Civic include standard frontal airbags and side-mounted airbags for the front-seat passengers as well as side curtain airbags to protect front- and rear-seat passengers during a side crash.
The 2006 Civic also is the first with active head restraints, which are designed to help minimize whiplash injuries during a rear-end collision.
