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Poking around the interior, we surmised that this was part of the refined and sophisticated bit. Thankfully, there’s no wood anywhere in sight. Just something called “high-metal mesh” trim adorning the doors, center panel and gearshift surround—better and more original than faux carbon fiber. Some pieces like door panels retained their hard plastic shells, but most of the tactile surfaces are the softer type. Perforated leather covers the seats and door panels. Switch layout continues to be the best among the compact sedans, with the three aircon controls positioned high up, beside the steering wheel. The aircon has been upgraded to the climate-control type, with temperature selection in degrees Celsius. A genuine mark of progress is the Alpine CD-cassette stereo: just a handful of buttons, a clear display and one very large volume knob. Other Civic virtues like the huge rear seat space and flat floor are of course retained. We discovered all that later on, actually. The first place we looked was under the hood. The engine in question is not just any old 2-liter but the potent i-VTEC that is doing a tour of duty in the Accord and CR-V. It's been tweaked to produce a bit more power, 153 bhp at 6500 rpm, and 177 Nm at 5000 rpm. There’s continuously variable intake valve timing, and a camshaft profile changeover point for top-end power. One thing missing from this “factory-tuned” special is a clutch pedal. Given a choice of just one transmission, Sato-san and his team chose the automatic. Warning klaxons began to sound: would we miss Honda’s slick manual? Then again, this is a five-speed auto, with supposedly optimized gear ratios. No shortage of gears then, but how will the computer use them? We buckled onto the driver’s seat, with one of the Ramirez boys, our track coaches for the day, riding shotgun. Off the line, the engine delivers a smooth, strong takeoff. It’s not the pressed-in-your-seat type of acceleration but a quick build-up of speed. Launch from standstill was the only time we missed having a manual gearbox. The five-speed auto is ultra-smooth, allowing the engine to snarl to redline and downshifting readily. |
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