Sex-o-Cars

Driving the Civic Si around town was a breeze as the overall length and height has been reduced by 35mm. Now, this may not sound like much but when trying to squeeze into a tight parking space every bit counts - and what may be surprising to some is that the interior dimensions do not suffer at all from the reduced measurements.

While the length and the height has been decreased, Honda has increased the overall width by 65mm, to 1,765mm, and the front and rear tracks to 1,504mm (up 34mm) and 1,510mm (up 45mm), which increase handling.

The Civic Si handles like it's on rails, the handling is exceptional, the suspension remained settled over even the harshest mid corner bump while - at the same time - being comfortable enough to produce a good ride quality. Honda has found a happy medium between sport and comfort.

Not only was the Honda good around town, with the added six gear to the manual transmisson, the Civic Si was also great out on the freeway, cruising at 100km/h felt comfortable enough for the 1.8-litre engine and still had enough torque when needed.

Driving the Civic Sport around town, on the highway and just generally cruising along, was a joy. As with every Honda I've driven, gear changes were smooth and made effortless with it's great gearbox design.

The Civic Sport is also remarkably agile when you're manoeuvring in tight spaces, making sharp turns or parking.

The bigger brother of the VTi and VTi-L is also a great commuter vehicle, the Civic Sport features a cruise control feature, making longer journeys easier when cruising along. All controls are easy to use and reside on the steering wheel.

MacPherson struts at the front and a double wishbone layout at the rear give the Civic Sport a supple ride that is grippy enough for the demanding driver, and soft enough for bumpy roads. However, the suspension is set more for comfort rather than sport, but does do a good job in delivering a well balanced ride.Steering responds swiftly and obediently to the drivers input and remains compliant through turns.

The model we test drove was the top-of-the-range Civic Sport which features a 2.0-litre DOHC i-VTEC, four cylinder, petrol.

The 2.0 litre motor found in the Honda Civic Sport pumps out 114kW of power at 6200rpm and 188Nm of torque. Having driven the 1.8-litre VTi-L which produces 103kW, I must say that the extra 11kW and 14Nm is noticeable. But, for flat out performance the Honda Civic Type R is the way to go.