2008 Honda Civic Review

The compact car with something for everyone.

What's new for the 2006 Honda Civic: Redesigned; new model.

What's new for the 2007 Honda Civic: The 197-horsepower Si model became available as a sedan.

What's new for the 2008 Honda Civic: New EX-L coupes and sedans bring leather seats to the Civic for the first time.  Also new is the MUGEN Si sedan, coming with a stiffer suspension, 18-inch wheels, a sport exhaust, and a body kit, and a slightly silly price of $30,000.

With such a wide range of models, the best sweeping statement to sum up the Honda Civic is that it tries to do everything a small car can do -- and mostly succeeds.  Most consumers probably look at the Civic and see a conventional, well-made little runabout that will last forever.  The enthusiast crowd likely sees a budget racer in the quite thrilling 197-horsepower Si version.  Finally, the Civic has gained recent fame for its innovative approach to saving fuel -- twice.  The Civic GX stands alone as the nation's only car to run on natural gas, which costs less and forms less smog (though it's only available in California and New York), while the 37 MPG Civic Hybrid is in hot pursuit of the Toyota Prius in the great gas mileage race.

Yet all members of this prolific clan have obvious ties.  They maintain the Honda Civic tradition of using the smallest engines in the class (1.8 liters on the mainstream models) for high efficiency, and Civics are still among the friskier-feeling cars, thanks to quick steering and the wide availability of stickshifts.  All models share an interior that makes great use of the available space (check out that flat rear floor), and despite the funky digital speedometer, its controls are typically Honda-friendly.

One also can't help but notice how the Civic has moved up in the world.  Its automatic transmission now has five speeds (one more than the class norm), and every engine features Honda's VTEC technology.  Even the middle-end LX model Civic comes with power everything, 16-inch wheels, a telescoping steering wheel, and an MP3 CD stereo; heck, there's even a new EX-L model with heated leather seats.

Though some drivers might wish for a gutsier engine, it's hard to imagine asking for much more in a compact car.  In any sense.

Find out more about the 2008 Honda Civic