2006 Honda Civic Si Road Test

(Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

There is a large tachometer sitting in the middle behind the steering wheel, and a digital speedo as well as gas and coolant gauges up top. The big tachometer taking center stage is a visual cue used by the likes of Porsche and Ferrari to keep the rev meter in plain view. The digital speedo is another story. With an analog speedometer, drivers can tell how fast they're going without looking away from the road. The needle residing in the lower part of their vision is enough to communicate going halfway up the dial or about 100 km/h for instance. It shows proportionately whether you are going legally fast or too fast. It has a beginning and an end. You can bury it--not that I recommend trying.

The problem with the digital unit is that it keeps blinking and flashing away, its little LED segments always changing with no start or finish. There is no window into the performance of the vehicle conveyed by a speedometer that counts well into the 200+ km/h range. Unlike with analog, driving fast (maybe on a track), your eyes will have a fair bit more work to do in taking stock of your speed and rpm situation.

The lines of the car's body turn into some pretty funky interior qualities too. The blind spots take some getting used to on the driver side, with the seat and pillar considerably blocking the driver's view of other traffic near his paint. The A pillars can conceal an entire pedestrian in a parking lot setting if you aren't careful. The dashboard is about 3 feet thick, and you get a sense of sitting very far from the tall windscreen. The last time I sat behind a windshield like this one was while playing Wing Commander at the arcade. And although the Si doesn't have laser cannons or operate in outer space, it does pack some serious firepower and it sure does fly.

(Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

The engine, Honda's furious K20, spins up 197 horsepower on a non-stop pull to its irate 8,000 rpm redline. It loves to rev, it's not very thirsty and it will take a licking with a smile on its face. Though it is a pure joy to put through its paces and creates vastly more low-end grunt than the former Si powerplants, it's not without its flaws. The electronic throttle is frustrating. Though this technology has become commonplace nowadays, in this application it feels extremely artificial, holding onto the revs even after the throttle is released for a moment.

Among other things, this makes it very hard to achieve a smooth ride in stop and go traffic. You will experience a deliberate thud as the car lurches forward once the computer lets go of the throttle a moment after you release the pedal. It also sees the engine creating more noise than if the revs were to drop off straight away.

It's a small price to pay--especially considering its impressive output in naturally aspirated form. Other two-liter two hundred horsepower engines need boost to achieve this kind of horsepower. Honda's secret weapon is called VTEC: it's a form of valve-train wizardry invented over a decade ago, and its pure mayhem.

(Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

Here's how it works.

Slowly making your way about grocery store parking lots, to class, to the library and around city streets running errands it delivers quiet, efficient and cost-effective operation like an innocent four-cylinder engine.

But push too hard and it wakes up. Then, all hell breaks loose.