Honda Civic Si Sedan – First Drive: One year after debuting a redesigned Civic Si and ditching the unpopular hatchback body for a traditional two-door design, Honda unleashes a sedan variant of its hot little econo-sport coupe because it has determined that young compact car buyers prefer the utility of sedans and hatchbacks over coupes. Huh. Normally it’s Ford that chases its own tail around like this. Whatever. The point is that if you’ve been craving a terrifically fun small car as a replacement for the V6- or V8-powered gas hog that currently sits in your driveway, the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan is here to meet your need for speed and practicality. With this quick little four-door, Honda is aiming at the same group of young, educated men that buy the Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra SE-R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and Subaru WRX because “fun-to-drive” is high on their list of purchase considerations. Honda’s research says that “fun-to-drive” is not a priority with Civic EX buyers. Honda’s research also says that the top trade-in model for these four “fun-to-drive” competitors is a Civic. Slapping that high-revving four-banger into the Civic Sedan and decorating it with all the same goodies that come on the Si Coupe was a no-brainer, and the result is the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan, which comes standard with “fun-to-drive.” Honda invited us to the Motor City to drive the new Civic Si Sedan. Yeah, not the first place you think of when the phrase “great driving roads” comes to mind. But one of the Civic Si’s best traits is its tight, nimble feel when dicing through traffic, so the Dearborn area’s grid layout helped to showcase this part of the car’s personality. We resisted the urge to run over to Ford’s Glass House headquarters and drive rings around the building just as fast as we could, sticking instead to the auto-cross course Honda mapped out in the parking lot of the Hyatt hotel and to the city streets, freeways, and parkways nearby, and came away favorably impressed with this hot little family hauler. Honda plans to launch the 2007 Honda Civic Si on November 1, to coincide with the annual Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas. The price is not officially set, but Honda thinks it will mirror the Si Coupe, with a starting price of about $20,000. Add the voice-activated navigation system with XM satellite radio and the stickier summer tires, and the price will jump to about $22,000. Honda plans to sell about 15,000 units annually.
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