This is my ownership-earned experience with the Honda Civic EX.

When my VW Scirocco finally cost as much to maintain as to replace, I started looking around at other cars. I am (or was) a VW gearhead, but I was quite unhappy with the quality of the current generation of their vehicles. At the suggestion of a friend I stopped by the Honda dealership to take a look at their new Civics.

I'm glad that I did. I bought it a week after test driving it.

This isn't going to be the usual spec-laden report - you can find that data many places. But instead, I'm going to give you my assessment of the car as a whole and what owning one has meant to me.

Gas mileage: Most of what I drive are city miles, but I do get 60 mile country jaunts from time to time. In the city with the AC off, you'll get actual 28mpg. On the freeway with AC off, you'll barely achieve 31mpg. If city mileage is your objective then consider the Civic Hybrid instead. The mileage on the sticker is calculated by emissions rather than actual performance, so be advised that the mileage on your sticker may be farther away than it seems.

Gas: This car runs fine on regular gas. As an experiment, I tried mid-grade gas through her because 10:1 engines are supposed to get better mileage with it (my Scirocco sure did.) But the mileage is no different with the Civic, though I do sense a tiny bit of extra power. Stick with the low-grade gas.

Performance: This is not a racing car. This is an economy sedan powered by a 140hp fuel-stingy powerplant. Passing on the freeways takes planning and caution rather than relying on power that you don't have. The gas pedal is very sensitive though and it takes practice to just barely touch the pedal to go down the road at freeway speeds. I suspect it is part of the new drive-by-wire technology that's under the hood. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 for power. But if you want a powerful car, you have to give up fuel economy. Them's the breaks.

Brakes: And speaking of brakes... I chose the EX over the less expensive LX and DX because the EX has all wheel disc braking with ABS. It is worth the extra money to not have to hassle with drum brakes and to know that your car will stop no matter the weather and no matter the road. The car stops very quickly when you want it to, and you don't have to pump the brakes in a panic situation - the car does that automatically for you.

Handling: The car turns very nimbly and navigating in parking lots is a breeze. Doing a 180 turn in an intersection is easy. At freeway speeds, you'll find that the light body makes gusting winds annoying. And the sensitive steering makes the car want to go anywhere else but straight. Those who have driven sports cars won't have any trouble with the steering. But those people who are used to a car just going down the road without much input from them will have to pay closer attention to their driving.

Style: Stepping into the car feels like climbing into an episode of the Jetsons, right down to the shape of the machine. Plenty of room and lots of footspace, front and back. Digital and analog guages both grace an odd, slopeing dash. The speedometer is digital while the tach (an economy sedan with a tach? Why?) is visible behind the steering wheel. The center storage compartment has a sliding armrest and the back seat has a folding armrest/cupholder. Fancy, comfortable and something one can sit in for 1000 mile trip with no problems.

Addons: I chose to get the basic stereo package instead of the advanced Navigation system. The nav package is 2000$ and for that much, I could buy FOUR Garmin PDAs. The basic stereo has am/fm/cd and an auxilary input jack (hidden under the 12VDC plug). But the CD can also read MP3 files on disc, so it's a snap to carry 150 songs per disc with you. 10 discs, 1500 songs. Who needs a radio? The sound is good/acceptable and the automatic speed-adjusting volume control is a nice touch since you don't have to touch the volume as roadnoise increases. Not that it's far to reach - the controls for the stereo are in the steering wheel as well as on the dash.

Visibility: I suspect there's a HID kit in the car. This car has brilliant headlights. I've seen aircraft landing lights that don't compare to this. Bright, very bright.

Inside, there are two little blind spots to be aware of. Where the body of the car meets the windshield, the metal spar does block a bit of your view, enough that a person or maybe a motorcycle can hide in. Moving your head as you drive avoids the blind spot. But do note that it is there and it's especially bad on the driver's side (as the spar is closer to the driver's eyes.) Otherwise, the mirrors and the view available to the driver are excellent.

Comfort: What can I say? It's a very comfy car. Front seats are contoured to hold you in place through turns. Soft cloth cushions hold even big butts like mine comfortably. As always, comfort is a subjective matter and you'll have to decide for yourself. But me, I like it. I can already tell that the cabin is going to get very hot in the summertime though, as it already gets hot in Spring. The Air conditioning (only 2 cars without AC have been sold in Texas, and I've owned both of them) is a little underpowered for the deep south. This can be compensated for by turning on the Recycled air, which cools interior cool air instead of exterior hot air. It really helps.

Overall I think that you get a lot of car for the 21K$ price tag (actual drive out). Don't expect to be able to haggle on the price much, since this car is very much in demand and they don't have to negotiate to sell them. Honda Quality and long operating life mean that this car will be able to run easily 15 years after you buy it. It's what VWs _used_ to be known for - now HONDA has that reputation. It's a nice car that is easy to drive and easy to get used to. I'm very pleased with my purchase and I think I got much more than my money's worth. My family of four loves it. Yours may too.