I had $20k to spend on a car. I wanted something fast, but not too flashy. I bought a Civic Si. The 160HP DOHC VTEC 4-cylinder engine purrs like a tame kitty in traffic but howls like a V-6 past 5500 rpm when the VTEC kicks in. Oh, baby.

I drove an early model blue Ford Taurus station wagon in high school (which broke down only on dates and while raining), and then I moved to Manhattan where only the demented and insanely rich keep cars. But I made some money in the big city and came back to L.A., where everyone keeps a car. So when I went shopping for my first "real" car, I was looking for something I could have some fun with.

I had a hard time getting this car near the sticker price, as most dealers marked it up from between $500 to $2k, due to low availability and high demand, so I ended up paying $18,600 in December '99 for a 2000 model (I paid a bit more for getting an early 2000 model), electric-blue, (yeah, it's a bit flashy, but the dealer mentioned it'd have a better resale value than the black one I was looking at) Honda Civic Si.

The Si differs from other Civics in several areas:
* it only comes in stick (manual transmission)
* it has slightly different bodywork in the form of side skirts and a deeper front air dam that lend a sportier look to the car
* the rims differ from the plastic jobs that come on the non-si models, they appear to be cast aluminum and take a shine real well
* it has VTEC decals on each side of the car
* disc-brakes on all four wheels
* more powerful sport tuned engine (redline at 8000) that likes to be driven at high RPMs.

The Civic is a very small car, and sometimes I laugh at myself when I walk up to it in a parking lot because I remember back in high school when I wanted a big fire-breathing American-made muscle car like a Mustang or a Camaro... but it's a car, and it's all mine, and now that I've lived with her for a few months now, the verdict is in...

This is a great car. I love this car.

By no means is this car perfect, but hey, I didn't exactly have enough to throw down for that MB 430 CLK I'm still dreaming about.

The first day I had it, I had very little experience driving a stick, but I found it to be a very forgiving transmission. Drop the clutch too slow, too fast, it doesn't matter too much because it's a very very light clutch. In fact, it is so light that once while trying to drop it at 6000 I smoked it out. No more drag racing for me after that. If you're looking at this car to prep for amateur racing, definitely get a racing clutch.

The ride is pretty stiff. Not uncomfortably stiff, but in the realm of sports car stiff. Take it easy over the bumps, and aggressive through the turns, and the stock suspension should do you nicely. I've become used to it, and now other cars feel a bit too mushy.

The tires sorta suck. I found myself squealing them a lot during the first 6000 miles or so by going a bit too aggressive from stop lights. The car has gotten a bit tamer following the break in process, and it's simple enough to get the tires replaced.

The back seat is a sort of optical illusion: there is a lot more room back there than it might look like from the outside of the car. I often pack four into it for long drives, without too many problems (it *is* a two-door). Sportier features aside, it is *still* a Civic, crown prince of econo-commuters. (A 1995 Mustang has less legroom in the rear than my Civic)

The problem isn't the space, but the seats. Theres not a whole lot of padding in the seats and I find myself longing for better ones. On a recent drive from San Diego to San Fran, I took several rest stops just to stretch my back out, whereas I can do the drive in my brother's older Camry no problem, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks.

Speaking of the seats, the cloth is pretty darn ugly. It's a non-descript sort of grey fuzz, probably designed to be offensive to the smallest number of people according to some focus group. It is so ugly that I'm seriously considering getting it professionally replaced.

The stock stereo system is excellent. Not powerful, but pop a CD in (no tape) and it sounds great. Tweeters are mounted above the dash so that they aim toward the heads of the front seat passengers, improving sound-staging (uh, they sound better that way).

Gas mileage: when I first got the car, I regularly shifted around 6500 RPM because I loved hearing the VTEC kick in (VTEC is Honda's special technology that increases fuel flow at a preset engine speed to increase power, and you can totally hear it), but realized that whenever I punched it that high the fuel meter would drop faster than you could say "oil crisis". These days I shift around 4500. I've noticed that I go to the gas station much less frequently.

Overall, those looking for an inexpensive sports coupe will l-o-v-e the Si, but if you have a bit more cash, I recommend taking a look at some of the other models like the Prelude, 2000 Eclipse, or 2000 Celica mainly because there are SOOO many Civics on the road.