Car Spaces

Honda introduced a completely redesigned Civic in 2006, and little has changed since. Available as a four-door sedan or two-door coupe, the Civic boasts accurate steering, strong brakes, a roomy interior, and a willing suspension. The Civic’s styling—the large, fast windshield, minivan-like front end, and UFO-style two-tiered dashboard—incites a bit of controversy, as these are all love-them-or-hate-them elements.

Power is adequate with the base 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which is available with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. Shoppers seeking more power might be interested in the Si model that offers a slightly larger and more powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 197 horsepower. The Civic Si is only available with a six-speed manual transmission. For those seeking an uncompromised, near-sports-car-like experience, the Civic Si Mugen sedan keeps the powertrain of the Si but features a multitude of chassis and exterior tweaks.

Although all Civics boast excellent fuel economy, some buyers might want to stretch their fuel budget even further. For those who must have Toyota Prius –like fuel economy, Honda offers the Civic hybrid, which couples a small 93-hp, 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine with a 20-hp electric motor to boost fuel economy over 40 mpg. Honda also offers the Civic GX, which is powered by a natural-gas-burning, 113-hp version of the “normal” Civic’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder. The CNG Civic GX is the only production vehicle so equipped for sale in the United States today and is eligible for tax credits, although individuals can purchase one only in California and New York. The GX CNG is strictly available to fleet buyers in other states.

For 2008, Civic offers eight different trim levels (DX, LX, EX, EX-L, Si, Si Mugen, GX, and hybrid). Si Mugen, GX, and hybrid versions are only available as four-door Civic sedans.

Major competitors to the Civic lineup include the Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra, Pontiac G5, Scion xB, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza, Suzuki SX4, Toyota Corolla, and Volkswagen Rabbit and GTI.

Verdict

The Civic distinguishes itself from the rest of its class by offering superb refinement and a somewhat sporty driving experience. Aside from its funky styling, the Civic is easy to love. From a gas-sipping hybrid to the track-ready Si versions, Honda builds a Civic for every lifestyle and budget.

When Honda promises dramatic styling, there’s usually a collective groan from the Car and Driver nerve center. We’ve heard that line before, and the result is invariably as exciting as a meal of oatmeal and water.

But this time, the Accord coupe has the handsome design that’s needed in the coupe market. It’s not quite as slinky as the brand-new ’08 Altima coupe, but its svelte lines are arguably better balanced and offer more room—three more cubic feet of interior space (93 versus 90)—but the trunk is far bigger at 12 cubic feet (compared with the Altima’s 7).

Because of its superior sedan underpinnings, the Accord coupe is a better machine than the Altima. It’s certainly fast. The sonorous and smooth 3.5-liter V-6 engine makes a solid 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, enough to motivate the car from 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, 0.2 second quicker than the Altima. The Accord reaches 100 mph from rest in 13.6 seconds, 2.1 seconds earlier than the Nissan. The six-speed manual transmission fitted to our tester was slick and easy to use.

The Honda FCX Clarity is a technology of the future and may always be just that, but nonetheless, the Japanese automaker is cautiously bringing out its hydrogen fuel-cell car for a stroll. Starting this summer, Honda will lease the FCX for a fixed three-year contract at $600 per month without an option to buy. Production numbers are privately held, but Ferraris will be as common as paper clips by comparison. The lessees will be selected by a committee at American Honda Motor Company based largely on geographic location. If you don’t live in greater Los Angeles, where several of the nation’s few publicly accessible hydrogen stations currently pump the ethereal gas for about $5 per kilogram (the FCX holds 5.3 kilos, good for up to 270 miles of real-world driving, says Honda), forget about making the cut.

Hand built mostly from steel and some aluminum in Honda’s dream-car factory in Tochigi, Japan, the place that produced the Acura NSX and the Honda Insight hybrid, the Clarity’s eureka innovation is called the V Flow, or vertical flow stack.

Fuel cells make electricity by inducing hydrogen atoms through a membrane that strips away their electrons. Honda’s design uses stamped stainless-steel generating plates that are grooved with vertical gas channels shaped in a wave pattern that increases surface area and leverages gravity to drain out waste water, an important factor in power production and cold-temperature startup.

Meanwhile, the plates are cross-cut with horizontal coolant channels that more efficiently control internal temperatures—all of which allows Honda to increase electrical output from its previous stack by 16 percent to 100 kilowatts while shrinking the volume by 21 percent and the weight by 30 percent to 148 pounds.

In the Clarity, the stack is not much larger than two desktop-computer towers and fits neatly into a tunnel between the front seats. A single 45-gallon tank behind the rear seats stores gaseous hydrogen at up to 5000 psi, and a small lithium-ion battery pack buffers the stack’s power delivery and stores energy from the regenerative brakes.

Sized between the Civic and Accord, the 3600-pound Clarity disappears in traffic and drives like the Accord with which it shares its control-arm front suspension. Instead of engine growl, a distant motor hums and a slightly disturbing, stepping-on-a-cat scream emanates from the Roots-type compressor feeding outside air to the stack. A split-level, Syd Mead–inspired dash features a blue hydrogen “consumption ball” that grows larger and turns amber the more you press the gas pedal.

After shelling out $21,600 over three years, you’d be forgiven for expecting to own at least part of this smallish sedan rather than a wad of canceled checks. Honda doesn’t agree. Plated with platinum catalysts and lined with exotic membranes, fuel cells are still NASA-priced. The Clarity is a money-losing experiment at encouraging hydrogen infrastructure development, the company says. Be part of it or don’t. Chances are, you’ll never get the choice.

The Honda Pilot, which launched in 2002 as a 2003 model, was one of the first crossover vehicles to offer three rows of seating. Built on a unibody platform shared with the Odyssey minivan and loosely based on the Accord, the Pilot weighed substantially less, felt more carlike, and returned better fuel economy than its body-on-frame competition.

In recognition of the Pilot’s all-around excellence, we awarded the Pilot a 5Best Trucks award for large sport-utility vehicles from 2003 to 2007. For 2008, the Pilot finally fell off the list in favor of the newer and sportier Mazda CX-9. Still, the Pilot offers a good driving experience, strong acceleration for its class, and enough interior space for eight people plus cargo. All Pilots are powered by a 244-hp version of Honda’s familiar 3.5-liter V-6 that boasts fuel-saving cylinder deactivation. However, EPA fuel-economy estimates are a relatively thirsty 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for a two-wheel-drive Pilot and 15/20 for four-wheel-drive models.

Now entering its sixth model year, the Pilot exists in a world filled with newer three-row crossover vehicles and is beginning to feel a bit dated. It’s good, then, that a replacement for the current Pilot is due for the 2009 model year.

The 2008 Pilot is available in four trim levels (VP, EX, SE, and EX-L), and each offers front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. In the three-row-SUV category, the Pilot faces competition from the Buick Enclave, theDodge Journey, the FordExplorer, the Ford Taurus X, the GMC Acadia, the Hyundai, the Jeep Commander, the Mazda CX-9, the Nissan Pathfinder, the Saturn Outlook, and the Toyota Highlander.

Verdict

The Pilot is an excellent SUV that exhibits carlike handling and easily hauls up to eight people and their goods. Although the competition has copied the Pilot’s formula and subsequently caught up in the past six years, the Pilot still offers three-row comfort for about $30,000.

The Odyssey has remarkable handling (edging out its rival, the Toyota Sienna) and bulletproof build quality, and the interior is outfitted with up to eight supportive seats.A well-equipped EX model can be had for around $30,000; loaded with everything from in-dash navigation to DVD entertainment, the Touring model tops $39,000. Pricey, but still a good $5,000 to $10,000 below SUVs with anywhere near its level of features and family-ferrying skills.