The Honda Civic's title as America's best-selling compact car is safe. The new, eighth-generation Civic for 2006 offers more of what consumers look for: A roomier interior than its predecessor, more powerful and fuel-efficient engines and more safety features. The new Civic also is decidedly sleeker and more upscale in its looks, especially as a two-door coupe.

The bad news: Prices have increased. For the base Civic sedan, the manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, tops $15,000 for the first time. This is up some $1,200 from the price of a base, 2005 Civic sedan.

Indeed, as of 2006, the base Civic sedan carries MSRP pricing, including destination charge, that's higher than several competitors, including the 2006 Toyota Corolla and the 2006 Nissan Sentra. And base pricing for the gasoline-electric 2006 Civic Hybrid is up $2,000 from its 2005 predecessor and now tops $22,000.

Honda's Civic dates to 1973 in the United States. A little hatchback, it was the first high-volume Honda sold in the U.S. Over the years, the Civic grew larger and added models. In recent years, the Civic's average annual U.S. sales of approximately 300,000 have made it the top-selling compact car in the country. Last year, it also was the third best-selling car overall.

Besides the sedan and coupe, the Civic line includes the high-performance model, Si, and the gasoline-electric Civic Hybrid.

For 2006, each Civic has a more distinct personality. The Civic coupe, for example, doesn't share outer body sheet metal panels with the Civic sedan. And the Civic Si gets a big increase in horsepower - to 197 from last year's 160 and compares with the Civic sedan's 140 horsepower. The Si also now rides on the largest standard Civic tires, 17-inchers, ever.

Meantime, the Civic Hybrid provides a different driving experience with a hybrid powerplant that for the first time can power the vehicle solely via electric power in some driving situations. The hybrid's fuel economy rating is improved, too - to 49 miles a gallon in city and 51 mpg in highway driving. This is up from 47/48 mpg for the 2005 model.

All the new Civics benefit from a new front-wheel-drive platform that provides a tighter-feeling, more refined ride. The new MacPherson strut front suspension and rear multi-link double wishbone configuration allowed engineers to more finely tune the handling and ride for a better fit with each Civic. For example, the Civic sedan keeps jolting bumps away from passengers in an upscale ride, while the Civic Si's sporty ride conveys most road bumps and vibrations to passengers.

The Civic sedans also are quieter inside compared with the Civic Si, and they're noticeably quieter compared with their predecessors.
Road noise, in particular, is muted in the four-door models compared with the Si with its sport-oriented tires.

The new, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is more responsive in all Civics and took a bit of getting used to. The Civic steering wheel is compact, and combined with the new, quick steering gear ratios, gave me the feeling I was at the controls of a video game. This sensation wore off as I spent more time behind the wheel. (CONTINUE...)