TO THE POINTWhat’s New? With 197 horsepower flowing through a six-speed manual gearbox to a helical limited-slip differential and 17-inch Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 summer tires, does it matter what else might be new on the 2006 Honda Civic Si? Selling Points: Sleek styling, sophisticated engineering, comfortable front seats, lots of standard safety equipment, reputation for reliability, amazing performance Deal Breakers: Cramped back seat, funky dash design Our Advice: Honda unleashes a redesigned 2006 Civic Si, equipped with enough performance hardware that it sets the new standard by which sport compact cars must be measured.
The 2006 Honda Civic Si focuses as much on safety as it does performance. Standard equipment includes dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags; seat-mounted front side airbags; front and rear side curtain airbags; antilock brakes with independent electronic rear brake distribution; and active head restraints. Honda expects the 2006 Civic Si to receive five-star frontal crash-test ratings from NHTSA and a “Good” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the 40-mph offset crash test. Furthermore, Honda predicts that the Civic Si will get a ‘Good” rating from the IIHS for side-impact protection, with NHTSA assigning a four-star front occupant side-impact score and a five-star rear occupant side-impact score.