2012 Honda Civic Si: First Drive

When Honda unveiled the 2012 Civic at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, many critics were quick to put Honda in the same illustrious company. With an army of all-new compacts from automakers like Ford, Chevrolet and Hyundai all set to kick down the Honda gates, fans were thirsty to see a vehicle that was as innovative in design as it was in engineering. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer unveiled a compact car that looked startlingly similar to its eighth-generation predecessor.

We shouldn’t have been surprised. Since the Civic first hit the market 38 years ago, Honda has stuck to a tried-and-true update regimen for its star model. Every other generation has delivered a mild revision of the preceding design, and the ninth take on the vehicle is no different. With a tweaked body, slightly adjusted interior and nudges to the suspension and drivetrain, the 2012 Civic is effectively generation 8.1, but that just might be enough to keep the hordes at bay and Honda out of history’s dog house.