Engine tested: 205-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbo
Price as tested: $25,200
Why it's here: The Honda Civic Si is a mainstay, and it's one we're lucky to have. In a market dominated by crossovers and SUVs with seamlessly smooth automatic transmissions, the Si is a practical small car that you can only drive if you want or know how to use a clutch pedal. The Si goes against the trends, giving those of us who do the same a choice in an ever-dwindling segment of the car market.
Here's what we said in our review: "The Civic Si, like many cars of its nature, is pretty much the full package for someone who wants a new sporty car that won't require choosing between said car and ever having a hope of retiring.
"In a roughly $26,000 package, the Civic Si comes with the tech and safety comforts a car needs along with all the fun a buyer might want. With its four doors and trunk big enough to fit at least two humans (or, to be less ominous, two humans' worth of groceries for a couple of weeks), its sporty driving characteristics are balanced out by the fact that you could easily use it to bring home new furniture.
"Shifts are effortless. The light clutch pedal doesn't push back or provide much tension, but that doesn't matter. The lack of resistance and ease of shifting just feels right. You want to drive the Si, and it wants to drive with you.
"We've shown, at least in America, that our tastes generally aren't for cars like the Si or its counterparts. We're into big crossovers with enough room for the kids and enough cup holders for the lattes, and we want transmissions so smooth that we forget the car is even shifting from one gear to another.
"But for the few who venture toward a clutch — reluctantly or not — cars like the Si remain, with their small statures and very obvious gears that need to be manually changed, catering to that 2% of us who still want to buy a new car with that funky third pedal.
"That's a choice we're lucky to have, even if only a few of us know it."