2012 Honda Civic test drive and review. What do the About.com Rating stars mean?
Honda's sporty Civic Si has always been a favorite of mine, but like wine and my favorite pizza shop, the Civic Si has its good years and its bad. 2012 brings an all-new Civic, and with it an updated Si version -- so will 2012 prove to be a good vintage? Read on. Larger photos: Front - rear - interior - all photos Charting the changes Let's start with what's new in the new Civic Si: Like the rest of the Civic lineup, the Si is a bit bigger and a bit more aggressive looking. The biggest change, however, is under the hood.
For 2012, the pendulum has swung back a bit. But wait, not all is lost... Si's new 2.4 liter engine offers more torque but loses the high-RPM power surge Photo © Aaron Gold So does that mean the new Si is a dud? Let's go back to the engine. Next up: The driveline. Though Honda has softened up the ride a bit, the Civic Si still strikes a nice balance between aggressive handling and tolerable ride comfort. Sizing up the competition Pros: Least expensive 2011 cars on the US market - Lowest priced cars of 2011. Looking for inexpensive wheels?
Here are the least expensive cars on sale in America. We've driven all of them, and we'll tell you which cheap cars are the real deals -- and which ones are the real duds. 1. Nissan Versa 1.6 S: $12,800 (including destination charge) Good value? You might expect America's least expensive car to be some undersized econobox, but the Nissan Versa is actually a surprisingly capable family car, offering as much space as most mid-size sedans for a little more than half the price of a base-model Toyota Camry.
Read more: Nissan Versa review NEXT: Chevrolet Spark LS. Photo gallery of new and redesigned 2012 and 2013 cars. Introduction to the 2011 About.com Readers Choice Award Winners. Cars - Best New Cars of 2011. Automakers introduced dozens of new and redesigned models for 2011, and picking the best wasn't easy -- with reluctant buyers and mandated increases in fuel economy, automakers pulled out all the stops and introduced some terrific cars.
Nevertheless, it's my job to pick the best of the best, so here they are in alphabetical order: My picks for the best new cars of 2011. 1. BMW 5-series Photo © Aaron Gold I've never really been a BMW fan -- actually, kind of the opposite -- but even I can't deny the brilliance of the new 5-series. 2. Photo © General Motors Back in the 1960s, General Motors owned the American road -- not so much because of technical superiority (those were the days of carburetors and three-speed automatics) but because of styling. 3.
I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of General Motors for bringing the Volt to market. 4. I've had high hopes for the Fiesta ever since Ford announced it, and the final US-spec version is even better than I had hoped. 5. Photo © Honda 6. 7.