Faults:

Nothing at all, the reliability you expect from Honda. The car feels extremely well-screwed together. Of course, it only has 8000 miles so you wouldn't expect too many issues.

General Comments:

I bought this car new and have been driving it for the past 8 months. There are things I really like about it, but a couple of major flaws that keep me from truly loving the car, as much as I want to. For contrast, I previously bought and continue to own a 2006 Mazda MX-5 with a 6-speed.

Likes:

The 2.4 NA engine is really a gem, smooth and zingy and gets great fuel mileage.

- Despite being a bit boy-racerish, I think the car looks really good, especially in Dyno Blue Pearl.

- The ride quality is excellent, especially considering the 18 inch wheels and 40-series tires.

- The clutch and shifter are very intuitive and easy to operate, particularly in traffic.

- The sound system is very good as well, and the controls are laid out well despite some people not liking the double-tier dashboard in Civics of this vintage.

- The car feels very solid and well-built, as most any Honda does. Not extremely quiet, but much more so than the Miata, and it eats up highway miles nicely.

Dislikes:

I have 2 major problems with the car:

1. The steering - the steering is utterly numb, lifeless and devoid of any road feedback. It is also extremely light and, frustratingly, does not firm up appreciably at speed like most steering racks. I've noticed these tendencies in many new electric-power-steering setups in newer cars, but the Civic might be the worst of those I've driven. It contributes to a wandering, vague feeling on the highway and saps confidence when turning. Jumping into the Miata and feeling the lively, quick steering telegraphing every nuance of the road is a massive revelation. Even my mom's 2006 Accord has great steering. I don't know where Honda went wrong here, but maybe most people just don't care about good steering as much as I do...

2. The seating position - everyone's opinion will differ, but I have yet to find a seating position that is truly comfortable, even after trying every variation of height, angle and cushion positioning. I either feel too far from the clutch or too close to the gas pedal and brake. Even at the lowest position, I feel like I'm sitting way too high up. For something I drive regularly, this is a problem.

Other than my major gripes I have a few others. Like I said, the ride is great (IMO) but the suspension tuning allows too much lateral motion. On a rough road at low speeds, there is an overabundance of side-to-side rocking motion that makes the car feel not buttoned down.

The car is also FWD and feels every bit like a FWD car. Even with the LSD working, accelerating into turns is not a comfortable experience. Decently hard braking at speed will upset the chassis and give the feeling of the car being thrown forward more than I feel it should, especially for a barely-3000 pound car which should have the inherent tossability and balance that comes with light weight.

The clutch and shifter are easy to use, but I think I've been spoiled by the extremely short-throw, positive gearbox in the Miata. To me, the throws feel a bit too long, and for all the talk of Honda's shifters, frequently more notchy than I would like. Maybe there's something wrong with the car, because some shifts have that nice "buttery" feeling everyone talks about, but others, particularly 1-2 (which is an important shift), are notchy enough to hold me up for a split second, which is irritating.

Overall:

I might have been spoiled by the sports-car dynamics of my other car, but the Civic is not sporty enough to really approximate a sports car. It's actually a better everyday car, but still has some compromises to be sporty with no real payoff.

I don't dislike the car, and I know others love it, but the flaws are enough to make me think I'm gonna trade it in after next winter and buy/lease something else.