myf00

I’m a *fan boy*. and Honda *fan boy*. I can only describe the small Honda sport compact vehicles from 1995 to 1998 with one word, magic. Why is that? The feel of driving one is amazing, its like you are connected to the car. You feel the gears engaging, the clutch grabbing the flywheel and the throttle cable opening the plate, its that mechanic feeling that I can’t find in any other modern car in the same segment range as those *little* magic cars.

The one I drove was a Honda Civic 1.6 ESi. In it’s original form it is powered by a single sided VTEC SOHC that pushes 125 ponies. For the owner it wasn’t enough though, he decided to transplant the engine from the Honda Civic 1.6 VTI. Now with DOHC and true VTEC the car gained a new live. But the feeling, that mechanic feeling, was still there. Actually, it was only intensified by it’s new 160hp engine.

Many will argue that the torque is low, and it’s true, seriously it sucks. But a good driver that knows how to maintain the revolutions of the engine in the sky (8000rpm red-line eheheh) the car would simply fly. Sticking to the road thanks to its double wishbone suspension it handle curves like it was on rails.

Did I drive it like a maniac? No way in hell!!! I was so afraid of something happening to the car that even the owner was telling me to go faster!

And what about now? I look at the new Honda compact cars and I can’t actually call them sport even those that are supposed to be. Using cheaper suspensions and less emotional engines, I simply feel like Honda as lost is spirit, its racing spirit, that made what Honda was some ten years ago. My ecologist side, tells me that this is the way to go, with the econoboxes and their drive by wire systems. But my petrol head side tells me go the hell with that, I want emotion and feelings of satisfaction, driving satisfaction.

I’m human, and I’m bound to emotions by nature and that is why I don’t see myself buying an Honda vehicle any time soon, at least not like I did back in the days.

I also need to say thanks to Francisco aka ChlcO, for giving me the change to taste what Honda should be all about! Fly high my friend!