Once upon a time the Honda Civic Si held a dominant position within the sport compact world. But these days its not only been dethroned in the performance department by the Mazdaspeed3, it’s in serious jeopardy of being pushed even further back in the pack by the likes of the new Ford Focus ST. And if that’s not enough to make the execs at Honda flop a sweat, suddenly there’s not one but two serious contenders for the sport compact title that are motivated by their rear wheels. We are, of course, talking about the Subaru BRZ and its twin brother from Scion
Honda has recently fought back with the introduction of the limited edition HFP
(Honda Factory Performance) model of the Si, the only performance-oriented machine left in their lineup. Having tested the HFP Civic on the street and around a couple of autocross style courses, both Editor-in-Chief Colum Wood and I were impressed enough by its improved handling and grip level that we felt a track dual between it and the highly touted BRZ would help provide a little clarity to the rapidly changing landscape within this “fun and affordable” youth-targeted market segment.
