Honda surprised its competitors with the fourth generation of the Civic since it was the only car in its segment that featured independent suspension in all corners and provided excellent engines.
The Japanese carmaker understood that the key to success in the automotive industry was to offer decent comfort inside its cars, engines for everyone’s pockets and needs, and an affordable price. On top of that, Honda insisted on offering an incredible quick hatchback in the form of the Civic SiR.

Maybe Soichiro Honda didn’t have the best car designers in the world, but they took the form-follow-function principle and designed the Civic accordingly. The car looked like a cube with an extended part at the front to host the engine. Its wedged shape featured almost flat, almost vertical sides and just a slight ascending beltline, more evident on the three-door body version.

Inside, Honda installed the dashboard very low, and the distance between seats and floor was very small. Its front bucket seats were slim so the rear passengers could enjoy some legroom. It wasn’t too much, but it was enough for averaged size adults. In the back, the folding bench was needed for everyone who had to do weekly shopping at Walmart. But the three-door version was not meant mostly for shopping. It was better at something else.

Thanks to its low weight, low gravity center, and fully independent suspension, the car was very agile even with the base engine that provided just 75 hp delivered to the front wheels via a five-speed manual. The top, SiR, version provided 150 hp from a 1.6-liter engine, which made the car quicker to 60 mph (97 kph) than many other cars with twice the displacement and cylinders.