In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Civic Si, Honda unleashes a completely redesigned version of its performance icon. Based on a two-door coupe body style with plenty of fun-to-drive hardware, the 2006 Civic SI instantly becomes the new standard by which sport compact cars must be measured. Behind the wheel, the Civic SI is a slick piece of work. During acceleration, the 2006 Honda Civic Si's power band feels flatter than the Acura RSX Type S, with more torque coming on earlier in the game, and the blinking rev-limiter light is a nice touch. The helical limited-slip differential effectively scrubs understeer in tight corners, and the summer performance tires stick to the road like Rove on Bush. The six-speed gearbox is tighter and more pleasurable to use than the EX Coupe's five-speed unit, and the pedals are set up for easy heel-and-toe action. Steering feels better too, quicker and with added heft off-center, though the electric drive-by-wire nature of the system produces little actual road feel. In terms of braking, the Civic Si feels like it can stop on a dime, and the suspension provides a taut ride, producing excellent communication with the road. Finally, the exhaust tuning produces a terrific sound, inside and outside of the car. Incredibly, Honda expects the starting price of the new Si to be less than $20,000 when the car goes on sale in December. That represents terrific performance value, and will produce plenty of smiles for the dollar.Write us at CarTVfeedback@autobytel.com