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bigger frame cross sections and thickercross members, typical in open-roof em.The mult is mac mass. At 27.66 pounds,

the base &I Sol weighs 172 pcunds maethan the lightest Civic three-door, even

though its wbcelbsse is eight inches shorts.

It also weighs 160poundsmac and is nine

inehcsloogath.aa'92CRX.' I h e d dCRXHFha s . L nd y b e c a r e -placed as HondP's mileage keda by the

H o d CRX eplacement shines brightly, but -civic vx. w men wiu be only

two &I Sol models in the United States,will &el Sol be warmly received by enthusiasts? ~ a f h ith its om engine. he &I S ~ I

S g& the 102-hp 1.5-lim in l i i four that

By J.P.Vettrain0 powas the Civic DX, whik the Si Jbuathe 12s-hpw l i m our with (he

SiandWscdan.The 1.6 uses H d s

lustsomplic.ted VTECtaste of the variable timing system.1993 Honda whichwaksonlyonthe

Civic &I Sol in April, intake valves. I~ ICugaahotUy dm t debuted in engine develops peak

Japan. We I d hen - 1 6 6 0 0 ~lbat the del Sol is i.rger. and 106lb ft of toque at

maepoanrfuldmae 5MO rpn, while the I .I

daPMelhmltheCRX lita tops out at 59M) ipmit replaced. We disco- producing 98 lb ft of

vered it is also softer t o r q U C ~ ~ r p m ..mundthecdger,anda T h e d c l S o l l l a o ~

td man Qeik. DcJpite HcaWs L*a Emits removable top, the doubk-wishbone suspa-new cw had moved the sion with the rcst of thetwo-p*Ec Civic closer to Civic line. Tbat mtaa mthcNiaMam. inch more wheel travel

Now it's America's lhantheCRX,acwrding

tomtobaskindelSoland to Honda. All del Solswhik we've wsrmcd con- h m s l i g h l l y s t i f k ? ~

~ t o t h i s p a h r t , Uwn mast Civic d l s .it doesn't ignite the spme The Si gets still higherpassion of its fmbur. springrucs.anda22m

In picljsg Honch's d- antimllharinfnmt.krbvcbrainmirrdcdsion kareahad i sc inc -co.bndoniheCRXand tions in the chmsii. The Sbcd in a new direction. model has 9.4-inch

wc'vcfamdthatsuccasis vented disc brakes in-itsombrndof front, 7.0-inch drums

rear. In place of rear

~ o o d aoduct p h m drum the Si comes with

intheSwcsupl l io ihe 9.O-iih discs. Then isshift

like this:Cmtinuing no mtilock system avail-to sharpen the perfor- able. The Si also hasmmr focus with a new slightly quicker stcaing,

CRXmightmdnlnm-ket- alloy rimsd 85160-14@ auicidc. With eus ike lircs (as oppod to 179

the NX#IM) and MX-3 V6, the d l pc- U.S.Eopies are nurly identical. 70-13). Extraequipllrntadds 132pounds.cialty class is becoming a -win g ~ cf From the A-pillars forward the two-seater Inside, the del Sol's additional heftme-upmnship. Technology and ins- shares its stlllct~lre nd sheet steel with doesn't necessarily translate into morc

rites spiral. and the appul of the cars gets Civic hatchbacks and sedans. Exterior man. f anything. it fetls a bit tighter Uwnincreasinglym.o the dcl Sol w iU step p l s ium the cowl b r k arr enlircly dif- the CRX. Yet the &I Solmainsmast of the

out of the fray and look for its own path. fwent. You've san p b m g q h bdon, m original's sbcngths. hiving position is ex-H d s atch@ or this Tug.-like our only aubjstivc rt.tcmcotm styling is cellent. the sbiftcr is p p cd y plrtd droofed Civic is "carr hrehm." this: The &I Sol looks much better on agowmies coally good.Care-tra fun in America appmntly docs pavement than it does on fdm. Rcactioa htmior design is to the point. The &I

wt requite a p o w top a exha pwr on ~U seved young adults in the tar@ mu- Sol's dash is mae coovcnriwnl than IJK

up. Del Sds deaincd f a he&ale$ wi l l wt La, includingm RX owns (ImnittcQy new Rlude's. and a lot more effstivc.et tbe M y utonutieTnnsmpa 4 ua wt a seimtifrsnmpk). was positive. Gauged are clusted c M y , similar to the

hitislly-tb 168-hp VTEC engine avail- Li he CRX, the &I Sol slat8 011 a imbumcnt pod on a motacyck. Switchgemable in Japan. Otherwise, Japanese and Pbacened Civic pladom. Tbc muctm hrs is built into the inskumcnt panel b i l e

AUOUST 3.1992 IS

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about a hand's length from the steeringwheel spokes. Some say interior materialsImk cheao and IIOI as refined as Honda'sbest. We .think they are appmpriate for anopen car. The thick caton-jersey seal u pholstery, for example, will pmbably betterhandle dust, moisture and ultraviolet rays.

The pmeftion theme mntinus with a lidthalliftrupanddownoverlhaudiogcartokeep dust out. There are other thoughtfultouches inside. like a W c o l d vents on theanrcr wnsole la lap Light. Locking bii be-hind the seals are large enough to a f c m

dale a l a of CDs a a small Theneatest detail of all is the power-operatedW i g h t . which dmps down at the touch ofa h N n w ~ t h e t o o i s o n a o f f .

H o d has p i ' lotof its markcling plans tothe &I Sol's convertibletop. The design objeaivewas minimal ai r distur-bance a buffeting in thecabii. T o thal end, engi-neus used a Cray wqm-mputer, extensive windtunnel testing and mca-suremeMs l i ir velocityat the driver's ears whendeveloping the de l Sol.Eve rych iog - fm the rake

of the windshield to the b-cation of the side mirmnto the wide-based B-pillars--was calculated for minimum air flow.

T he real payoff from Honda's engi-

neering effort comes at speed. With thetop on the del Sol is quiet and solid. or as

rigid as any Civic. With the top off there isno obvious flex or cowl shake. Even withthe T a r g a - l i design. the effect fmm thedriver's seat is very much like a full con-vertible. Th e B-pillar is angled back, sonothing inuudes in the driver's normal pe-ripheral vision. It takes a glance over theshoulder to notice the wide bumesses to ther e a r 4 he small blind spots they create.

Wind intrusion is minimal. To p off and

side windows up feel almost like a closedcabin. With the side windows down, con-

versatim is easy at65

mph. The air flowaids in climate control as well. as there'sbetter temperature control inside the &I Solthan in any open car that comes to mind.The removable top itself is well executed.

With a single lever on each side of the car.it locks firmly into the windshield headerand Targa-like bar (which also houses thehigh-mount LED brake light). In place, thealuminum mof panel seems to be as secureas a hardtop, yet it weighs only 23 pounds.One person can remove it alone. althoughtwo make the ob less cumbersome.

Storage is particularly ingenious. Liningthe rear deck exposes a hinged nck in the

uunk.Themof slides into the nck and locks.Slned, mof panel and rack are l i e a secunddeck lid. Lift the deck, then lift the hingedrack immediately below for access to the

trunk. Storage space is outstanding for asmall convertible. Even with th e mof stowed.

the del Sol has more mom for baggage than aMiata. The power top +on in Japan pdds

l l o p a u d s over the IW I wheels and $1.400to the price. Given how well the manual sys-tem warks. Americans uen't missing much.

Honda has achieved its self-stated goal ofremoving "all less-than-fun aspects" fmmthe convenihle. The &I Sol is the open cartotally sanitized, and that will be an amactionfor many. Far others, t defeats the plrposc.

In any case. the &I Sol's open m f offensomething the old CRX coupe never could.And when it comes to driving. the REW cardelivers most of Honda's best attributes.

Power comes s&y fromboth

engines.but+cularly with the \rIEC's bii to-ward high rev-with a noticeable buzz. TheSi is a spirited performer. pmbably a tickquicker than its predecessor. Maximum xmt

at freeway speeds demands a downshift, butit's no chore. The shher clicks fmm gcar togear as if the transmission were d i y ndcrthe g m h a n g e . Thc del Sol Si give ups nah-ing to the CRX in shaighl-lineperformance.

Through bends and curves, it is cool and

prepared for just about anything. Dynami-cally. the car is well Joned. with a bit ofundersteer tuned in. On one kvel it is morewsticated than the CRY. There is notice-

ably more compliance than in the wviouscar. providing a more comfortable ride.Steering is almost as pleasing. and the del Solis less fumed by a bump or dip at an apex or

near an exit. It lakes a cerlain & g m of ineptirude to get the car in serious troubk.

On the ocha hand. the same can be said forevery Civic H d s uilt th e last live yurs .The &I Sol feels more like a thnedoor Sithan th e CRY ever did. It's not so eager tocut and dart, going about its business morecasually, with less verve. It may pmve morewpabk a fwgiving, and it may be m y tolive with. But the del Sd lacks the Ilair. th e

immediacy, that makes you want to go outand drive when you see a CRY sitting still.

H a d a will announce relailprim when the&I Sol Raches &akn fhis month. Guessti-mates cover the high-S12.MO to high-$15.-MO range. The company may keep prices on

the low side to minimkc any risk the&I

Solcarries. Thc CRX sold well enough in itsprime to keep Honda dealen happy, even asit earned cult wvus with a group of aub

crossen and club raars. b name had n nicering. It was no trifling maner to rip up theblueprint and head in a dillerent dimtion.

We expeet the del Sol will go over quitewell. It's a pleasant car that does exactlywhat Honda intended. If we have a prob-lem, it is with direction rather than execu-tion. and no one can fault Honda for takinga path it thinks buyen will follow.

Often it's a dodge to say a car lacks soul. Itcan mean so- can't find much wmng

with a w h i n e that docsn't thrill them. Somaybe it's a dodge to say the Civic del Sollacks soul enough to charm us the way theCRX did. But we'll still miss the CRY.

AUTOWEEK AUGUST 3.1992