1996 Honda Civic LSi review from UK and Ireland

Nothing yet, although the steering column has begun to creak recently when applying full lock rapidly.

I'm not sure if this is wear-and-tear, dust in the mechanism, or something else - it'll get picked up in the next service.

Absolutely brilliant little car - it goes like the proverbial clappers, and handles really well.

Living where I am (the Isle of Man) means that there's no national speed limit. I've managed to hit 130mph on a long downhill straight; the speedometer maxes out at 140, and I hadn't even hit fifth gear - scary stuff, but extremely exhilarating!

Stopping is also excellent, and it seems so be able to come to a halt in a fraction of the time that the "official" highway code states.

I have yet to invoke the ABS out of necessity, but I did play around when the roads were quiet - as expected, it stopped sharply, without locking the wheels or losing control.

The one time that I've managed to get the car to handle badly was to accelerate too quickly out of a 90-degree left handed uphill bend, with a nasty adverse camber. The front under-steered massively (which scared me!), but it pulled back into line quickly as I came off the power. Fortunately there was nothing coming the other way, and now I know that it can happen, I'm a bit more wary.

Fuel economy is pretty good, although if you drive like me (i.e. don't get out of third gear much, screaming along at about 6k rpm...!) then you'll be filling up the tank every week or so. Not cheap, but good fun!

Overall, it's a brilliant car - performs well both as a little run-about, and as a speed machine. What more could you ask for?