I'll try to be as unbiased as possible and not use my own personal car as a standard, but just keep that in mind when considering where the review is coming from. Anyway, I tested a pre-owned 2007 model with just shy of 10k miles (literally, as I think the odometer read 9990 miles when we took it out), so it was definitely broken-in. It had a a set of what I assumed to be the OEM all-seasons that came on the car (though I'm aware of the fact that there are also OEM summer tires) with quite a bit of meat still.
Power: The engine didn't seem to have any deadspots, but it didn't pull as hard as I expected it to. Of course the engine really wakes up past 6000 rpm, but it's more of an aural thing than actual power delivery, at least to me. The B-series-powered Hondas ('99-'00 Civic Si, Integra GS-R, Integra Type-R) seemed a lot more lively, even though the current Si is probably only marginally slower to accelerate than the ITR while being faster than the others. However, the gearing is pretty decent and allows you to stay in the VTEC zone pretty easily, even if you don't shift exactly at redline.
Handling: I didn't get to torture the car since the salesman specifically asked me not to, plus I wasn't too familiar with the route in that area that the dealerships take you through, but from what I noticed, the car was pretty nimble, but even with an LSD, it understeered more than I expected it to. However, I don't doubt that even OEM-grade summer tires would help the car's grip, and a few suspension bits would probably help out the handling even further while killing some of the body roll. I felt that the car has the potential, and I'd imagine that the (overpriced) Mugen Si probably handles the way I was hoping the car to handle.
Exterior/interior: The car is decent looking, and there isn't much to really complain about. I've said it before, but the exterior is good enough to get a few people to notice but not so flashy that cops will spot you coming from a mile away. Of course the dashboard takes some getting used to, but it seems like the instrument panel has a lot of wasted space to the left and right of the tach, freed up by the top-mounted speedometer and digital fuel and temperature gauges. The shifter is pretty smooth, though not quite as smooth as the S2000, despite the salesman always making comparisons to it. Sixth gear seemed a little hard to get into, as I'd always hit the part of the shift gate between fourth and sixth. At first I attributed this to the fact that I generally don't drive 6-speeds, but after thinking about it, I had driven several in the past (RX-8s and STIs came to mind) and never had problems with those vehicles' sixth gears. Clutch pedal effort is pretty light, as is that of the throttle, though it took a little getting used to, but the fact that I was wearing dress shoes may have made a difference in being able to adapt. The handbrake looked interesting, but it felt like you're tugging on something with a spring rather than something with a cable.
Without going into more and more paragraphs, I'll just stop there. Not a bad car overall, though whether or not it's a good choice depends on what car you're coming from. That said, I would probably never, ever get it. Personally, I'd rather get a comparably priced base model GTI instead, easily.
