2016 Honda Civic Coupe renews the joy in driving [Video]

And there it was, an image that I didn't catch often, the kid in me, smiling back in the rear-view mirror - the joy of simply driving personified.

Remember the first time you dropped into a driver’s seat, took the steering wheel, started the engine, released the brake and pushed the accelerator? A new world of possibilities opened its door the day you started driving your own car. Excitement!

Anxious, exhilarating, and just a bit scary, comes to mind when recalling my first month or two spent behind the wheel of a street car. I’m sure my parent's recollection is a tad different, and inclusive of that 6 - month license suspension -- as a result of too many, too much and too soon -- as my beater blocked one side of the driveway and then garage bay for the better half of my 16th year. What can I tell you? I was a progressive kid that loved to drive as fast as possible, most of the time.

For whatever reason, memories of my early driving, street racing years, came flooding back as I maneuvered 2016 Honda Civic Coupe on the back roads and highways of Western Oregon.

A million miles driven, I’m still smiling

The third week of September finds Honda-Torque News behind the wheel of what is arguably Honda’s brightest, most powerful and refined Civic Coupe offering to date. Yes, you can find a cost-cutting component or two if you look close enough. But overall, the visual and drive experience that is 2016 Honda Civic Coupe Touring is surprisingly refined, reasonably interior-quiet, and above all, a surprisingly quick and responsive compact * performance coupe drive and ride experience.

Look mom, no paddle shifter

O.K., our engineering friends at Honda tell us that they’ve reserved paddle shifting and 6-speed manual transmission turbocharged variants for the Civic Si and Type-R offerings. Good enough! I do believe that this 1.5 Liter VTEC 4 cylinder turbo coupe could benefit from the aforementioned, although the Touring’s CVT is very capable when finessed a tad. You may read my initial drive impression here.

A Video says a thousand words

Especially when you’re as wordy as I am! On Tuesday I reacquainted myself with a coupe that I would honestly consider on my short list for a daily personal driver. What Honda design has done here as with comfort, personal connectivity, and ride quality is nothing short of astounding, in a segment historically populated with cabin tight, rock-hard-rigid, and painfully park-bench seated, compact offerings. Most in general need of suspension refinement, sound deadening, and greater ease of ingress and egress. Put a hatch on it!

2016 Honda Civic Coupe not only addresses the aforementioned, but elevates the segment to a new level of acceptability, without excuse or exception. Enjoy the video, and thanks for reading.