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  This is the $25,000 Honda Civic Si. [credit:
  Honda
  ]

Earlier this week, we reviewed the VW Golf GTI, a jack-of-all-trades car that, in the words of one reader, is “the most refined and least ‘boy-racer’ of the hot-hatches.” But what if you want a cheap and sporty car that leans into that boy (or girl) racer image? The answer could well be the car we’re reviewing today—the 2020 Honda Civic Si. OK, technically this one isn’t actually a hot-hatch; your $25,000 buys either a two-door coupe or a four-door sedan.

The idea, as always, is pretty simple. You start with a cheap car and add a more powerful engine, tweaked suspension, and some go-faster styling accoutrements that through the power of transubstantiation imbues the entire lineup with a shiny, glowing halo. (Ignoring the more special but even more expensive Civic Type-R, which polishes that halo.)

Honda describes the way the Si looks as “benefit[ing] from exterior styling enhancements befitting the model’s aggressive driving dynamics.” Another way to describe it would be to say that this one really looks like a space fighter. At the front there’s a new front bumper with some elements that call to mind mid-engined exotica or the complicated front wing of a race car. At the back, a wide exhaust that kind of resembles an HDMI port, and a rear wing that I’m not sure does much aerodynamically. And to round it all off, some matte-black 18-inch alloy wheels, which you can have wrapped in sticky summer tires for an extra $200.