Clean, understated, almost minimalist design. Dangerously close to the bland/clean line, though.
Revs willingly, and I'm pretty sure I've never driven a more satisfying manual gearbox in any other car. Lacking in torque and needs to be wrung out to get any real performance (VTEC switchover happens around 6000, redline's around 7000) and it's pretty easy to bounce against the fuel cutoff under hard acceleration. That said, it makes a great sound and it just feels at home at higher RPMs.
Pretty well-sorted for a front-drive sprot sedan. Definitely prone to understeer at the limits, and the weight up front is almost always noticeable, but it's very well-mannered up to and including at its limits, and it'll gladly dance with you on off-ramps if you cue up a little liftoff oversteer.
Gauges are excellent, seating position is very well adjustable, gearshift lever falls exactly where your hand should be. Driving cross-country over the course of three days revealed the padding on the door panel armrest to be very minimal, so if you're one to lock your elbow down there on highway drives try to make a note of that.
Apart from the lighting behind the radio and climate control buttons, there's not a single thing wrong with it. It's a Honda product from the good old days when that meant implicit quality with no ifs, ands, or buts. (Except for that radio thing, I guess.) It's a 2004 with 143,000 miles as we speak, the last 40,000 of which I personally put on over the last year and a half, and the only sign of its age is some wind noise around the drivers' side door seal.