If you’ve been reading Winding Road, you have probably seen our Comfort and Involvement Index. If not, here’s a brief primer: The Involvement Index quantifies the amount of man/machine involvement demonstrated by each tested vehicle. The overall score, based on a 100-point scale, gives a great approximation of how much fun a vehicle is to drive, overall.
The Comfort Index measures overall vehicle comfort—in driving character, wealth or paucity of luxury and technology features, fit and finish, roominess, etc. The overall score, based on a 100-point scale, gives a great approximation of how comfortable a vehicle is to drive.
Too add a little bit of detail to each score, we show “star scores” (between zero and five stars, with five being the best) for more granular categories within the larger frameworks of Comfort and Involvement, too.
Then, to round out each listing, you’ll find a quick blurb summarizing all of the scores for the car, and our experience of it.
We’ll be updating you on new entries to our indices as we drive/review the vehicles (and will eventually get around to putting all of these scores on WindingRoad.com). In the meantime, if you’d like to see the full (huge) list of every score, check out the latest issue of the magazine.
Car: 2012 Honda Civic Sedan
Involvement Score: 63/100
Variety: *
Controls: *
Drivetrain:
Handling: *
Character:
Involvement Notes: Completely put to shame by other cars in this class. Light, lifeless steering, slow, and overly soft in the bends. Do yourself a favor and buy a Ford Focus.
Comfort Score: 67/100
Visibility: *
Space/Seating: *
Ride/Handling: *
Acoustics: *
Controls: *
Comfort Notes: Honda missed the memo that small car interiors are now classy, stylish, and comfortable. Feels tinny on the road, with too much road noise, and a lack of comfort features.