Honda Civic Si Sedan vs Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V

It's draft day and you're on the clock. On the board are highly prized recruits from two noted powerhouses. Though your lottery pick is way up there, your salary cap is restricted to roughly $23 grand. You can take only one, so choose wisely.

Both prospects are front-engine, front-drive, four-door sport sedans from programs with storied traditions in this category. Though Honda has been building the Civic Si since 1986-five years before Nissan made its first SE-R-it's never done a sedan. Nissan has been making SE-R sedans since 2002, but the tale of the tape reveals no significant advantage for either rookie. In fact, from mundane to exotic, whatever parameter you measure, the cars are nearly identical. Each vehicle's wheelbase, width, and front and rear track are all within an inch of the other's. Both vehicles come equipped with six-speed manual gearboxes (standard) and helical-type limited-slip differentials (a $400 option on the SE-R Spec V). The largest physical disparity is under the hood, but even that's a bit of a wash (197 to 200 horses). Sure, the Si is down a half liter and 41 pound-feet to the 2.5-liter Spec V engine, but the Honda also weighs about 150 pounds less than the Nissan.

Our tarmac combine reveals similar performances as well. Toe to toe and blow for blow, both click the stopwatches within tenths of each other. The extra torque provided by the SE-R's displacement advantage means it sprints to 40 mph one tenth of a second quicker than the Si, but they're tied at 50 mph. By 60 mph, the Si has pulled ahead by a tenth and holds this lead through the quarter mile. And though the Civic manages to stop three feet shorter from 60 mph and pull 0.01 g higher on the skidpad, it's still too close to call.

How is it then, that when the selection clock runs down, one of these bluechippers will distinguish itself as a future Hall-of-Famer, while the other will seem destined to ride the pine? Well, some of it has to do with what coaches and draft pundits call "intangibles," but the key differences are apparent from the very first throttle blip.

Southern California's Montezuma Valley Road is the perfect place for a private workout session for these twins. Bombing up and down this 12-mile, 40-plus-turn, desert highway is an exercise fraught with anxiety, especially when your rearview mirrors are filled with the Si's sloping snout. Though only 2.6 inches taller than the Si, the way the Spec V leans over in corners makes it feel much larger in the tight canyon confines. But it's not slow; switch places and the Spec V can hang with the Si-if only just. The problem is, doing so generates a whiter-knuckle grip on the steering wheel and beads of sweat in the corners.