On the other hand, for all its endearing dash, the Neon doesn't have the same level of refinement. While the Civic's new styling is distinctly Honda, it doesn't qualify as head-turning. One Civic element that's definitely more attractive than last year, however, is price. In addition to a number of technical and ergonomic refinements, one of the big design goals for the sixth-generation Civic was engineering cost cuts. That's why all the Civics have drum brakes at the rear, rather than discs.
Disc brakes do a better job of dissipating heat, but they also cost more than drum brakes.
But the truth is that you'd have trouble detecting any difference in performance, even on a race track, since the front brakes do most of the work, particularly in a front-drive car, which has a heavy forward weight bias. The most impressive thing about Honda's cost engineering is that it's all but impossible to discern. This is still a high quality car, with sophisticated mechanical credentials. And thanks to cost-cutting, the Civics don't occupy such a lofty price perch in the compact segment. Beyond that, they continue to be the standard by which other small cars are judged.