Learn me 2008 Civics

When my WJ finally sells, I'm looking at a few different options to replace it.

To give an idea, in the list I've got (all manual box) 2012/13 Mazda 2, 2008 Mazda 3 2.0 (sedan or hatch), 2008 Accord (2.4), 2008/9 Impreza 2.0 hatch, and the 2008/2009 Civic LXS sedan.  There are also a couple of E36s but safety for the kids is a concern and is my worry of the wife killing me.  (E46s are still out of the price range in general).  The Mazda 2 is probably a long shot too, for the same reasons (it's a bit too small).

The Mazdas I've owned before, and the Accord I've driven, but the Civic is an unknown to me.  How are they to daily?  Really boring appliance or moderately entertaining when needed?  Can anyone shed any light on them?

Ta..

I've been casually looking at Civic Sis, so I'm curious to hear as well.  I have some experience with my buddy's 2008 Civic Si coupe (from back when it was new,) it seemed like a great car.  Weak 3rd gear syncros.  He had to rebuild the gearbox before 75k mi.

While it is not the end all and be all of sources, carcomplaints.com rates them pretty badly

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2008/

Thanks for that, I hadn't seen the block cracking issue before...

The whole clearcoat flaking issue is a big annoyance. Many of them have ben repaired under warranty but my friend's soon-to-be T4 car was over the mileage limit so he had to pay to get that fixed on his roof.

On track I'm told that they lunch gearboxes, namely the 3rd gear synchro and the stock diff. Oh, and my engine guy hates working on them because the engine sits so far under the windscreen.

As cars go they seem fantastic though. Maybe it's cause I don't own one at the moment but they seem to strike just the right balance between sensible commutability and affordable on-track performance.

Going back to this again, does anyone have know specifics regarding the R18A blocks cracking? 

From the Civic forums, it's looks like it only affects the North American built cars.   All the Civics here in Peru are the Brazilian made version, but I have no idea where their blocks come from, if they're locally produced or imported.  According to the bulletin from Honda USA, it's only the VIN numbers from the USA that are affected, but I'm worried that the Brazilian blocks may also be the USA made blocks that are prone to cracking.

I've asked on the Civic forums but had no luck, not even a single answer.

Ta..