Dan Neil is the author of the “Rumble Seat” column which runs Saturdays in The Wall Street Journal. Previously, Mr. Neil was the auto columnist for the Los Angeles Times from 2003 to 2010.

But Honda's new hybrid has a few aces up its sleeves, says Rumble Seat columnist Dan Neil, including a six-speed manual transmission that makes it entertaining to drive.

This is the product's overall performance score, based on key tests conducted by our industry experts in the CHOICE labs.