I used to own a 2008 Civic SI Coupe, so what I'm about to say comes from experience.
I loved the styling of the coupe -- until they face-lifted it in '09. I don't find it ugly now, just not as nice as the '06-'08.
The paint quality was absolute crap. After a few months of owning my car and driving it as a daily driver in normal conditions (i.e. the occasional gravel road here and there) the hood already had many deep stone chips. After about a year of owning the car, I found rust on the hood. Yes, that was RUST on a 1 year old car. I was quite disappointed. Also, I found out that using the do-it-yourself washes with the scrubby foam brushes is a great way to leave scratch marks in the clear coat on that car. Even after several coats of wax, I couldn't get them to disappear. The paint quality was horrible on that civic. Such a shame, too, because it was the Fiji blue Pearl, the dark blue that they have on the SI. An awesome colour to be sure.
As far as the interior is concerned:
I thought it was very handsome, with nice soft-ish touch materials where they mattered, and a nice alcantara style cloth in other places. I was a big fan of the two tier dash. I could stare out the windshield at the road straight ahead and catch my speed at the bottom of my peripheral vision. It was great. The seats were super comfy, and the interior was just a nice place to be. Not GTI nice, but not bad none the less. Actually, one time I did a 33 hour straight drive from Winnipeg to New Orleans. I credit the interior and comfort of that car as the reason that I made it down there sane and alive.
It was, however, very prone to wear. The 'alcantara' cloth on the armrest was starting to fade after about a year of owning the car. A buddy of mine had a Civic DX sedan, and his shift knob (5-speed) had all the colour and markings worn off of it. It was just a white piece of plastic after 4 years of owning it. Thankfully the shift knob in my SI was machined aluminum, so it didn't wear in the same way. The 'soft touch' material on the dash (passenger side, mostly) was very prone to scratching.
As far as visibility was concerned, the only complaint I had is that the A-pillar was so far forward, and raked so far back, that when going around a left-hand corner, it blocked my view of where I was going. I actually had to learn to lean my body to the right slightly to peer around the pillar. Other than that, visibility was great. Other than the huge blind spot, of course. But it was a coupe. I knew I'd sacrifice a little bit of visibility rearward for that!
Was I happy with the vehicle? Absolutely. Would I buy another one? In a heatbeat, if I was looking for that type of vehicle. It had a few deficiencies and gripes that I didn't like, but over all I was very satisfied with it.
I got rid of it because a small pick-up truck was the order of the day. Otherwise I'd still have it.
For comparisons sake, I now have a 4 year old Ford Ranger. Compared to the Civic, the paint is holding up great. We were out wheeling one day, and a friend with a JEEP and an aftermarket steel bumper backed into the side of my truck, and left a big gouge down the side of the truck. That was almost a year ago. One summer and winter later, and it still hasn't begun to rust. There's no stone chips on the hood, no scratches from trailside branches being dragged down the side of the truck, etc.
The interior also holds up very well. Sure, its got a vinyl floor, rough cloth seats and a hard plastic dash, but they feel like they can last forever.
It's the complete opposite of the Civic. Unsatisfying to drive. Definately not as comfortable. Not as nice to look at. Definately bulletproof and indestructable.
