weird, i've never noticed the pedal being pulled away from me when i've engaged cruise in my 4 cyl...
some of the perks of the v6 can be found in the i4 ex-l version. the heated seats and i believe the homelink is in the exl as well.... and even the the ex with cloth comes close (loose the heated seats and homelink though!) but you still get the 6 disc cd hanger, sunfroof, the premium interior accents, alloy wheels, etc....
talking to someone who drives similar to me who had a v6 6th gen (automatic obviously), he was only getting around 19/20 mpg the majority of the time. i've been getting about 30 in my 7th gen i4 (mt). i do even push the car quite a bit! i think the type of tranmission plays a HUGE role here though as i was only getting about 30 mpg out of my 03 civic (auto) and 00 civic (auto)!
speaking of passing on steep hills, had to do that this morning. rain+tractor trailers+already slow traffic=trucks drastically loosing speed on a down to a little below 45mph and managed to cut over into the left lane and pass with no problem what so ever! if i would've downshifted into 3rd, i would've been above and beyond the power i needed to do it safely.
i think the type of tranmission plays a HUGE role here though as i was only getting about 30 mpg out of my 03 civic (auto) and 00 civic (auto)! 
if i would've downshifted into 3rd, i would've been above and beyond the power i needed to do it safely. 