Overview
The Honda Civic Si has been a staple in the car community for decades, in fact many car enthusiasts start off with a Honda. This is of course where the stereotype of all Honda owners ricing out their cars comes from. But there is a reason for this, Honda’s are insanely reliable and offer a really good (possibly one of the best) price to performance ratios. The Civic Si is no exception, it is affordable, performs well and is an amazing daily.
Appearance
The 11th generation Civic Si comes with a new body design that I personally am a fan of. The previous 10th generation did look very cool, but for many people the design was a little bit too loud. The 11th generation on the other hand is more subdued and mature, offering smoother body lines. It comes with a duckbill rear wing that accentuates the car perfectly.
This is one of the few cars in its class that look really good stock. After throwing on some side skirts, a front lip, diffuser and lowering it about an inch, this thing can look really damn clean.
The interior is a nice place to be as well, I believe that Honda really has perfected the art of making interiors that not only look good but are extremely usable as well. The fourth generation Pilot (click here to read my article on the Pilot) is a great example of this, that interior is beautifully practical while also looking great. The front seats of the Si are great, they hold you very well while also being comfortable. However, following the theme of affordability, the seats are only manually adjustable. The front half of the interior also has a good amount of sporty accents, it has enough to differentiate itself from a normal civic while also not looking tacky. The rear half of the interior however does not get any of the sporty styling of the front, which may or may not be appealing you. I kind of like it, I want to see the sporty stuff to remind me what I’m driving, but I don’t necessarily want my passengers to see it in case they think it is tacky. There is more than enough space and leg room in the rear of the interior, at the end of the day this is a civic so it will be practical.
The infotainment system is phenomenal, as they always are in a Honda. There are physical controls for the HVAC functions as well as the heated seats. Canadian models (or 2025+ in USA) will have heated front/rear seats and a heated steering wheel as well. Many reviewers could not find any complaints about the interior of the Civic Si, and I don’t blame them, it really is a great space to be in.
Performance
Although this sedan does have the lowest horsepower in its class, it is no slouch when it comes to performance. Powering it is a 1.5-liter turbo 4 cylinder that produces 200 horsepower, mated to a 6-speed manual. The Civic Si only comes in manual, and that’s not a problem. This one of, if not the, best manual transmissions in its class. Many people tend to forget that this car weighs just under 3000lbs, which allows it to handle extremely well. The handling is also aided by the included limited slip front differential that allows this car to sling-shot out of corners and put all 200 horsepower down.
If you’ve been following cars for a while, you likely have heard the phrase “it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than drive a fast car slow”, this applies here. The Civic Si is by no means fast but is a car that can be pushed to its limits while not hitting felony worthy speeds. It is a car that can be pushed to its limits on your daily commute for most. The same cannot be said for many performance cars on the market.
Many reviewers were very impressed with the handling of the Civic Si, and much more so with the performance of the limited slip differential. Several redditors have also had success in running fairly aggressive tunes on their 11th generation Civic Si’s for 10s of thousands of miles with no problems. The clutch will likely not hold more than 300 horsepower, but most find that 250 horsepower is perfect for a car like this.
Why should you consider it?
The Civic Si really can’t compete with most of the other cars in its class when it comes to performance, so that must be begging the question as to why people still want it. Why am I speaking so highly of it? It is because of its practicality, something that I alluded to in my article about the Elantra N (you can read that here).
In its class it is by far the best daily driver. Its suspension is stiff enough to be sporty, but not so tight that it will punish you for hitting a pothole (unlike some of its competitors). It can get amazing fuel mileage, several reviewers even remarked that it got great fuel mileage while being driven spiritedly. This is something that many of its competitors can’t match.
On top of all this, it has a great infotainment system, a wonderful Bose sound system and a very practical interior. These elements combine to deliver a package that none of its competitors can match. Is it the fastest? No. Will it be the best car to drive everyday? Yes. This is a car that will start-up every morning, and be just as good at getting the groceries as it is at cutting through backroads. It is the best entry level performance daily driver on the market right now.
Sources: TheTopher, SavageGeese, Tedward, CNET, Grassroots Motorsports, MotorTrend, MAPerformance, CivicXl
