New Civic Si

[BrianWC]

Well, I don't post here much anymore since the dark days of my 01 SAAB 9-5 are well behind me. But long story short, I've been driving a Honda Fit since May 2009. Great little car but I just found it harder and harder to live with its shortcomings. The interior was loud and after driving two turbo'd saabs back to back, the Fit required...patience. I had all sorts of thoughts on what to replace it with. Everything from a used 911 to a Challenger. In the end, I took the easy way out. A rock took out the Fit's a/c condenser and while getting this diagnosis at the dealer, I noticed a new Civic Si w/ nav sitting on the lot in silver. This was the first nav-optioned Si I'd seen on the lot in a few visits and checks of the inventory online. 24 hrs later I was signing the papers.

I know the interior of the new civics gets panned but everything seems to flow better w/ the nav system in place instead of the nutty base dash layout.

Otherwise, the car is a real hoot to drive. I haven't owned a MT car since my 97 900 turbo met an ugly end in 2005. The new engine makes power low enough that I find myself rarely if ever needing to downshift for anything out on the highway.

Anywho, just throwing in a recommendation. If you want a decently fast cheap new car and don't want to take the v-6 muscle car route, don't overlook the Civic Si, if you can find one.

 

[FirstNissan]

The civic si is a great car. Friend back in college had one, it was a total blast to drive. HOWEVER...as with most honda's, the interior is LOUD.

Last month, my wife and I test drove the civic EX on 3 seperate occasions, interior wind noise is very distracting. I presume the si is the same as the EX for wind/road noise.

 

[dparm]

The Civic Si is not a tire-scorcher but it is very "tossable" and "eager". Great fun to drive.

 

[BrianWC]

I'm coming from a Fit! The interior of the Si is Lexus quite to me, lol!

Really, not as bad as my other Hondas. The Si for me is fast enough to be fast. I know I'm not going to pull on any stout v-8s. But one of my main issues with the Fit was if I could see someone was about to try and cut me off on the interstate, I just had to bend over and take it, lol.

 

[JTK]

Cool car! I sat in one in the local Honda dealer showroom some months ago.

Even in the case of my BIL's basic 2012 LX model, the interior is very quiet while underway. It's quieter than our Odyssey and may even be quieter than my 2012 Legacy.

I'm not partial to any one brand, but I don't get the 2012 Civic bad press at all.

Joel

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
I'm coming from a Fit! The interior of the Si is Lexus quite to me, lol!

Really, not as bad as my other Hondas. The Si for me is fast enough to be fast. I know I'm not going to pull on any stout v-8s. But one of my main issues with the Fit was if I could see someone was about to try and cut me off on the interstate, I just had to bend over and take it, lol.



That's how I see performance, too. When my brother was looking at buying his first car he said he did not care about acceleration. My response was, "you will when you have a short on-ramp or need to pass someone in a hurry".

 

[david_ES2]

I still want to test drive a 2012 si with that 2.4L maybe itll change my mind about the 9th gens being a complete disapointment

 

[vintagegz]

how do you find the rev hang between gear shifts?

 

[Scott_Tucker]

I've had a 2012 Civic Si for about a month and a half now. I had hip replacement surgery 2 weeks ago and I'm dying to get back into it! The car is great. Like you said, the new 2.4l has a great amount of torque. I live in the mountains so this is a huge improvement over my 2003 Civic Si which was a dog going uphill unless I revved the {censored} out of it. I do not find the interior excessively loud especially for it's segment. I've been on a lot of the 9th generation civic forums and people are bashing it because it's not a great drag racer, but in my opinion that's it's strong point. The extra torque is exactly what this car needed to be a great all around car.

My biggest surprise on this car has been the gas mileage. I took a 200 mile round trip and averaged 34 mpg and that was with about 40 miles of mountainous terrain. Even driving it as hard as I can I can't get less than 27. That's not bad for a 200 hp/170 ft-lb torque engine. I bought it to be a fun commuter and that's exactly what it's turning out to be. Have fun with yours! 9thgencivic.com is a good forum so far but there are a few complainers that are trying to ruin things for others. These are the drag racer kids who know nothing about engines.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

I do not personally find the rev hang issue to be a problem at all. It seems like those who it bothers probably don't know how to drive a manual transmission. It doesn't even bother my wife and thats saying a lot. Plus, you can get a reflash from Hondata that eliminates it for less than $300 so it really shouldn't be a reason not to buy the car.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

The FIT is WAY overrated and priced way above its capabilities. It just a small cheap wagon worth 13-14K - also the new ones handle horrendous. It has really bad basic design oversights like: (1)poor water management off the roof; (2) Sun visors too small to be effective at the side window position; (3) Rear spring sag with NO recovery after having put ONE 160LB passenger in the back; (4) flop around and knocky engine mounts; (5) No variable intermittent front wipers; (5) Spongy, ineffective, un-modulate-able brakes; this list could go on for hours ...! I am really PO'd at myself for overspending in this segment JUST to get a stick shift. I would imagine the civic to be way overpriced and I dont like the design. I would get a 5M accord and mod that - at least you start with a good 4 link chassis + 180HP vtec. But Regardless - Have fun and good luck to the OP

 

[BrianWC]

I have no interest in mods. I drive 2+ hours a day on the interstate. I just want something good on gas and fun. I love the exhaust growl when cranking this car in the morning.

I never had any horrible experiences in the Fit, it just wasn't the best car for my needs. It was too slow and the gas mileage wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I could get up toward 40 mpg but the second I did any around town driving it just sank. So far on two tanks in the Si I've seen 32 and 35 respectively. And that's with having a bit of fun. Regarding the handling, a tire swap to something in the 205/50 size cures the Fit's ills. But I regularly carried 3 kids and full loads of groceries in my Fit w/o issue. The brakes, I agree, were not the best. I actually had a fresh set of pads from Rockauto sitting in the garage when I traded it off. And the wipers on the Fit-the one speed for intermittent used to be standard on many Hondas so I was prepared for that. Even my CR-V had that. Heck if I had a manual in the Fit, I might not have traded it. Even w/ paddle shifting, the auto takes an acceleration penalty. Of course, it doesn't tack as high on the interstate.

Re the rev hang in the Si, I didn't realize it was an issue until I read about it online. So it doesn't bother me, lol. And speaking of interstate rpms, the Si tachs around 3k in 6th at 70 mph. The difference is you're scratching your head as to the accuracy of the tach b/c the engine is pretty quiet. I can't believe the mpg is so good given that.

And yeah, the various Civic forums are...entertaining...

 

[cptbarkey]

if you have any noise level issues, try some generic home depot dynomat. i had a blast ripping apart the interior of a brand new 2005 pontiac vibe back in the day.

 

[SLCraig]

I drove a 2012 coupe with NAV a few months ago and almost bought it. The 2.4 offers plenty of power and it has torque unlike the 2.0 variant of past. The problem is, I just like the 09-11 SI sedan the most, so I ultimately passed and am still driving my boring pedestrian good on gas Civic. Pains me sometimes but I can't fault the car. It is what it is.

 

[ryansride2017]

Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
I had hip replacement surgery 2 weeks ago and I'm dying to get back into it!


While I think it is a cool car, that wouldn't be my first pick if I had that procedure done! Good luck to your health and your new car.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Originally Posted By: ryansride2017
Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
I had hip replacement surgery 2 weeks ago and I'm dying to get back into it!


While I think it is a cool car, that wouldn't be my first pick if I had that procedure done! Good luck to your health and your new car.


Everyone asked me why I would get a manual transmission if I was having that procedure. The answer is simple. Why would I sacrifice what I really want just because I am having a procedure that will take 4 weeks until it's comfortable driving a manual? If I am going to be driving this car 5 years, why wouldn't I plan for the big picture? And to be honest, I'm two weeks out and I already drove a mile and it was no more painful than before I has the surgery.

 

[BrianWC]

Yeah, you know, after driving even such a basic car as a Fit with a paddle shifter auto, I really questioned buying another manual. Now I can't believe how lazy I was. Of course, it could just be b/c the Honda manuals are so nice.

SLCraig, the reputation of the previous generation Si is what drove me to consider this one as well. However, the lack or torque down low was a negative for me. I'm never going to drop serious money and get this car tuned. I just need something that's going to make 30,000+ miles a year of highway commuting more enjoyable. As I'd said, I'd considered a wide range of cars. My wife was rooting for a Camaro SS. New car-wise, I was torn between a Challenger R/T and Mustang GT. I could have settled for a v-6 Mustang and still had a faster car than I got. But it just would have bugged me to not get the v-8... In the end, the Si was fast enough, seats 5, and was a good value.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

The manual in this car is just fantastic. The pedals are well placed too which definitely makes heel-toe driving fun. You are hard pressed to find a smoother manual and this is from a guy who has driven hundreds of BMW's and Porsches.

What other car can do 0-60 in 6.1 seconds and still return an honest 34 mpg on the highway?

 

[Hokiefyd]

I really haven't noticed the noise level in modern Hondas...so I guess they're quiet enough to not bother me. Our CR-V is a little louder than our MDX, but not much louder. Tires make a good difference though.

The 2.4L K-series engine does just fine I think. And I have a lower-spec version in a heavier vehicle. I imagine that it's a scream in a new SI. I'd love to try one. The more I read about it and the more of them that I see, I'm convinced that a new SI would be my ride if I were looking again at the small sedan segment.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
What other car can do 0-60 in 6.1 seconds and still return an honest 34 mpg on the highway?

That sure beats a VW GTI.

Does anyone know how a GTI would compare to the Si in terms of handling/driving pleasure, numbers aside?

I drove a 2010 GTI but it was with auto trans (DSG). I wasn't particularly impressed with it.