2017 Honda Civic Si

The new Honda Civic Si was not built to win the internet. If you’re a hardcore autocrosser, you probably shouldn’t ditch your latest flavor du jour. If you wish that the 4x100mm bolt pattern was still common on all new cars, then this also isn’t for you. This isn’t a Focus RS or a Civic Type R. It’s also not a unicorn–like turbocharged, stick-shift diesel wagon wearing brown paint from the factory.

Instead, the Civic Si is a car clearly built for the more common enthusiasts driving on normal public roads. It’s through that lens that this latest, all-new Civic Si becomes much, much more appealing.

I salute them for building a "pedestrian" Civic Si and keeping the LSD. Well done Honda.

Yeah, happy to see the limited-slip and manual box remain, too.

LSD, 6-speed and a choice of 2 or 4 doors? Why can't everyone do this? Thank you for keeping the small coupe alive!

It seems like the new Sentra Nismo is a little bit tamer than the last version - I understand with Honda coming out with the Type R to blow you away so the Civic Si is a little tamer now.

Maybe Nissan is coming out with a Sentra Nismo Spec V 510 version that will blow us away? Nah, that would never happen.

The big question is, will we talk about the CTR in ten years like we talk about the ITR today?

Also, I should mention that I'm a long-time Civic Si owner. Right now my wife daily drives our 2014 Civic Si sedan. Before that, a 2000 Si Coupe that bought new. And before that, we had a '92 and an '86. And we lived with our '02 Si project car for a while. Plus we had a pair of CRXs.

Today, I admit, faster options exist. Still, we keep coming back to the Si. For a daily, it's hard to beat. We got our '14 new. Trips to the dealer so far? Zero. I like that.

Glad that the red paint makes those jowls look smaller.

I just saw an ad on TV for the Ridgeline, Si, and TypeR​!
I don't watch much network TV, but I was surprised.

In reply to David S. Wallens:

I drove a 2011 5-speed Accord for 6 years - 152,000 miles with no problems. I would buy an Si next but I can't 800# of conveyor belt in it like I did in my truck today.

I miss my little 5-speed, 4-cylinder Honda - that little engine just sang.

David S. Wallens wrote: Today, I admit, faster options exist. Still, we keep coming back to the Si. For a daily, it's hard to beat. We got our '14 new. Trips to the dealer so far? Zero. I like that.

We have a 2015 Si sedan as well as a 2000 Si and couldn't agree more. In two years with the 2015, we haven't had a single issue either, which is attractive in a daily driver. In Canada it was a lot cheaper than those faster options too.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugly.

On paper, it seems to line up nicely with the Fiesta ST more than the Focus ST. Similar HP/Weight ratio and price. The Civic trumps the FiST with a LSD but the FiST apparently trumps the Civic with a better chassis/handling. If it goes to HS, might be interesting with a set of Konis on it.

A previous gen (or 2) Civic Si is on my short list as my next DD/autox car. I was gifted, and drove, an '06 auto Civic for a year or so and liked everything about the car, just wish it was a manual. It had over 180K when I sold it with just basic maintenance. Glad to see the positive reviews. I'm having trouble getting over the exterior styling of the all of the new Civics.

For a minute there, I thought I jinxed our Civic Si by noting that it has never needed a trip to the dealer. My wife picked me up from the airport late, late Saturday night. As we made a right turn in our neighborhood, we both heard a noise--and not a good one. "Yeah, I heard that earlier today," my wife said, "but I looked under the car and inside the wheel wells and didn't see anything weird."

Okay, we'll look more tomorrow.

We went for a drive around the neighborhood and heard it. It kinda sounded like maybe it was a rear bushing. So we looked again under the car. Nothing. It's super-clean everywhere.

Later that day my wife found the culprit: It was something in the trunk. There's not much in there, but something somehow was resonating under certain conditions.

Mystery solved.

I've been keeping an eye on these for a potential daily driver replacement for when my Mazda finally gives up the ghost. On paper, they look great: high 30's for MPG, cool stereo, a 205hp turbocharged engine, a real LSD, and (implied) Honda reliability. But, they are kinda ugly, and if you are going to get kinda ugly, why not crank the weirdness to 11 and offer this package on the hatchback/liftback thing?

Also, when is the Accord Sport going to get this drivetrain or a variant of it? That would be a great compromise of decent looks and turbocharged sportiness. And please, don't forget the LSD!

Congratulations. What color?

Cool. Good choice.

Both the Si and the Type R are seriously FUGLY. That, in and of itself, is more than enough to keep me from buying one, no matter how good a car they are.

I am enjoy

I finally looked at a Type R in the flesh. It's still pretty ugly, but the worst part was the price. The were asking $47k and wouldn't budge.

It's a shame they couldn't make the Type R LOOK like the SI. A bit of sporty/honda "ricey"ness, but not teenage fanboi level. That said, when the WRX finally bites the dust I will likely swing by the Honda dealer and check this out. I said I wasn't going back to FWD, but maybe I'm coming around since this one has an LSD and 6MT.....

To those that own these, how do you like it so far? I have a few questions about some of the stuff none of the magazine reviews have talked about yet:

-Gas mileage: how does it fare in the real world?

-Do the rear seats fold down? One of the things I love about my Mazda 3 hatch is the cargo room. Just last weekend, I hit up a Lemons event, and I was able to toss my mountain bike in the back along with all my photo stuff with lots of room to spare. Could I feasibly do the same with the seats folded down? (I know there's a hatchback Sport, but it's sorta fugly and makes less power/no LSD).

-How is the sound system? I've heard that Hondas don't have certain buttons on the radio and that drives people nuts. Also, how is the Android Auto integration?

-How are the headlights? I swore up and down that my next car after my Mazda would have HID or LED lighting, because I'm sick of not being able to see at night. Looks like these are halogen projectors, right?

-And most importantly, how is the power? I drove a friend's 2013 Focus ST last weekend, and I loved how much power it had. Granted his is a Ford Performance-tuned car, the stock ST seems to be pretty close to the Si on paper.

irish44j wrote: It's a shame they couldn't make the Type R LOOK like the SI. A bit of sporty/honda "ricey"ness, but not teenage fanboi level. That said, when the WRX finally bites the dust I will likely swing by the Honda dealer and check this out. I said I wasn't going back to FWD, but maybe I'm coming around since this one has an LSD and 6MT.....

I agree. The SI looks OK, the Type R somehow doesn't lend itself well to that shape. I wish they would make it somehow like an modern ITR, those have aged well I think. After owning Hondas in the past, I want them to make things I want to own.

-Owner reported real world mileage I've been seeing over on CivicX has been nearly as good as the normal 1.5T cars, just with premium a requirement. So averages in the low 30s.

-When I heard the same system in the normal Civic it was decent, but not great. Carplay and AA support is present in the center console display and also in the media tab in the multifunction display in front of the driver. Does not have a volume knob, but that really hasn't bothered me in my Accord - the steering wheel controls have been more then sufficient.

-I believe that when IIHS did their headlight testing on the Civics the base halogen projectors actually outperformed the "upgraded" LEDs.