story and photos by David S. Wallens
There have been a few constants here at GRM: the desire to produce great content, a hatred of hurricanes, and a love affair with the Civic Si.
We’ve been playing with the Civic Si since it was first introduced, as we did a factory-backed project with Ho…
There is one just like that in that color sitting on the local Honda dealer's lot.
Emphasis on sitting. It doesn't appear to have moved in months.
I....like it. I'm a fan of color, and wow, that is ALL the color.
I really like everything about this Civic, but the exhaust tip.
Man I wanted the 17 that sat on the local lot for over a year. But black paint and too few doors.... Thanks for not getting black, white or silver.
One of these is on my list for a future One Lap of America car. Not sure what it would take to push me to actually buy one. I'm very interested to hear how the stock size brakes do. I know TNIA isn't likely to fully stress them but I hope you guys get a chance to hammer on the car a bit and see how they do. A few laps around Sebring maybe? I've tracked the previous generation and haven't been able to find a pad that lasts on One Lap.
Slippery said:I really like everything about this Civic, but the exhaust tip.
The exhaust tip is quite possibly the least visibly offensive item on the entire car.
For the record, I don't have a problem with the color. If I had seen a Nitro Yellow Green Neon in person before I bought mine, it wouldn't have been white.
To heck with the color- it's a great car. Makes me sad that we are not going to make cars in the US anymore.
So did the 2019's get an update? I was watching reviews on these last week and I remember people hating the lack of a radio volume knob.
This seems like it would make a lot of sense for daily duty (sedan for me please), but I liked the "revving it within an inch of it's life" from my former Integras, Preludes and S2000.
This sounds great, especially with a real diff. I do wish the exterior styling were different.
In reply to CobraSpdRH :
They 2019's did get an update and it included a volume knob and some hard buttons for the audio system.
I love this colour and mine is on order. I must say I'm happy that the Canadian cars gets the LED headlights.
Dave, I will be curious to see how this car stacks up against the 2019 Hyundai Veloster 1.6T (I know you guys tested it too). Both have the similar price points, weight & power. To be honest I am just glad to see some manufactures still care enough to offer a fun small car with a stick (cough.. cough Ford).
<< Banana! >>
That color really works with the kind of outlandish styling of the new Civics. I like it.
I put a helical LSD in a MK2 VW autocross car years ago. Totally transformed the car. I'm happy the VW and Honda (likely others that I haven't noticed) are putting real LSDs in FWD cars. It's taken way too long IMO.
The Civic is ugly in my opinion, but it's cool that Honda still cares somewhat about enthusiasts. As a side note, I test drove a new 2018 CRV a few months ago while car shopping for my aunt. It had the 1.5 turbo that I assume is quite similar to the si. It was a CVT. What a moaning, thrashy, noisy, underpowered feeling piece of crap. Surprising amount of road noise too. I was totally disappointed. It did not feel like a Honda. Hopefully the Civic is much better.
A local guy has been campaigning a sedan in DS and cleaning up. I like the lines of the coupe over the sedan and the hatch over both but unfortunately the Civic Sport Hatch doesn't get the LSD...I need 4 doors. Can't wait to hear what y'all make of this.
I love the color, but then I just vinyl wrapped my Miata into a similar color (Vvivid Viper Green - Gloss):
Glad to see someone offering a fun car in something other than grey/white/black!
there was a 2017? bombing around NoVA before we left that had that green for the body, but had black or blue replacement panels hood/trunk doors?. wasn't sure if it was a wrap, special edition, or what... but looked pretty good
I look forward to following along on this, I like fwd cars with lsd's... especially ones that mightcould be swapped into Fit chassis?
I like it a lot. Even the color. As mentioned in a previous post, It's very sad the domestics have chosen to get out of the small car business.
CobraSpdRH said:So did the 2019's get an update? I was watching reviews on these last week and I remember people hating the lack of a radio volume knob.
This seems like it would make a lot of sense for daily duty (sedan for me please), but I liked the "revving it within an inch of it's life" from my former Integras, Preludes and S2000.
What's new for 2019? A few things. Right from the Honda media site:
Oct 25, 2018 - TORRANCE, Calif.
The 2019 Honda Civic Si Sedan and Coupe begin arriving at dealerships November 1 sporting a range of interior improvements, new exterior colors and an updated Display Audio system with a new interface that includes a volume knob and physical buttons for key functions, and improved Bluetooth® integration with easier device pairing. The Si Coupe and Sedan are highly praised for their exceptionally responsive chassis, high-torque turbo engine and outstanding overall value, and have collected 2018 Car and Driver "10Best" and Editor's Choice awards.
The sport-tuned Si variants of the award-winning 10th generation Civic lineup boast numerous standard performance features, including a powerful 205-horsepower, 1.5-liter, direct injected and turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder engine, a slick-shifting 6-speed manual transmission, a helical limited-slip differential, and an adjustable two-mode adaptive damper system.
Available in 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan body styles, the 2019 Civic Si benefits from a number of other changes to its interior. In addition to the updated Display Audio system, Civic Si receives larger cupholders, more intuitive steering wheel controls, an improved electronic parking brake switch, and physical buttons for fan speed. Additionally, Platinum White Pearl is added to Civic Si's exterior color palette, while Si Coupe gets a new Tonic Yellow Pearl. While the summer tire package is no longer available as a factory trim, it remains available as a dealer-installed option.
Well, I wonder if this will mean there will be some deals to be had on 2018's still sitting on the lots...
CobraSpdRH said:Well, I wonder if this will mean there will be some deals to be had on 2018's still sitting on the lots...
Good question. Are there any leftovers out there? What about in markets that aren't prime territory for the Civic Si?
After I got home and looked at the photos, I realized that I should have photographed the car in front of garage number 19. At the moment, I was looking more for a bank of doors that was fully closed. Plus I needed some room so I could photograph the car with a long lens. When I get back to DIS, I'll reshoot in front of garage number 19. It's the details.
Civic Hatchback Sport to Si
Great minds think alike. I too just got a 2019 Honda Civic. However, I felt the need for a hatch, so I have a Honda Civic Hatchback Sport, with a 6-speed manual transmission. There was no Si option on the hatchback. The good news is I like the dual exhaust on my sport better than the vacuum-cleaner-nozzle on the Si. The bad news is that I have a few less horsepower.
I would love to hear about ways to make my hatchback sport more like a Si. I can see no reason for the horsepower difference (isn't it the same engine). I am looking forward to see what you come up with.
Yeah, a Civic Si hatch would be pretty sweet. I agree, it can be a tough call: The Sport loses the limited-slip but gains the practicality of the hatch.
As far as making up the power difference, does Hondata offer anything?
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