Looking to replace the old Camry in the next couple years and had been looking an an Accord but Id kind of like to go with something more fun this time, so Im interested in the Civic Si.
Tell me all about it.

 

Anything u want to know can be found on a YouTube vid or through google ... What do you want to know

 

Don't waste your time. Unless you have a strict budget go with another platform. Plenty of other cars out there that perform better. One thing I can say about the Accord (sport model anyways) is that it rides WORSE than the Si without a doubt. If you decide to get a new Honda of any kind the first thing you will want to do is replace the tires. They don't grip for **** - rain, snow, or water is a joke.

 

Whats wrong with the Civic? I mean, other than the stock tires, apparently...

 

He didn't have a good experience with it... My 2012 si has pretty much kept me happy tho

 

I love my 2013 Si and my tires seem to grip just fine.

 

You don't drive your car very hard do you? If you want the full experience then take it Autocrossing.

I had rocker arm failure at 5,500 miles. Using 0w20 Honda Synthetic oil that is required to maintain warranty makes the engine very noisy. Something rattles on almost every cold start up that sounds just like the VTC problem on the Accords/Odysseys. Dealer says they can't replicate the issue. People have had issues with clutch noise as well. The power band is very narrow. Honda messed up with this engine for sure.

I guess I can't say all bad things since I like a few things about it. The trans gearing helps it feel sporty. The throttle is kinda peppy for being fly by wire. The traction control works pretty decent as well as the braking. I can pull 33-34 mpg without trying too hard. Drive it without trying hits 26-29 mpg mixed. With some hypermiling I can hit about 40 mpg - then again I don't do that much or shut off the car like the true hypermiler.

My advice remains solid. Test drive other cars in the same price range before you commit. I have been buying Honda strictly for resale value and and this is the first one I regret. Honda really dropped the ball - but I have a Sedan and the '13 is much better than a '12 styling wise in my opinion.

 

This.

 

I don't care for my stock suspension much but it is something that I planed to upgrade down the line anyway , I had the chance to drive a modded si with a lot of suspension work and Bridgestone re70s and it was a world of differnt... I didn't find the power band narrow at all felt it was a lot more robust compared to the 3k rpm window the k20 model befor had ,in wish the gearing in the tranny was a tad bit shorter ... Or maybe a bigger final drive.. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe it's because I had my car for a year and just hit 9k miles but I've had no clutch issues no noisy starts other then the injectors clicking , and no oil issues .... I can assure you she has been driving hard .. The day I picked it up with 5 miles she had her first red light run against a older lighting ..... My biggest gripe that I know will go away when I go to tune is I can legit feel a small dip in the powerband... Probly the intake mani

 

The Si, you say? He drinks a lot of the Iced Tea.

 

Not buying a Honda really isnt an option. I appreciate you sharing your opinion and your honesty though. My next car is either going to be a Civic or an Accord and since there really is no such thing as an Accord Si or Type R, I thought that the Civic might be an answer to having a car that fits my needs but is more fun for drive.

 

I agree. I would never recommend not buying a Honda to anybody.

However, I will say that I don't know if I could walk into a Honda dealer today and actually WANT to buy any of their new cars.

The 2012+ Si kinda...sucks. But hey...drive it and see how you like it. It's more sporty feeling than an accord, and if you're used to Toyota, it will feel like driving a formula car.

Is the possibility of a used Honda or an Acura in the realm of your options? Or no?

If so, look at 2006-11 Si's or 06+ 6 speed TSX's.

 

I cant say that I agree with your pessimism on Honda's newer cars. The new Accord is a great car and I cant really see anything wrong with the Civic that is that big of a deal.
Id be open to something used, if its something that was well cared for and the price is right. What concerns me about a used Si or TSX is that theyre cars people buy with the expectation of driving them hard and Id hate to buy someone else's problem.

 

You seem very new to Hondas.

Find a certified used '10 or '11 Si or a certified/lower mileage TSX. If it looks stock and well cared for, you'll be fine. You'd be surprised at how much abuse the cars can take as long as they're maintained properly.

I feel like the 06-11 Si attracted a lot of non-Honda buyers (or atleast non Honda enthusiasts) to buy a Honda. And I can see why the 12+ Si would attract them too. But anyone with roots in Honda's products will usually agree that the 12+ Si kinda lost what an Si stands for a little bit.

The 06-11 was a great car. It was the first Si with real performance. Nobody ever heard of a "fast" Si before. It maintained a lot of Si traits while adding new ones (4 doors, tech features, LSD trans).

I guess the 12+ Si is still a decent car overall. It just seems like it lost touch quite a bit.

 

As far as new cars at honda go....I'm not doubting that the new Accord is a nice car. But I'm not an Accord buyer. I guess the CR-V is decent...and I may consider it if it was available in manual trans.

If you're the type of person that generally looks at Accords, the new Si might be something you feel more comfortable with since it's much more Accord like.

 

Yeah I can't really figure the guy out, you seen the other threads he's made?
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-3q-profit-doubles-3191618/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-first-japanese-automaker-net-exporter-u-s-3191446/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-leans-toward-2-motors-next-civic-hybrid-3190989/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-most-durable-longest-lasting-brand-25-years-3188888/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-expects-6%25-gain-u-s-3190990/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/accord-recognized-lowest-cost-ownership-3192418/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/moderated-threads-55/honda-sets-all-time-december-sales-record-3187705/

 

^ I think he wants to buy a Honda since it's the most American assembled car? Nothing really wrong with that.

I feel like if he's looking for a sporty Accord, the 2012+ Civic Si might be the car for him. Or a TSX.

 

OP wanna 1v1?

 

That would be a very accurate statement. Before I moved to Ohio, I never really payed much attention to Hondas.

 

Most Anything Honda/Acura will be more fun than a modern Toyota (except the Camry SE--that is kinda fun with the firmer suspension and the paddle shifters).

The only thing that bugs me with the current Si sedan is that they still put that silly looking wing on the rear. Otherwise and regardless of what some folks think on here--the '12+ Si is easier to drive with the larger and much torquier engine.

An I don't think you'll find any other FWD car in this category with a stock mechanical LSD. All of the competition has the inferior "eLSD".

Otherwise the Si sedan is a solid package for someone who isn't looking to mod the crap out of it.

The Accord Sport is also a nice car. It is the roomier version of the Si sedan--only without the mechanical LSD (which is a pity).

 

The Civic Si, throughout its history, has always been "on par" with its rivals. It may not have been the fastest in the segment, but it has always been competitive.

And the 06-11 still has the worst dashboard/cluster known to mankind. At least with the 12+ they made this "feature" a little less ugly. The way they did the ILX though blows any 06+ Civic out of the water in terms of interior design.

 

The only car with a dash uglier than the 06-11 Si is the 12+ Si.

What I meant about previous Si's not being "fast" is that they were always dumbed down because of an Acura model that they needed to NOT compete with.

The integra was always the car with the better....everything. "ED" chassis civic Si's got single cams vs. The integra's DOHC D16. "EF" chassis Si's got no B16A because integras had those. EM1's got slow *** B16A2's and the DC2's got B18C motors. EP3's got LOL while RSX's got OMG.

The 06-11 Si was unique in that there was no competing Integra chassis. So the car at that point was comparable and sometimes faster than viable competitors of other makes while still maintaining the Si's roots and slow-but-fun charm.....but with a lot less 'slow'.

The '12 Si has torque. It's refined. Its humongous. It's a sporty Accord. It's not a very good CIVIC Si.....IMO.

I still think the the 99-00 and 88-91 were the best Civic Si models. Not the fastest in ANY way. Or the most refined. Or with the most features. But they captured the "Si" really well respective to their era.

 

Besides the fact that the 12+ Si isn't a very good Civic Si...it seems to have debuted with a host of mechanical and ergonomic issues bad enough that Honda redesigned the car 2 years after the release. Even if maybe all in all, any model 12+ civic was a decent car.....it wasn't a very good Honda Civic.

Obviously, it didn't have the stuff that civic owners look for.

 

You mean the slightly scaled-back version of the original ugly 06-11 dash is more ugly? Umm....ok.

The Acura version was always more expensive as well. And also had better and more features. This is just the way Honda has always done it since Acura came about. Japan didn't have that concept and that's why the JDM cars usually got the hotter engine as a choice.

Problem is that the '06 Si also was bloated up to 2800lbs+ and Honda constantly heard complaints about the 2.0 not having any torque. While no DOHC VTEC four really did...it became very noticeable in a car that was so heavy. So having no Acura competition was both a good thing and a bad thing for the Si. Frankly, I am shocked it took them until '12 to up the displacement of the Si. They quickly corrected the S2000 after a few years.

Point being, while I like the 2.0 K20 and the LSD...it was in no shape or form anything like Si's of the past. Weight, wheelbase and a really questionable interior made this very apparent.


It is no larger and even slightly lighter than the 06-11. Not sure what you are referring to otherwise? A chassis is as much a definer of an Si as the engine is. While the 2.0 K20 was a good selection for the Si badge, the 2800lb strut chassis was not. Then you throw in a 4-door version. IMO they should have done what Canada did and keep the 4-door Si model an Acura (Acura CSX). Or with the '12 redesign put the good drivetrain in the ILX and just made the Si a 2-door again.

No argument here, except that the 99-00 should have been a hatchback instead of the coupe (but it seemed to work out ok as it was). They corrected that in '02 Si, but the chassis was so poor that they mistook this for no one wanting a hatch...when that was not the cause of the car selling so poorly.

 

That's because Honda mis-read the market for the '12 Civic. They thought that due to the issues with the US economy, the American public would want a slightly cheaper car. They were very wrong. Hell, in '12 you could still get a DX model that had no standard A/C.

I own a '12 as my daily beater...but only because it was such a good deal. Otherwise I will be the first one to say that the interior materials are horrible. Overall though, Honda quality in the engine and chassis shows through.