by Michael Satterfield - 07/12/2022
I have a lot of fond memories of the Honda Civic, street racing in Sothern California before the Fast & Furious turned the whole scene into a circus, road trips in a B18 swapped EG hatchback, and the fun of a cheap honest car. The new Civic Si, is brilliant, but is it really a Civic? I have long bemoaned the fact that every car that was once nimble and efficient has grown fat and soft. Today the Civic has a 14-inch longer wheelbase than the first and second-generation Honda Accord, it is 21.1 inches longer than the original Civic, and 10 inches longer than the 1990s EG series I used to run around Southern California in.
Unlike the Civic Type-R which used to be clean and performance-focused, the Si isn't festooned with gaudy fake air vents, and oversized spoilers, the SI has stuck to the formula of adding a few unique mechanical and aesthetic changes with a focus on being a driver's car. This is something I can appreciate, even if I can't get the new Si in a hatchback, which is strange. To me, the last true Si was built in 2005, so perhaps it is better to not look at this new car through the legacy of its namesake.
Despite growing to midsize proportions this new Civic Si is a brilliant car to drive, my tester is equipped with an actual manual transmission, a rarity these days, and in the Si it is the only available transmission. The Si trim level is also devoid of a lot of options, with six colors, two wheels, and only a few optional packages, the High-Performance Driving package includes front, side, and rear underbody spoilers, and an HPD emblem for $1,112 dollars, an extra $200 will get you the summer tires, adding those two options will help you get the most out of your Civic when you do decide to have some fun on the track or on a back road.
Under the hood is a turbocharged 1.5-liter, making 200 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque, the six-speed manual transmission sends power to the ground via the standard limited-slip differential. The shifter has great short throws and the rev-matching can make anyone a manual transmission hero. It is fun to drive and feels almost like a Civic Si of old.
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