Yahoo Autos Performance and Driving Impressions
Performance and Driving Impressions Rating:
The Si is that rare example of a car that can drive like a little terror when you want it to but also cruise placidly when you don’t. You’d be hard pressed to find another front-wheel-drive car that handles this well with a ride this compliant. It’s not the quickest of the competitors tested here, but the willing engine and effortless manual transmission help make it killer fun to drive.
What’s New for 2018?
The Civic Si enters 2018 with no mechanical changes whatsoever. But it joins the best of the best on our 10Best list alongside the Civic Sport (manual only) and Civic Type R. The honor is due to their incredible mix of performance, value, and versatility.
2017 Honda Civic Si
Acceleration
The Civic Si is powered by a hotted-up version of the turbocharged 1.5-liter engine that powers lesser versions of the Civic. It makes a thoroughly enjoyable 205 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque, compared with 180 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque in the Civic Sport hatchback equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. The engine is great fun to wring out, although we miss the high-revving naturally aspirated inline-fours found in previous generations of the Si, which had right-now throttle response and made better engine sounds. We also have some quibbles with the Si’s clutch action; the pedal feels oddly springy, constantly pressing back up against the driver’s foot. The clutch engages at the very top of the pedal’s long travel, and it seems to do so all at once. Careless or unpracticed starts can be lurchy. Otherwise, the six-speed gearbox is a gem, light in action with short gear-to-gear throws. This is a good thing, too, because you must work the gear lever energetically to enjoy the new Si to its fullest.
Test Results: Acceleration
Ride, Handling, and Steering
If our praise of the Si’s engine is less effusive than you’d hoped, don’t be discouraged. To drive this car is to love it. The new model’s ride and handling more than make up for any ground lost in the engine department. The Si shares its basic underpinnings with the regular Civic but has a stiffer suspension, standard adaptive dampers, and retuned steering. The ride is so smooth over rough roads that you could almost forget that the Si was designed for grander things. Dial up the intensity on a back road, and you’ll be impressed at how flat the Si corners and how much feedback comes through the nicely weighted steering wheel. The 0.97 g of grip that we measured on our skidpad, a test designed to measure a car’s ability to hold the road when cornering, is an almost astounding result-and one that would satisfy owners of plenty of higher-brow sports cars.
Test Results: Maximum Cornering Capability
Braking
All of the cars here stopped from 70 mph within seven feet of one another. The Si we tested needed 159 feet with its optional summer tires-the only factory-installed option available on the Si. At a mere $200, they are well worth the extra cost.
Test Results: Maximum Braking Capability
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