A WELCOME RETURN TO FORM
The sporty Honda 2017 Civic Si offers an entertaining ride on a budget
With the red-hot Civic Type R grabbing all the performance headlines, thanks to its pavement-searing 306 horsepower and, er, retina-searing body accoutrements, it’s nice to see Honda’s new-found performance mojo has also blessed the latest Civic Si. Yep, something ’s happening at Honda, and it’s all good for those who mourn the days when small cars from Honda offered big thrills.
The Si badge has adorned various hotted-up Civics since the late 1980s, but it’s fair to say the Si cars have not been particularly inspired as of late. Consider this 2017 version, which comes in both coupe ($28,890) and sedan ($28,490), to be a return to form.
This 10th-gen Civic dwarfs the cars of old. Tested here is the Sedan Si, considerably longer and wider than the outgoing model (although about 45 kilograms lighter), and under the hood is a 1.5-litre turbocharged four. Huh? Si enthusiasts were weaned on lightweight tinder boxes with racy, naturally aspirated fours that revved to the stratosphere and screamed like a hyena having a colonoscopy.
Fear not. This latest Si might not follow Honda’s traditional template, but it is an exceptionally well sorted and highly entertaining performance-on-a-budget conveyance that delights with a bratty, grin-inducing ebullience when pushed beyond it otherwise quite civilized countenance.
The Si engine gets a larger turbocharger and increased intake and exhaust flow, boosting horsepower from 174 to 205, and torque from 167 to 192 pound-feet. It is hooked to a six-speed manual with a stubby rifle-bolt shifter that will warm the
cockles of Honda-philes’ hearts.
This new Civic’s already impressively rigid structure benefits from the Si’s stiffer springs, firmer bushings and thicker roll bars. And all this is tempered by standard multivalve adaptive dampers. Rolling on 245/40R18 Eagle Sport all-season tires, the ride is firm but never intrusive, and selecting Sport mode firms it further, yet still retains civility.
This is a brilliantly tuned chassis that shows wonderful neutrality for a front driver, and it just begs to be leaned on. Thanks to the standard front mechanical limited-slip differential, the Si hauls itself through the bends like a champ. The quick, accurate and feel-some steering is your ally, as is the snickety shifter.
This being a small-displacement four, when you’re off-boost the hamsters feel like they are on work-to-rule, but once you crest 3,500 rpm, it goes on a tear with linear enthusiasm, snarling to a 6,500 redline. On full-throttle upshifts, the close-ratio six-speed lands the four-pot in the sweet spot every time. Granted, this engine pretty much runs out of poop at six grand, which is almost 2,000 rpm shy of some of Honda’s more revvy past offerings.
The Recaro-style bolstered Sispecific seats are comfortable and supportive, and the driving position
is spot on. A word of warning, though: if the metal-capped shift knob has been sitting in direct sunlight, it will do its best to brand the shift pattern right into your palm.
There are no options available for the Si sedan. What you see is what you get, and that is quite a bit. Standard kit includes seven-inch touch screen with navigation, rear-view camera, 452-watt 10-speaker audio, heated front seats, leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Honda LaneWatch Blind Spot Display, sunroof, LED headlights, 18-inch alloys and those racy go-fast body bits. What you can’t get is adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assist.
There are a few foibles. The pedals are not ideally placed for heeland-toe action, the featherweight clutch does not match the more meaty steering and shifter, and the engine has an annoying tendency to hang on to revs between upshifts. Plus, there is no audio volume knob.
The fact is, Honda has fashioned a legitimate performance car worthy of the Si badge; it begs to be thrashed, and rewards in kind. Yet, unlike Si models of old, it also settles into a perfectly comfortable daily driver.