The Honda Civic Si Pumps Up the Volume

The Honda Civic Si Pumps Up the Volume

The Honda Civic is a great car – make no bones about it. Turbo power, manual or CVT automatic transmission, sedan or hatchback body style – all great stuff.

But what if you want a little more? A little more panache? A little more flare? A little more oomph? Well, there’s a Civic for that, too. It’s called the Si, and it has been a fixture in the compact performance car world for years, up to this day.

You can tell by looking at it that this particular Civic is something special; honeycomb grille, new front and rear bumper designs, gloss black rear spoiler that adds downforce, special Blaze Orange paint option and 10-spoke 18-inch matte black alloy wheels help complete the look.

Inside, we find specialized seats that offer more support, red accents on the Civic signature honeycomb dash as well as contrasting stitching on the doors, steering wheel, shift boot and shift knob all combine to make the Si feel special inside as well.

Nothing turns the “special” dial like the powertrain and chassis, though. The Civic may already have a turbo engine option, but the 1.5-litre four-banger on this particular Civic has been tuned to offer 200 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque, sent to the front wheels through a lighter flywheel and on to a limited-slip differential. Add a quick-shifting six-speed manual transmission as your only choice, and here you have a powertrain that’s ready to play.

It comes ready to play, yes, but it has the chassis tuning to back it up with stiffer springs, firmer dampers, stiffer bushings and thicker anti-roll bars. To make sure that the steering feel matches the transmission feel, the steering has also been tuned for more immediate response. This is a Civic that feels like it’s on rails like never before, and you’ll know it as soon as you drive it!