Psy-q
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2017
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 60
- Reaction score
- 151
- Location
- Bolton, ON
- Vehicle(s)
- 2014 BRZ Spor-tech manual.
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello All,
I work in sales at a Honda Dealer. ( Not the crappy type, we take care of our reputation) I am a huge car guy and I especially like Japanese performance cars. I was very excited when I got a txt from my sales manager saying we got 7 Si Civics dropped off.
I daily drove 2009 FA5 and currently daily a 2014 BRZ Limited 6 speed manual. I am definitely not a "Chip your Ex-T and you got an Si, BRAH" type. I'd like to think I can appreciate all the little things JDM manufacturers do to separate regular models from their performance models.
I felt underwhelmed when I drove the 2017 Sport Hatch 1.5t 6 Speed. Felt like an economy under-square little thing with a tiny little turbo, didn't like it. Drove a 2015 Si back to back just to confirm and yeah, that was not good. Shifter especially left a lot to be desired, I don't understand why this forum thinks the EX-T powertrain is special, doesn't like to rev, rev hang, narrow power band. Nothing like the K or B series.
I was really excited to see that Honda changed that powertrain feel so much.
Here goes: 2017 Civic Si Coupe (Canadian trim, driven in Sport mode):
Good:
Looks:
I drove to work early to check it out and I was surprised how good it looks in the flesh. The wheels, the spoiler the oversized vents, the center exhaust - to me personally it looked really good. Looks low and wide, I like it. Interior is good with the black headliner and the seats.
Ergonomics:
Seats are awesome as they have always been since the 8th gen. I am 5 8, athletic build and felt very comfortable in it. Bolsters are aggressive but not as aggressive as 8th gen or my BRZ.
The shifter:
Much better than the unit in the Sport hatch, but not as good as the 8th gen or my BRZ. It is shorter and more "heavy". Feels the same as the 9th gen.
The Sound:
In sport mode it makes "PPSSSHH" blow off noises. I did not check the part diagrams but it sounds like they've added a vent to atmosphere blow of valve. Put a HUGE smile on my face. Exhaust is tame, tamer than 8th or 9 gen K engines. Only very slightly deeper than regular 1.5. The sound of the Turbo spool is AWESOME and is definitely present. That alone made the car much more fun than the EX-T.
Lack of rev hang:
Thank you Honda. It is still nowhere near the responsiveness of my FA20 86 Bore x 86 Stroke Square engine that is in my BRZ but the throttle is MUCH more responsive than 1.5 Manual regular Civic. It was good. Heel and toe and rev matching are awesome.
I was very wrong.
Limited Slip Diff:
If there are any of you out there debating between Ex-T and Si - go for the Si. The LSD is WORTH every penny. Through Canadian Snow, Rain, slush, mud my FA5 pulled like front wheels had teeth. Same here - all that torque and pulls really nice in turns. I don't think I'll ever have a car without a proper mechanical LSD.
The not so good:
In sport mode there was a significant amount of turbo lag. Maybe I need to re calibrate my senses from the NA BRZ motor that loves to rev and has awesome torque down low ( For a 2.0 liter Jap motor), but there was definite lag in Sport mode and after 6,000 RPM Power fell off a bit. It starts making power after 3k. Narrow window if you ask me.
Other than that it was very good - put a huge smile on face, which is opposite of what the 1.5t Manual Sport hatch did. Very very fun to drive package.
Please ask any questions. Thanks!
I work in sales at a Honda Dealer. ( Not the crappy type, we take care of our reputation) I am a huge car guy and I especially like Japanese performance cars. I was very excited when I got a txt from my sales manager saying we got 7 Si Civics dropped off.
I daily drove 2009 FA5 and currently daily a 2014 BRZ Limited 6 speed manual. I am definitely not a "Chip your Ex-T and you got an Si, BRAH" type. I'd like to think I can appreciate all the little things JDM manufacturers do to separate regular models from their performance models.
I felt underwhelmed when I drove the 2017 Sport Hatch 1.5t 6 Speed. Felt like an economy under-square little thing with a tiny little turbo, didn't like it. Drove a 2015 Si back to back just to confirm and yeah, that was not good. Shifter especially left a lot to be desired, I don't understand why this forum thinks the EX-T powertrain is special, doesn't like to rev, rev hang, narrow power band. Nothing like the K or B series.
I was really excited to see that Honda changed that powertrain feel so much.
Here goes: 2017 Civic Si Coupe (Canadian trim, driven in Sport mode):
Good:
Looks:
I drove to work early to check it out and I was surprised how good it looks in the flesh. The wheels, the spoiler the oversized vents, the center exhaust - to me personally it looked really good. Looks low and wide, I like it. Interior is good with the black headliner and the seats.
Ergonomics:
Seats are awesome as they have always been since the 8th gen. I am 5 8, athletic build and felt very comfortable in it. Bolsters are aggressive but not as aggressive as 8th gen or my BRZ.
The shifter:
Much better than the unit in the Sport hatch, but not as good as the 8th gen or my BRZ. It is shorter and more "heavy". Feels the same as the 9th gen.
The Sound:
In sport mode it makes "PPSSSHH" blow off noises. I did not check the part diagrams but it sounds like they've added a vent to atmosphere blow of valve. Put a HUGE smile on my face. Exhaust is tame, tamer than 8th or 9 gen K engines. Only very slightly deeper than regular 1.5. The sound of the Turbo spool is AWESOME and is definitely present. That alone made the car much more fun than the EX-T.
I was very wrong.
Limited Slip Diff:
If there are any of you out there debating between Ex-T and Si - go for the Si. The LSD is WORTH every penny. Through Canadian Snow, Rain, slush, mud my FA5 pulled like front wheels had teeth. Same here - all that torque and pulls really nice in turns. I don't think I'll ever have a car without a proper mechanical LSD.
The not so good:
In sport mode there was a significant amount of turbo lag. Maybe I need to re calibrate my senses from the NA BRZ motor that loves to rev and has awesome torque down low ( For a 2.0 liter Jap motor), but there was definite lag in Sport mode and after 6,000 RPM Power fell off a bit. It starts making power after 3k. Narrow window if you ask me.
Other than that it was very good - put a huge smile on face, which is opposite of what the 1.5t Manual Sport hatch did. Very very fun to drive package.
Please ask any questions. Thanks!
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