Redline Reviews 2017 favorite and least favorite cars.

[NotSerious]

Civic Type R and Accord are some of his favorites.
Civic SI is one of his least favorites.

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[charleswrivers]

Yeah. Just saw it.

He didn't bash on the SI so much as he thought it didn't stand out as much. The recommendation of getting a Sport Hatch if you don't need things like LSD isn't a bad one. I know I would have gotten a hatch rather than a sedan in the SI trim. My old lady wanted an SI and a Sport Hatch simply wasn't good enough... despite minimally more stock power.

You have to agree... looking just a little while ago between the base R18 vs the SIs K-engine... there was a massive difference. Now it's very little... and the non-SIs look to have a little more torque way down low so if you weren't winding up the motor they'd feel as fast if not faster poking around town.

I still think we'll see a small bump in power due to tune on a midcycle refresh to maintain the SIs appeal. Maybe they'll even give it a TD03 vice a TD025 (for real this time) let it make more power all the way to redline. That'd be neat...

 

[callmehandsum]

Yeah, seems the Si didn't meet his expectations. I had the opposite experience. I wasn't expecting to be impressed yet I was. Very happy with my Si.

 

[NotSerious]

Yeah, seems the Si didn't meet his expectations. I had the opposite experience. I wasn't expecting to be impressed yet I was. Very happy with my Si.

There were other reviewers that thought the SI was the perfect sporty car for real world driving.
If you just judge a car on how fast it goes around a race track, I guess that the SI could be a bit of a disappointment, but if you use the car to commute, it is a great car.

 

[ClearKeys]

That was an honest perspective and I believe one shared by many Honda enthusiasts. It's almost like the new Star Wars movie, people created such lofty expectations in their head but there was no way the series could live up to it. Would some extra horse-power be nice? I suppose, but I've yet to really drive it where I felt the power wasn't more than more than adequate for spirited commuting. Since the moment I test drove it, the Si beat all my expectations and this was while I was trading in a car with 100 more hp over the Si. I've yet to say to myself "I really wish I had that extra HP." The overall drivability of the Si simply makes it such a fun care to drive, you forget about the numbers. I'm not on a track, I'm on a main street trying to pickup some groceries on my way home from work. It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I've seen a surprising number of reviewers state they rather have the Si over something like even a WRX because of how fun the Si is to drive, especially when comparing the powerbands, and with the comfort vs sportiness of the suspension and with Honda's interior standards of the new Civics. You can't beat the overall package offered through the Si. The Si is simply the best bang-for-your-buck sporty econobox on the market right now.

The Si has enough differences over a non-Si to make it worth imo, especially with the LSD. Also when you have to get into some of the upper trims of the regular civic to get the same interior items as the Si but then you lose the ability to have a manual. Only thing that would have been nice is if it was available as a hatch and especially in Sonic Grey Pearl. That is such a stand-out color to me, I would have loved to have an Si hatch with that color but no regrets.

Here is another fun review. It's funny. Everyone's overall take of the car is "I expected more but this is still the best car in the segment." People just hate to love it. (Fast forward to 23:35 if it doesn't link properly)

 

[charleswrivers]

That was an honest perspective and I believe one shared by many Honda enthusiasts. It's almost like the new Star Wars movie, people created such lofty expectations in their head but there was no way the series could live up to it. Would some extra horse-power be nice? I suppose, but I've yet to really drive it where I felt the power wasn't more than more than adequate for spirited commuting. Since the moment I test drove it, the Si beat all my expectations and this was while I was trading in a car with 100 more hp over the Si. I've yet to say to myself "I really wish I had that extra HP." The overall drivability of the Si simply makes it such a fun care to drive, you forget about the numbers. I'm not on a track, I'm on a main street trying to pickup some groceries on my way home from work. It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I've seen a surprising number of reviewers state they rather have the Si over something like even a WRX because of how fun the Si is to drive, especially when comparing the powerbands, and with the comfort vs sportiness of the suspension and with Honda's interior standards of the new Civics. You can't beat the overall package offered through the Si. The Si is simply the best bang-for-your-buck sporty econobox on the market right now.

The Si has enough differences over a non-Si to make it worth imo, especially with the LSD. Also when you have to get into some of the upper trims of the regular civic to get the same interior items as the Si but then you lose the ability to have a manual. Only thing that would have been nice is if it was available as a hatch and especially in Sonic Grey Pearl. That is such a stand-out color to me, I would have loved to have an Si hatch with that color but no regrets.

Here is another fun review. It's funny. Everyone's overall take of the car is "I expected more but this is still the best car in the segment." People just hate to love it. (Fast forward to 23:35 if it doesn't link properly)

I saw a Sonic Grey hatch that caught my eye at the dealer. Gorgeous car. Couldn't talk my wife in going for a drive as a non-SI was a downgrade.

I really think the SI hasn't lost it's luster as much as the non-SIs have just about caught up. We're not comparing the R18s to K24s with a 45 hp deficit. We're down only ~25-30 hp and shift peak torque a little lower.

It wasn't the powertrain that sold the new car over my '15 SI. It was the car itself. Seats, additional rear room, chassis providing a *much* better ride and handling. It was just a much better car all around. I know I would have been happy w/a base sport hatch. The K24s, when pushed hard can run as fast... but the L15s are much easier to drive quick w/o pushing them hard from all the torque. The K-series still shines driven hard. I really miss the K20A2 from the RSX and pushing it to 8k rpm.

I think Honda would knock it out of the park w/a variant w/the L15 w/about 25-50 more hp from the factory and 500 rpm hight redline and give up a little torque down low. That would make it match the redline from the K24 but with more power from last gen. That would squash most of the criticism or favorable comparisons the older SIs got.

It's still a great car it just could/woulda/shoulda been a *little* better. Honda played it cheap w/the same engine as a regular Civic which I think was a great move but played it too safe with the tune/turbo combo that didn't set it far enough apart. Whether it's the stroke or valve train that held the 6500 RPM limit... I'm not sure.

 

[WokeNotaSleep]

And if this guy thought the Sport Hatch was good enough replacement for the Si than the non sport hatch or as I like to say, garden 'snake' variety, is equidistant or equivalent to even a Type R if you are going by hatch looks alone minus the hp and gaudy wing etc et al. The sport hatch is only, what 6 hp short of the regular hatch, doesn't even get a LSD since the sport hatch doesn't have one. Like he said,, they made the regular Civics so good that that was the thesis or complicating incident as to why the Si didn't suffice or was satisfactory and not really any of the things mentioned here although they do get a mention, not honorable but a slight note.

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