SI or Si then CTR

[FrankTheTank21]

Hey guys I posted a similar question a couple of days ago Ima a beginner manual driver (only practiced a few times) and wanted to get either an SI or CTR

I’d love to get the CTR right from the jump (my local dealer does 0 markup CRAZY!!) but my concern is being a very novice manual driver and getting in one of those bad boys

my question is basically For cost should I get an Si for a year or two feel it out learn all my basics (rev matching, heel-toe, ETC.)then grab a CTR or just go balls deep and get the CTR learn and make my mistakes on it (btw love the 2.0 in the CTR far more to the 1.5T engine in theSi) and my ultimate goal is to own a CTR and keep it until the wheels fall off

(if it helps the decision I live in the NE with bad weather for about 2-4 months a year)

Thanks in advance everyone and great community

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[Zeffy94]

There's nothing wrong with jumping to a CTR if you want one. I and others learned how to drive stick on it without issue. The bonus is in the CTR it rev matches for you, which can be a blessing or a curse (to where you can't do it yourself because you're relying on it that hard).

I've made countless mistakes in the beginning on mine, and I was for sure thinking the clutch would be dead by 20K miles. Not so, and I don't think I have much to worry about for quite some time still.

But, the big question is - can you afford the CTR? The CTR will require more up front, but it also is going to cost more than the Si to maintain - think about the massive wheels and the tires to go with them, or an alternate set of wheels/tires for the winter.

Another thing to consider - will you miss heated seats? A sunroof? If you will, the CTR doesn't have either of those, and as a daily driver, not having heated seats kinda sucks when it's freezing out. The 2020 at least has Honda Sensing and heated mirrors, two things I kinda wish mine had, but can't really win them all.

 

[jtrader]

If you can afford it without doing something stupid financially (sorry, that's always my disclaimer with expensive cars) then by all means, go for it. Don't let something silly like being a novice manual driver stop you. It takes all of a day or two to become an adequate shifter. Yes, you'll get better over the weeks/months/years, but that's true for everything in life.

 

[Drake]

There's nothing wrong with jumping to a CTR if you want one. I and others learned how to drive stick on it without issue. The bonus is in the CTR it rev matches for you, which can be a blessing or a curse (to where you can't do it yourself because you're relying on it that hard).

I've made countless mistakes in the beginning on mine, and I was for sure thinking the clutch would be dead by 20K miles. Not so, and I don't think I have much to worry about for quite some time still.

But, the big question is - can you afford the CTR? The CTR will require more up front, but it also is going to cost more than the Si to maintain - think about the massive wheels and the tires to go with them, or an alternate set of wheels/tires for the winter.

Another thing to consider - will you miss heated seats? A sunroof? If you will, the CTR doesn't have either of those, and as a daily driver, not having heated seats kinda sucks when it's freezing out. The 2020 at least has Honda Sensing and heated mirrors, two things I kinda wish mine had, but can't really win them all.

Did the 2020 CTR also get the blindspot camera? I fell in love with that little feature more than I thought I would ?

 

[FrankTheTank21]

There's nothing wrong with jumping to a CTR if you want one. I and others learned how to drive stick on it without issue. The bonus is in the CTR it rev matches for you, which can be a blessing or a curse (to where you can't do it yourself because you're relying on it that hard).

I've made countless mistakes in the beginning on mine, and I was for sure thinking the clutch would be dead by 20K miles. Not so, and I don't think I have much to worry about for quite some time still.

But, the big question is - can you afford the CTR? The CTR will require more up front, but it also is going to cost more than the Si to maintain - think about the massive wheels and the tires to go with them, or an alternate set of wheels/tires for the winter.

Another thing to consider - will you miss heated seats? A sunroof? If you will, the CTR doesn't have either of those, and as a daily driver, not having heated seats kinda sucks when it's freezing out. The 2020 at least has Honda Sensing and heated mirrors, two things I kinda wish mine had, but can't really win them all.

Great feedback thanks a lot where I live it gets pretty cold in the winter months for sure the money isn’t to much of a problem been saving up and I’m good with my money (for the most part lol) the big thing for me the 2.0 vs the 1.5 down the line I do wanna slightly modify with a TSP mod and maybe some cooling and exhaust upgrades also the oil Dilution problem scares me slightly as I’d get an SI used as opposed to new with the CTR

 

[FrankTheTank21]

If you can afford it without doing something stupid financially (sorry, that's always my disclaimer with expensive cars) then by all means, go for it. Don't let something silly like being a novice manual driver stop you. It takes all of a day or two to become an adequate shifter. Yes, you'll get better over the weeks/months/years, but that's true for everything in life.

Thanks man appreciate it, I currently have a 2016 EXT so I could save up longer for the CTR but I do have the money for an SI right now if I wanted which is partly the problem cause I’m impatient and really want that feel of manual sports car right away haha

 

[Zeffy94]

Did the 2020 CTR also get the blindspot camera? I fell in love with that little feature more than I thought I would ?

From watching the reviews on YouTube, it did NOT get the blindspot camera / Lanewatch, which is... shocking. I miss that feature so much!

 

[Drake]

Thanks man appreciate it, I currently have a 2016 EXT so I could save up longer for the CTR but I do have the money for an SI right now if I wanted which is partly the problem cause I’m impatient and really want that feel of manual sports car right away haha

I will say the Si civics do seem to maintain value pretty well over time (maybe not as good as the CTR, but much cheaper of course). You probably wouldn't lose more than a few grand buying an Si now then selling it in a couple years as long as you can put it back to stock when you're done.

 

[Zeffy94]

Another thing to note, trade in values are just horrendous right now, at least in my area. The loss of value on trade in is absolutely insane - make sure you don't get screwed if you plan on trading in your current car.

 

[FrankTheTank21]

Another thing to note, trade in values are just horrendous right now, at least in my area. The loss of value on trade in is absolutely insane - make sure you don't get screwed if you plan on trading in your current car.

I do actually plan on trading in this 2016 civic EXT about 32,000 miles hoping to AT least get 9,000 hoping for more but I doubt it

 

[Jeffers]

Found one without dealer markup.
Now that you've cleared that obstacle, maybe it was meant to be!
Sell your current car private party. It will sell pretty fast for a price around what a dealer will give you for it.

 

[jtrader]

I will say the Si civics do seem to maintain value pretty well over time (maybe not as good as the CTR, but much cheaper of course). You probably wouldn't lose more than a few grand buying an Si now then selling it in a couple years as long as you can put it back to stock when you're done.

Very, very true! Si's are amazing. But now that I read that he has an EXT, I am even more certain he should skip the Si. The EXT is no slouch. I would wager money if he would buy the Si, he would find it to be unsatisfying - because it's barely faster than the EXT - and then he'd be kicking himself and still yearning for the CTR.

OP, be content with your awesome EXT, keep working hard, keep saving, then when you feel you're in a good place financially, get the CTR!

I do actually plan on trading in this 2016 civic EXT about 32,000 miles hoping to AT least get 9,000 hoping for more but I doubt it

9k seems way low. You can do much better than that.

 

[redcoats1976]

i had a friend in high school back in the day who learned to drive stick in a 70 road runner 440/6 barrel with 3:91 gears.with todays modern cars im thinking youd have to try something really stupid to wreck a new honda.

 

[FrankTheTank21]

Very, very true! Si's are amazing. But now that I read that he has an EXT, I am even more certain he should skip the Si. The EXT is no slouch. I would wager money if he would buy the Si, he would find it to be unsatisfying - because it's barely faster than the EXT - and then he'd be kicking himself and still yearning for the CTR.

OP, be content with your awesome EXT, keep working hard, keep saving, then when you feel you're in a good place financially, get the CTR!




9k seems way low. You can do much better than that.

Appreciate the advice I think I agree on the not being satisfied if I got an SI when in reality I want the CTR might just save a little longer and go for the car I want the most

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