Test drove a 2017 Civic Touring, and I am disappointed at how good it is

[amirza786]

I am looking to replace my daughters 2006 Toyota Camry SE with a newer, more fuel efficient car. Although the Camry at almost 150K is still extremely reliable, it has a 3.3L V6 that averages 22 mpg on a good day. And my 19 year old daughter is a led foot. So I am looking at either a used Corolla or Civic. Yesterday I test drove a 2017 Civic Touring with CVT and 30K on it. It was really nice. I mean really, really nice. So why am I disappointed? Well, because I don't understand why this car has extremely comfortable seats, has very little NVH, is very isolated from the road, good build quality and....NO RATTLES! And my Si had almost none of those except the rattles!

The funny thing about this car is that it has less power and torque than the Si, but it actually "feels" almost as fast. It doesn't have the same suspension setup (or LSD) but it handles really well. And it's quiet. and it doesn't make any clunking sounds on rough roads.

What I am saying is if anything, there was more attention paid in the build quality, from the comfortable leather seats (why can't the Si have leather seats?) to the materials used in the interior, which are definitely better. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised

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[amirza786]

Now your making me wanna go to the dealer and try it out to compare it to my hatchback sport

I think the Touring and Sport are very similar, same engine/power except you can get the Hatchback Sport with MT and touring only comes with CVT. There might be a few other upgrades the Touring has that Sports Hatchback doesn't get

EDIT

The Touring has the exhausts hidden, while the Sports Hatch has the dual pipes in the middle. Also Touring comes in Sedan/Coupe configurations

 

[SDAlexander8]

They really had to make some sacrifices to keep the Si below $25k. But i’m not disappointed with my Si. They were also made at different factories.

Maybe your Si got the lazy factory worker treatment and a few things werent snapped in place or torqued quite right. Dunno.

I’ve heard the Greensburg, IN plant is really nice. I drive by it on I74 every once in awhile.

 

[amirza786]

They really had to make some sacrifices to keep the Si below $25k. But i’m not disappointed with my Si. They were also made at different factories.

Maybe your Si got the lazy factory worker treatment and a few things werent snapped in place or torqued quite right. Dunno.

I’ve heard the Greensburg, IN plant is really nice. I drive by it on I74 every once in awhile.

No I get it. But just look at those seats. They have both front and rear heated seats. And they are comfortable, like long trip comfy

 

[SDAlexander8]

No I get it. But just look at those seats. They have both front and rear heated seats. And they are comfortable, like long trip comfy

I think the ones in my 2016 LX were the same shape, but cloth. I have not sat in the leather seats, but the cloth ones definitely weren’t uncomfortable.

Took that car on a couple really long trips from Indiana. Once to Denver and another trip to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix and back. Did 1100 miles back from Denver in 1 day. (I don’t recommend. Nobody should drive that many miles in a day). Seat comfort was not an issue.

I like how the Si seats hug you, but they give you less room to wiggle around on long trips. I do feel like the Si seats would be better if I was 20-30 lbs lighter. I don’t think they are big boy friendly.

 

[amirza786]

I think the ones in my 2016 LX were the same shape, but cloth. I have not sat in the leather seats, but the cloth ones definitely weren’t uncomfortable.

Took that car on a couple really long trips from Indiana. Once to Denver and another trip to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix and back. Did 1100 miles back from Denver in 1 day. (I don’t recommend. Nobody should drive that many miles in a day). Seat comfort was not an issue.

I like how the Si seats hug you, but they give you less room to wiggle around on long trips. I do feel like the Si seats would be better if I was 20-30 lbs lighter. I don’t think they are big boy friendly.

Haha I think we would all benefit from being 20-30 LBS lighter (myself included!)

 

[gtman]

I've got the poor man's version of the Touring. The EX-L. Add the TSP tune and it's pretty damn nice.

 

[Vegas Viking]

Had the Sport Touring trim been available with a stick back in 2018 when I purchased my Si, I may have chosen differently.

 

[Zeffy94]

My 2017 Coupe Touring was a great car. It had half the miles of my Type R when I traded it in, but there wasn't any drama in that car. And boy do I miss those ass warmers and remote start.

 

[ebhaynz]

I think Honda knows what they're doing..when they make a Civic called 'Touring' it's going to be made for touring. A Civic 'Si' is going to be a manual that handles well but not so comfy and a little loud. A Civic 'Sport' is going to look sporty and be available in manual. An 'LX' is just going to be a boring daily driver.

 

[REBELXSi]

I am looking to replace my daughters 2006 Toyota Camry SE with a newer, more fuel efficient car. Although the Camry at almost 150K is still extremely reliable, it has a 3.3L V6 that averages 22 mpg on a good day. And my 19 year old daughter is a led foot. So I am looking at either a used Corolla or Civic. Yesterday I test drove a 2017 Civic Touring with CVT and 30K on it. It was really nice. I mean really, really nice. So why am I disappointed? Well, because I don't understand why this car has extremely comfortable seats, has very little NVH, is very isolated from the road, good build quality and....NO RATTLES! And my Si had almost none of those except the rattles!

The funny thing about this car is that it has less power and torque than the Si, but it actually "feels" almost as fast. It doesn't have the same suspension setup (or LSD) but it handles really well. And it's quiet. and it doesn't make any clunking sounds on rough roads.

What I am saying is if anything, there was more attention paid in the build quality, from the comfortable leather seats (why can't the Si have leather seats?) to the materials used in the interior, which are definitely better. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised

Reminds me of the loaner '19 Civic LX sedan I had. Felt like it was built by a different company or at least in a much higher class. It was so much better built than my Si... At least it felt better inside the cabin.

 

[mvela]

Yes the combination of the turbo and cvt gives a constant pull feeling. And the performance is not far apart from each model unless you are talking about a type R. All the civics, Si, Ex, Sport, or LX all run 15 second 1/4 miles. They all feel pretty close. They are really only separated by accessories.

 

[forum_user]

Yes the combination of the turbo and cvt gives a constant pull feeling. And the performance is not far apart from each model unless you are talking about a type R. All the civics, Si, Ex, Sport, or LX all run 15 second 1/4 miles. They all feel pretty close. They are really only separated by accessories.

Straight line performance will certainly be close between all the 1.5l civics, but the lsd and stiffer suspension on the si would leave me to believe that cornering performance would be noticeably superior

 

[mvela]

Straight line performance will certainly be close between all the 1.5l civics, but the lsd and stiffer suspension on the si would leave me to believe that cornering performance would be noticeably superior

Yes it is purpose built. So the Si is better for a track while a touring model is better for everyday driving comfort. So it depends on what the owner plans to do with it. But straight line performance seems to not disappoint in any model.

 

[integra15]

As someone said, they are different cars. Touring=quiet and more refined. SI=faster and better handling with some isolation.

There are hundreds of differences in the cars that add up to different experiences. You cannot sell it all together and keep the price low.

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