I love this car. 10,000 mile “one car to do it all” update

WNCSi

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Just wanted to post a love note to my car on here now that I’ve driven it for 10k miles. I did an absurd amount of research on this car before buying one so hopefully people looking into this car will find this helpful.

Who I am: Low 30s dude with a wife and two kids and without space to have a third “toy car”

What I wanted: A safe and fun car that I could use daily, drive my kids around in, and do as many autocrosses as possible every year with a few track days thrown in there. I also live in the mountains so i wanted something that was fun to drive on the amazing roads we have here.

In short, the car has been everything I wanted and more and I love it. You should buy one.

In long, this car is nearly perfect for me.

I get 40+ mpg on the way to and from work and it’s quiet and comfortable. I love the apple CarPlay. I had to have a sunroof and this is a good one, the tilt mode on the highway is nice and opening it on the side roads is amazing with no buffeting ever.

Handling dynamics are great. The suspension and diff work so well together, this car will teach you how to drive properly. I promised myself that I wouldn’t change a thing on this car until I had it for a full season of autocross. So that means all season tires and no suspension mods and it’s been impressive. If you are thinking about modding this car I would really encourage you to get some experience with the baseline setup first.

On of the most amazing weeks for me with this car was going to an autocross on a Tuesday, going for a great mountain drive on Wednesday, commuting a few days, and then driving to Georgia for a track day at Atlanta Motorsports park. The only thing I changed were the brake pads and fluid to cope with the track temps and the car was flawless all week. No problems on the track, no worrying about cooling or brakes, no special treatment. And after three 20 minute sessions I just grabbed my stuff and drove home without any drama. The all season tires were certainly holding my lap times down but this wasn’t a race and they generally behaved themselves once I increased the pressures to stop them from rolling over so much. The car was easy to steer with the throttle in long sweepers and feeling the diff kick in to pull you out of corners was great. Weight transfer and rear rotation were no problem either, with just the right amount of rotation when changing directions. When the rear would start to come around it was very easy to feel it and catch it by opening the wheel up just a bit. I had the Traction control “off” but without doing the pedal dance and it only interfered once when I had to correct a line I screwed up coming onto the front straight going nearly 100mph, I was fine with that.

I’ve had no mechanical problems thus far and my only complaint was with the pedal spacing when trying to heel toe a downshift and that was fixed with a 75 dollar bracket from acuity.

I drove the WRX (stiff, loud, uncomfortable) and the GTI (great, but a VW - and I’ve been burned hard by them before) and this car was the only real option for me given my goals.

So if you are in the market for a new car and considering the Si, I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Bonus pic of the car on track attached!

Honda Civic 10th gen I love this car. 10,000 mile “one car to do it all” update 3EC4C12C-43F3-414A-AC72-CBAC2DDC11CB
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repeet

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Beautiful car. Appropriate location.
 

Nerd-Vol

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Great write up! I’m glad to know it’s been a fantastic all-rounder for you.

Great choice on the color!
 

ne0guri

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*sigh* I wish we had nice twisty mountain roads here...
 


CanadiaegeanBlue

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Love the review! The Si was a spontaneous purchase for me, and being around modified cars including being a parts retailer for years I couldn't resist the itch to explore the aftermarket after I felt that the car was becoming a bit too tame and familiar for my taste.

What started off as an practical and sporty daily, is now a phenomenally fun sports car without daily compromises as I started carefully modifying the car with parts after much research.

Honda Civic 10th gen I love this car. 10,000 mile “one car to do it all” update IMG_20190502_173056
 

amirza786

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Just wanted to post a love note to my car on here now that I’ve driven it for 10k miles. I did an absurd amount of research on this car before buying one so hopefully people looking into this car will find this helpful.

Who I am: Low 30s dude with a wife and two kids and without space to have a third “toy car”

What I wanted: A safe and fun car that I could use daily, drive my kids around in, and do as many autocrosses as possible every year with a few track days thrown in there. I also live in the mountains so i wanted something that was fun to drive on the amazing roads we have here.

In short, the car has been everything I wanted and more and I love it. You should buy one.

In long, this car is nearly perfect for me.

I get 40+ mpg on the way to and from work and it’s quiet and comfortable. I love the apple CarPlay. I had to have a sunroof and this is a good one, the tilt mode on the highway is nice and opening it on the side roads is amazing with no buffeting ever.

Handling dynamics are great. The suspension and diff work so well together, this car will teach you how to drive properly. I promised myself that I wouldn’t change a thing on this car until I had it for a full season of autocross. So that means all season tires and no suspension mods and it’s been impressive. If you are thinking about modding this car I would really encourage you to get some experience with the baseline setup first.

On of the most amazing weeks for me with this car was going to an autocross on a Tuesday, going for a great mountain drive on Wednesday, commuting a few days, and then driving to Georgia for a track day at Atlanta Motorsports park. The only thing I changed were the brake pads and fluid to cope with the track temps and the car was flawless all week. No problems on the track, no worrying about cooling or brakes, no special treatment. And after three 20 minute sessions I just grabbed my stuff and drove home without any drama. The all season tires were certainly holding my lap times down but this wasn’t a race and they generally behaved themselves once I increased the pressures to stop them from rolling over so much. The car was easy to steer with the throttle in long sweepers and feeling the diff kick in to pull you out of corners was great. Weight transfer and rear rotation were no problem either, with just the right amount of rotation when changing directions. When the rear would start to come around it was very easy to feel it and catch it by opening the wheel up just a bit. I had the Traction control “off” but without doing the pedal dance and it only interfered once when I had to correct a line I screwed up coming onto the front straight going nearly 100mph, I was fine with that.

I’ve had no mechanical problems thus far and my only complaint was with the pedal spacing when trying to heel toe a downshift and that was fixed with a 75 dollar bracket from acuity.

I drove the WRX (stiff, loud, uncomfortable) and the GTI (great, but a VW - and I’ve been burned hard by them before) and this car was the only real option for me given my goals.

So if you are in the market for a new car and considering the Si, I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Bonus pic of the car on track attached!

3EC4C12C-43F3-414A-AC72-CBAC2DDC11CB.jpeg
You should come out and drive our epic California roads. Pacific Coast hwy (or one of our many mountainous highways) between Southern and Northern Cal will leave you breathless, although I have been thru Black Mountain which is beautiful. Just stay away from Southern California potholes, and you will be fine
 

H3llsp4wn707

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Im glad to hear you're enjoying the Si. Im about to buy a 2019, and im coming from a 2015 wrx. The wrx is stiff, loud, uncomfortable, bad gas mileage in town, and insurance is $200 ($125 for the Si). Its been an awesome car though, but after 5 years in tired of it. Thanks for sharing!
 


amirza786

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Im glad to hear you're enjoying the Si. Im about to buy a 2019, and im coming from a 2015 wrx. The wrx is stiff, loud, uncomfortable, bad gas mileage in town, and insurance is $200 ($125 for the Si). Its been an awesome car though, but after 5 years in tired of it. Thanks for sharing!
Good move. There are some very inexpensive mods that will make this car much, much better, or you can turn it into a monster if you have the money, patience and desire to do so!
 

Apeks

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Just wanted to post a love note to my car on here now that I’ve driven it for 10k miles. I did an absurd amount of research on this car before buying one so hopefully people looking into this car will find this helpful.

Who I am: Low 30s dude with a wife and two kids and without space to have a third “toy car”

What I wanted: A safe and fun car that I could use daily, drive my kids around in, and do as many autocrosses as possible every year with a few track days thrown in there. I also live in the mountains so i wanted something that was fun to drive on the amazing roads we have here.

In short, the car has been everything I wanted and more and I love it. You should buy one.

In long, this car is nearly perfect for me.

I get 40+ mpg on the way to and from work and it’s quiet and comfortable. I love the apple CarPlay. I had to have a sunroof and this is a good one, the tilt mode on the highway is nice and opening it on the side roads is amazing with no buffeting ever.

Handling dynamics are great. The suspension and diff work so well together, this car will teach you how to drive properly. I promised myself that I wouldn’t change a thing on this car until I had it for a full season of autocross. So that means all season tires and no suspension mods and it’s been impressive. If you are thinking about modding this car I would really encourage you to get some experience with the baseline setup first.

On of the most amazing weeks for me with this car was going to an autocross on a Tuesday, going for a great mountain drive on Wednesday, commuting a few days, and then driving to Georgia for a track day at Atlanta Motorsports park. The only thing I changed were the brake pads and fluid to cope with the track temps and the car was flawless all week. No problems on the track, no worrying about cooling or brakes, no special treatment. And after three 20 minute sessions I just grabbed my stuff and drove home without any drama. The all season tires were certainly holding my lap times down but this wasn’t a race and they generally behaved themselves once I increased the pressures to stop them from rolling over so much. The car was easy to steer with the throttle in long sweepers and feeling the diff kick in to pull you out of corners was great. Weight transfer and rear rotation were no problem either, with just the right amount of rotation when changing directions. When the rear would start to come around it was very easy to feel it and catch it by opening the wheel up just a bit. I had the Traction control “off” but without doing the pedal dance and it only interfered once when I had to correct a line I screwed up coming onto the front straight going nearly 100mph, I was fine with that.

I’ve had no mechanical problems thus far and my only complaint was with the pedal spacing when trying to heel toe a downshift and that was fixed with a 75 dollar bracket from acuity.

I drove the WRX (stiff, loud, uncomfortable) and the GTI (great, but a VW - and I’ve been burned hard by them before) and this car was the only real option for me given my goals.

So if you are in the market for a new car and considering the Si, I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Bonus pic of the car on track attached!

3EC4C12C-43F3-414A-AC72-CBAC2DDC11CB.jpeg

Nice post, glad you are having fun. I was looking at the Golf GTI too during my initial car search. I have two children as well and they both still need childseats. A big factor for me was practicality as well because even though I prefer hatches, the Golf's interior was noticeably smaller than the Si's so fitting the seats in there was more of a challenge. Also, even though the GTI is a hatch, without the seats folded the cargo area is pretty shallow. The Si sedan lacks the versatility of a hatch, but since the seats need to be upright for a few more years it actually has more room for my needs.

Also, at the time, the GTI with a similar spec to the Si I got was around 8-9K more expensive. There are better packages now on the market for new GTIs, and the GLI is a decent price as well. But at the time it was beaucoup bucks. I still consider the Si as the best performance value on the market even two years after launch. The new GLI is very very close though which is a great product from VW. I've done track days and commutes and kiddie trips with relative ease. A hatch or wagon version would solve my main issue with double strollers eating most of the space. But otherwise, continue to have fun! Its a great little car.
 

fenix-silver

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Im glad to hear you're enjoying the Si. Im about to buy a 2019, and im coming from a 2015 wrx. The wrx is stiff, loud, uncomfortable, bad gas mileage in town, and insurance is $200 ($125 for the Si). Its been an awesome car though, but after 5 years in tired of it. Thanks for sharing!
I came from a lightly modded '04 WRX and really couldn't justify another WRX. The new ones are much better, obviously, than what I was coming from, but the Si is just a better daily driver. Better gas mileage, more comfortable, lower maintenance costs. I can get by w/ a set of snow tires on the Si during the winter. I do miss being able to hoon my WRX around on dirt roads though! Also miss having a hatchback, but that wouldn't have been an option in the WRX either, unfortunately.
 

H3llsp4wn707

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I came from a lightly modded '04 WRX and really couldn't justify another WRX. The new ones are much better, obviously, than what I was coming from, but the Si is just a better daily driver. Better gas mileage, more comfortable, lower maintenance costs. I can get by w/ a set of snow tires on the Si during the winter. I do miss being able to hoon my WRX around on dirt roads though! Also miss having a hatchback, but that wouldn't have been an option in the WRX either, unfortunately.
Thanks for the extra insight! I'm happy you're enjoying your car. I had to drive my moms 2011 civic last month while i worked on mu old accord and was waiting for a maf wire for the wrx. I couldn't believe how good the car drove and felt (120k miles stripped down civic). I really enjoyed driving it and barely missed my subaru. Went and looked at the CTRs and test drove an Si. Its an incredible value for the money and i really liked the fit and finish of the car. Getting close to buying one, just holding out a bit to see that type s sedan coming from acura haha
 

crxFITcivicBOY

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Thanks for the great write up and review! A part of me wishes I got an Si, but the father of two in me is glad I stuck with the Sport Hatch. Its my daily too, so I love having a hatch for double strollers and the like. Maybe when the kids are older I’ll get a coupe :)
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