Motortrend tested the 2020 civic SI

gtman

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Kind of what I expected when they first announced the final drive change. I figured 0-60 wouldn't change much. Honda's logic for changing the final drive was for it to rev higher in 5th and 6th so people would have to downshift less for passing. The downside is the higher rpm's mean more noise and lower mpg's. And how hard is it to downshift, right?
 

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Kind of what I expected when they first announced the final drive change. I figured 0-60 wouldn't change much. Honda's logic for changing the final drive was for it to rev higher in 5th and 6th so people would have to downshift less for passing. The downside is the higher rpm's mean more noise and lower mpg's. And how hard is it to downshift, right?
I'll be curious to follow on Fuelly how much of a mileage hit there really is on the final drive ratio once we start getting a decent sample size on the 2020. I'm getting an average of about 33 mixed so far. In contrast, on my Jetta (EPA 25/36), I averaged about 26.
 

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I doubt most people could tell much difference in the geqring change with it being such a minor change. No complaints with my fuel economy though - been averaging about 35mpg since I got it. The reviewer is over exaggerating the rev hang though IMO. Yeah it's there but it's not that difficult to adapt to. I personally don't mind it but like he says, get a tune if it bothers you that much.
 

20BlackSi

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I'm not surprised that the 0-60 times aren't improved, I watched a YouTube channel a couple of months ago where the reviewer mentioned how the new 2020 Si requires the driver to change gears to third before hitting 60 and I assume last years model would reach 60 mph in second gear. That makes sense because it's geared lower but the extra shifting time instead of acceleration time is costing a bit in the 0-60 times. perhaps 0-75 it might improve, where both cars account for a shift into third? Who knows, I have been driving fairly easy on my 2020 Si and yielded 37.6 mpg calculated manually after my first and only fill up so far. It was a 50/50 mix of winding and hilly backroads and open highway. It was also just after the holiday break so perhaps the traffic was lighter too. I'm averaging a little over 40 mpg on my second tank so far, totally blown away with these results.

Like the OP above mentioned, rev hang wasn't an issue for me since I haven't been hammering down too hard on the right pedal.
 


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I'm not surprised that the 0-60 times aren't improved, I watched a YouTube channel a couple of months ago where the reviewer mentioned how the new 2020 Si requires the driver to change gears to third before hitting 60 and I assume last years model would reach 60 mph in second gear. That makes sense because it's geared lower but the extra shifting time instead of acceleration time is costing a bit in the 0-60 times. perhaps 0-75 it might improve, where both cars account for a shift into third? Who knows, I have been driving fairly easy on my 2020 Si and yielded 37.6 mpg calculated manually after my first and only fill up so far. It was a 50/50 mix of winding and hilly backroads and open highway. It was also just after the holiday break so perhaps the traffic was lighter too. I'm averaging a little over 40 mpg on my second tank so far, totally blown away with these results.

Like the OP above mentioned, rev hang wasn't an issue for me since I haven't been hammering down too hard on the right pedal.
The 2019 would hit 60 in 2nd gear @ 6800 rpm [is there enough over rev above the 6500 redline?]
The 2020 would need 7200 rpm to hit 60 in 2nd gear.

Honda Civic 10th gen Motortrend tested the 2020 civic SI 0-60
 

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I'm not surprised that the 0-60 times aren't improved, I watched a YouTube channel a couple of months ago where the reviewer mentioned how the new 2020 Si requires the driver to change gears to third before hitting 60 and I assume last years model would reach 60 mph in second gear.
A couple interesting points to talk about here. The older Si models also needed that shift to third right before hitting 60. That's part of the reason for the relatively slow 0-60 times.

That's also why the Si 0-60 time is basically on par with the supposedly weak CVT base 1.5T CVT models. Honda seriously understated the base 1.5T's power output as most dynos have gotten around 190+ hp compared to the officially listed 174 as well as much more than the officially stated tq.
 

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xbbnx

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Slower 0-60 for the 2020? Car & Driver pulled a 6.3 and 14.8 with the 2017 Si w summer tires. They also pulled a .97 skidpad. Which is really impressive for a sport compact at this price.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15091840/2017-honda-civic-si-coupe-test-review/

Someone isn't driving the thing right
Car and Driver has always pulled better numbers in their vehicle testing, not sure why or how and not just with the Si. Even the 2017-2018 Si they tested with the crappy all season's was faster than the 2020 Motortrend Si equipped with the Summer tires.
 

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Car and Driver has always pulled better numbers in their vehicle testing, not sure why or how and not just with the Si. Even the 2017-2018 Si they tested with the crappy all season's was faster than the 2020 Motortrend Si equipped with the Summer tires.
6.8 is a weak 0 to 60 though
 
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COOL COUPE

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I thought the gearing change was all about second gear? Second is awkward at times in my 2019 ... I spend a lot of time tooling around town in that gear and it's a bit tall ... meaning when I slow down enough the engine chatters a bit ... You can't go to first ( since you get locked out ) so I would only guess that the 2020 is way more forgiving the novice.
 

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Car and Driver has always pulled better numbers in their vehicle testing, not sure why or how and not just with the Si. Even the 2017-2018 Si they tested with the crappy all season's was faster than the 2020 Motortrend Si equipped with the Summer tires.
C&D has always used a 1 ft rollout in their 0-60 times. That's good for somewhere in the ballpark of .3 or .4 seconds depending. That's the difference I believe. They actually used 3-mph to approximate the rollout until just recently, so they weren't starting the clock until 3 mph when they got that 6.3. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a30085446/acceleration-testing-procedure-change-rollout/

MotorTrend last tested the Si at 6.7 IIRC, so this is pretty much the same for them.
 

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And they claim the 2020 is .2 slower in 0-60 with the same 1/4 with a slightly higher trap. This could be a slight difference in conditions.. Different driver. Anything.
 
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I doubt most people could tell much difference in the geqring change with it being such a minor change. No complaints with my fuel economy though - been averaging about 35mpg since I got it. The reviewer is over exaggerating the rev hang though IMO. Yeah it's there but it's not that difficult to adapt to. I personally don't mind it but like he says, get a tune if it bothers you that much.
I haven't driven the 2017-19 and 2020 back to back, but when I tested the older ones, they felt relatively gutless at low speeds. I didn't have that reaction to the 2020, and I wonder if it's because of the gearing. Doesn't seem like 6% should make that much of a difference in feel, but it would rev quicker, and thus build boost faster too. Who knows?

Also, I note the reviewer didn't spend much time in sport mode, which I think increases throttle response and may have addressed that complaint.

I totally agree with you about the rev hang. Folks gripe about it in the TSX too, and I have no issues. I've adapted very quickly to driving the new Si on test drives, and suspect it wouldn't bother me if I owned one. In fairness, I'm rarely driving hard when it might matter the most, but I do sometimes and it's never bugged me.
 

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I thought the gearing change was all about second gear? Second is awkward at times in my 2019 ... I spend a lot of time tooling around town in that gear and it's a bit tall ... meaning when I slow down enough the engine chatters a bit ... You can't go to first ( since you get locked out ) so I would only guess that the 2020 is way more forgiving the novice.
This is EXACTLY right. The gearing change has gotten rid of ALL the akward spread of the gears. It was borderline unsafe in my 2018 when in traffic due to this issue. The 20 is where its at.
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