coopermidnight
Senior Member
- First Name
- Brandon
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2016
- Threads
- 21
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- 659
- Reaction score
- 745
- Location
- Florida
- Vehicle(s)
- 19 FK8
- Vehicle Showcase
- 2
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- #1
Alright, so I finally got my red sedan 
I'll label the sections of my post so that if you don't care about one you can skip it.
1. My car history
Other than a short stint with a Buick Park Avenue, I've only owned base-level manual Civics. At 17 I inherited an '83 2-door hatch in screaming yellow from my grandma which I still have sitting around (the car... not the grandma), and it's the car that made me a Honda fan, despite all the money that had been put into it to keep it running. It's unwillingly sitting still at the moment, but once my savings has recovered from the down payment I'm gonna eventually get the car road-worthy again for weekends.
Next was a 2015 black coupe. There's not much to note about this car other than the fact that it wasn't red and that it was the last Civic with an aux port. The former bothered me enough to consider trading, and then I stumbled upon the news of the 10th gen prototype and realized this wasn't going to be my 10-year car. First I wanted a red 2016 LX, and then I wanted a red 2017 EX-T, and then I wanted a 2017 Si.
A couple months ago, my dealer called and said someone was looking for my model and that I'd be compensated with a new car and similar payments. I was waiting for the Si, but why not have a new car for a few months? I drove out that night in a silver LX sedan. I'm not going to go into detail here, but this ended up a lesson for me in making sure to pay lots of attention to the quick talking dealership employees Anyway, that car was a delight. The 10th gen is such a huge step up from the 9th gen that it makes the latter look cheap. Most impressively, I could finally have the A/C on without the throttle running out of breath, and 70mph was under 3k thanks to 6th gear.
2. Getting the Si
I'd been after that dealership for months trying to get them to throw me a bone about the Si. I test drove a sport hatch and told them I'd be back on the lot when the Si came in. I emailed my finance guy and sales guy repeatedly, trying to make sure I'd be the first to know when the first truckload came in, sometimes with no reply. I think my salesman got a kick in the ass when I sent a general message via the website complaining about the lack of "it's coming in ____" or at least a "we don't know" because I got a phone call the next day saying a few sedans were a few weeks away.
Two days ago, I looked around on autotrader for fun and found a red Si sedan listed for 900 under MSRP. I called them up, gave them my info, and the gentleman on the phone texted me the next day to start working out the numbers. I got "sick" at work and drove 4 hours to Palm Beach to go pick it up Braman Honda is a lovely place, and you'll be treated like family. I highly recommend them to anyone reasonably close in FL.
3. Impressions, finally
Having only owned econoboxes, I didn't quite know what to expect after jumping up roughly 50hp/60tq (if memory serves) and having a turbo. Turns out I can drive it like a peppier Civic and still have some punch in the reserves that my other cars didn't provide... and that's exactly what I wanted from the Si. I don't know if they filled it up with regular or premium, or how much that even matters for my driving style. Anyway, I appreciate that the turbo seems to remain dormant until you ask for it; steadily approaching 3k won't result in a sudden speedup, but if you punch it you'll get what I've named the "dramatic pause" followed by woohoo!
I've definitely learned for myself what turbo lag feels like, but (for me) it's not nearly as debilitating as some of the negative reviews scared me into thinking. Of course I have a pretty reserved driving style, so the turbo isn't really a factor until I'm bored on an open highway.
The throttle response on the Si is lovely. The 2015 and 2017 LXes pissed me off when shifting because the throttle was so... controlled. It felt like the car was resisting me, and that caused lots of bad rev matching guesses. In the '83, the tiny little engine would roar like a wildcat if a butterfly kissed the gas pedal, and that's the expectation I've stubbornly clung onto. With the Si, it's much easier to rev match like I used to, and the clutch is even more forgiving than the LX (which may not really be a plus). Sport mode makes it even more sensitive, much to my joy. I actually wish the engine/exhaust were a bit louder; not to wave my cock around, but to better hear the revs when shifting.
The interior's great to me. Red-on-black is never a bad combo, and it's even better inside a red car. I love the seats, and the all-red effect on the dash in sport mode is super cool. The shifter knob is okay. It's aesthetically correct, but I could take it or leave it. NOTE: Keep this damn thing covered when you're outside of your car; it's a cold-blooded reptile, and grabbing it in a Florida afternoon is like reaching into the sun.
As for the actual shifting motion, it'll take a bit to get used to it. I actually prefer the throws in the base Civics; I got a lot of satisfaction out of effortlessly (and sometimes stylishly when feeling extra flamboyant) dancing between the gears. This one's a lot more clicky and requires more elbow grease. The clutch is standard Civic fare which is fine to me because that's all I know; its catch point is a bit more vague, though, and mistakes don't rock the car as much.
I love the brakes. My first week in the 2017 LX, I was almost sending myself through the windshield when stopping because of how damn new and touchy the brakes were. With this one, there's a satisfying "pedal travel" to "braking applied" ratio for me. I'm assuming the brakes are brand new and it's working as intended... Cornering is really good, as expected. I'm not too much of a daredevil, but I've taken some fun turns and the car didn't even come close to complaining.
The exterior is sharp as hell, especially in red. I never thought I'd own a sedan, but here I am. It's a damn good looking car! I've even come to terms with the sedan's terrible back bumper; once you see it in person, it's not so bad... I guess
The touchscreen is a bit of a pain in the ass compared to the (relatively) analog one in the LX. I especially don't like having to wait for it to "wake up" before I can do anything of interest. I'd really prefer knobs and buttons for all things related to the A/C, but c'est la vie. The lack of a volume knob doesn't bother me because I'm accustomed to the control on the steering wheel; unfortunately, they even changed that one on me and now it's its own button separate from the d-pad. Oh well. Small potatoes.
EDIT: Forgot about the fuel economy! I got the car with about 11 miles on it. I did a flat 70mph for the majority of my trip home, ending with 275.2 miles on the clock and averaging 39.6mpg with a bit less than half the tank left. Nice. I'm now sitting at less than a quarter tank but still hovering over 38mpg. Definitely worth the wait!
Overall, I'm quite happy with this purchase, and I expect this to be my main car for a long time. My only additions to it (other than dash cam(s)) will be mostly cosmetic, once I have spending money again:
* Wrap/dip the chrome over the windows to be black. Damn it, Honda. I'd forgive the back bumper if you'd just done this simple thing.
* Wrap/dip the door handles to be black - still not 100% on this but pretty sure it'll look sick!
* Get the red floormats and red interior illumination
I'll label the sections of my post so that if you don't care about one you can skip it.1. My car history
Other than a short stint with a Buick Park Avenue, I've only owned base-level manual Civics. At 17 I inherited an '83 2-door hatch in screaming yellow from my grandma which I still have sitting around (the car... not the grandma), and it's the car that made me a Honda fan, despite all the money that had been put into it to keep it running. It's unwillingly sitting still at the moment, but once my savings has recovered from the down payment I'm gonna eventually get the car road-worthy again for weekends.
Next was a 2015 black coupe. There's not much to note about this car other than the fact that it wasn't red and that it was the last Civic with an aux port. The former bothered me enough to consider trading, and then I stumbled upon the news of the 10th gen prototype and realized this wasn't going to be my 10-year car. First I wanted a red 2016 LX, and then I wanted a red 2017 EX-T, and then I wanted a 2017 Si.
A couple months ago, my dealer called and said someone was looking for my model and that I'd be compensated with a new car and similar payments. I was waiting for the Si, but why not have a new car for a few months? I drove out that night in a silver LX sedan. I'm not going to go into detail here, but this ended up a lesson for me in making sure to pay lots of attention to the quick talking dealership employees
Anyway, that car was a delight. The 10th gen is such a huge step up from the 9th gen that it makes the latter look cheap. Most impressively, I could finally have the A/C on without the throttle running out of breath, and 70mph was under 3k thanks to 6th gear.2. Getting the Si
I'd been after that dealership for months trying to get them to throw me a bone about the Si. I test drove a sport hatch and told them I'd be back on the lot when the Si came in. I emailed my finance guy and sales guy repeatedly, trying to make sure I'd be the first to know when the first truckload came in, sometimes with no reply. I think my salesman got a kick in the ass when I sent a general message via the website complaining about the lack of "it's coming in ____" or at least a "we don't know" because I got a phone call the next day saying a few sedans were a few weeks away.
Two days ago, I looked around on autotrader for fun and found a red Si sedan listed for 900 under MSRP. I called them up, gave them my info, and the gentleman on the phone texted me the next day to start working out the numbers. I got "sick" at work and drove 4 hours to Palm Beach to go pick it up
Braman Honda is a lovely place, and you'll be treated like family. I highly recommend them to anyone reasonably close in FL.3. Impressions, finally
Having only owned econoboxes, I didn't quite know what to expect after jumping up roughly 50hp/60tq (if memory serves) and having a turbo. Turns out I can drive it like a peppier Civic and still have some punch in the reserves that my other cars didn't provide... and that's exactly what I wanted from the Si. I don't know if they filled it up with regular or premium, or how much that even matters for my driving style. Anyway, I appreciate that the turbo seems to remain dormant until you ask for it; steadily approaching 3k won't result in a sudden speedup, but if you punch it you'll get what I've named the "dramatic pause" followed by woohoo!
I've definitely learned for myself what turbo lag feels like, but (for me) it's not nearly as debilitating as some of the negative reviews scared me into thinking. Of course I have a pretty reserved driving style, so the turbo isn't really a factor until I'm bored on an open highway.
The throttle response on the Si is lovely. The 2015 and 2017 LXes pissed me off when shifting because the throttle was so... controlled. It felt like the car was resisting me, and that caused lots of bad rev matching guesses. In the '83, the tiny little engine would roar like a wildcat if a butterfly kissed the gas pedal, and that's the expectation I've stubbornly clung onto. With the Si, it's much easier to rev match like I used to, and the clutch is even more forgiving than the LX (which may not really be a plus). Sport mode makes it even more sensitive, much to my joy. I actually wish the engine/exhaust were a bit louder; not to wave my cock around, but to better hear the revs when shifting.
The interior's great to me. Red-on-black is never a bad combo, and it's even better inside a red car. I love the seats, and the all-red effect on the dash in sport mode is super cool. The shifter knob is okay. It's aesthetically correct, but I could take it or leave it. NOTE: Keep this damn thing covered when you're outside of your car; it's a cold-blooded reptile, and grabbing it in a Florida afternoon is like reaching into the sun.
As for the actual shifting motion, it'll take a bit to get used to it. I actually prefer the throws in the base Civics; I got a lot of satisfaction out of effortlessly (and sometimes stylishly when feeling extra flamboyant) dancing between the gears. This one's a lot more clicky and requires more elbow grease. The clutch is standard Civic fare which is fine to me because that's all I know; its catch point is a bit more vague, though, and mistakes don't rock the car as much.
I love the brakes. My first week in the 2017 LX, I was almost sending myself through the windshield when stopping because of how damn new and touchy the brakes were. With this one, there's a satisfying "pedal travel" to "braking applied" ratio for me. I'm assuming the brakes are brand new and it's working as intended...
Cornering is really good, as expected. I'm not too much of a daredevil, but I've taken some fun turns and the car didn't even come close to complaining.The exterior is sharp as hell, especially in red. I never thought I'd own a sedan, but here I am. It's a damn good looking car! I've even come to terms with the sedan's terrible back bumper; once you see it in person, it's not so bad... I guess
The touchscreen is a bit of a pain in the ass compared to the (relatively) analog one in the LX. I especially don't like having to wait for it to "wake up" before I can do anything of interest. I'd really prefer knobs and buttons for all things related to the A/C, but c'est la vie. The lack of a volume knob doesn't bother me because I'm accustomed to the control on the steering wheel; unfortunately, they even changed that one on me and now it's its own button separate from the d-pad. Oh well. Small potatoes.
EDIT: Forgot about the fuel economy! I got the car with about 11 miles on it. I did a flat 70mph for the majority of my trip home, ending with 275.2 miles on the clock and averaging 39.6mpg with a bit less than half the tank left. Nice. I'm now sitting at less than a quarter tank but still hovering over 38mpg. Definitely worth the wait!
Overall, I'm quite happy with this purchase, and I expect this to be my main car for a long time. My only additions to it (other than dash cam(s)) will be mostly cosmetic, once I have spending money again:
* Wrap/dip the chrome over the windows to be black. Damn it, Honda. I'd forgive the back bumper if you'd just done this simple thing.
* Wrap/dip the door handles to be black - still not 100% on this but pretty sure it'll look sick!
* Get the red floormats and red interior illumination
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