|
Finally, to get on with the topic of this thread; The review.
The Car:
For the uninitiated, the Si is the souped up version of the Civic for the American market. Usually always in hatchback/coupe form, they have now made it available as a sport sedan. While the coupe is still the top pick for purists, the sedan offers just as much bang with the practicality of a 4 door car. It comes with all the bells and whistles available to the Civic with some additional ones of its own.
First looks:
It looks like the Civic sedan. No, it really does! Well ok, there are some differences. The Si comes with 10 spoke 17inch alloys and a rear wing spoiler. A tilt sun/moonroof is standard too. The tyres are Michelin Pilot 215/45 R17 and give it a good stance. The front and rear brake discs are larger. There are red ‘Si’ badges fore and aft. And the sides are adorned with ‘i-VTEC DOHC’ stickers to clarify what kind of engine the car has.
Sitting in:
By now everyone has seen the space age type interior of the latest gen Civic. The Si is similar. The gauges and dials are all red and so is the interior ambient lighting. The seats are black cloth with red stitching and ‘Si’ embroidered on them as well as on the floor mats. The tachometer has a big ‘Si’ in the middle of it in case you entered the car and still didn’t know what it was. Honestly if it takes a person to actually sit in the car to figure out it’s an ‘Si’ then they should immediately step out of it. It surely is not a car for the uninitiated.
The front sport seats have side bolsters and unless you have a very wide figure, they hold you very snug in their embrace. The aluminum sport pedals gleam at you under the dashboard. There is only one 6 speed manual transmission option available and hence you have the leather and aluminum shifter knob with red etchings on it. Gadgetry is pretty much similar to the high end Civic with a 350 watt 7 speaker audio system, cruise control, power mirrors, etc and their steering mounted controls. The only option is the navigation package which I skipped. And yes, the interior is all soft touch material, if you like that kind of thing.
What drives it:
The driver of course! But jokes apart, it has a K20Z3 2L DOHC 4 pot engine that sips or gulps down Premium unleaded depending on how you drive. True to the Honda way of high revving engines this one will merrily run all the way up to 8000 rpm. At about 6800 rpm it produces its peak power of 197 bhp. The power is routed to the front wheels via a helical limited slip differential. The engine breathes easy using a stock cold air intake. And of course Hondas i-VTEC valve timing magic has its role to play. A sport tuned 40% stiffer suspension completes the package.
That’s it as far as the introduction to the car goes. Up next… Driving it.
Last edited by equinox22 : 23rd February 2010 at 09:34.
| 
27th January 2010, 05:17
