Although there’s an embargo in place on driving impressions from journalists, that doesn’t mean that regular ol’ Janes and Joes aren’t posting about their test drive experiences.
If the 2017 Honda Civic Sport Hatch with the 1.5T is a case of porridge too cold and the Type R seems like porridge too hot with a rare trim level out of your reach, according to some of the first driving impressions that are coming out for the new Si, it looks like the Honda Civic Si will be a happy medium. According to some well-informed enthusiasts who’ve test driven the Civic Si for themselves (because both Civic Si Coupes and Sedans are now available on dealership lots), the Civic Si lives up to its name of having an injection of sport.
Lots of new 10th gen Si owners will have either traded in their previous gen Si for this new one or have already paid off their old Si and are curious to how this new engine feels like. But coming off those high-revving K-series motors might set owners up to have this L15B7 to behave similarly, but they’ll be in for a different experience. Like the Civic Sport hatch, the turbo adds plenty of torque, which owners will appreciate in the middle of the rev range. Instead of their power band being towards the top of the rev range, they’ve now got power throughout. According to one test driver,
The increased torque and lower engine inertia from about 2K makes the ’17 feel like a ’13 with mods and remapping
but like the ’13 the surge falls away at about 6K.
Although Honda has long done away with cable actuated throttle bodies in favor of drive by wire, if you were turned off by the lack of throttle response in the Civic Sport hatch, according to one test driver, throttle response is much improved.
…the throttle is MUCH more responsive than 1.5 Manual regular Civic. It was good. Heel and toe and rev matching are awesome.
Next, there’s the handling and steering feel.The chassis is noticeably stiffer than the Sport hatch with even Sport mode being a livable compromise in everyday traffic.
When asked how the chassis felt, this test driver mentioned how the Civic Si is,
Noticeably stiffer but still very comfortable. I would have Sport ON daily no problem.Chassis felt supreme in term of quietness and stiffness
And finally, the biggest differentiator between the Si and the Sport hatch seems to be the addition of a factory LSD standard. If you imagine yourself carving up some canyons on the weekend in the Civic Si, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. That same test driver lauded heaps of praise on the Civic Si’s LSD.
If there are any of you out there debating between Ex-T and Si – go for the Si. The LSD is WORTH every penny. Through Canadian Snow, Rain, slush, mud my FA5 pulled like front wheels had teeth. Same here – all that torque and pulls really nice in turns. I don’t think I’ll ever have a car without a proper mechanical LSD.
So, for now, it looks like the Civic Si will be a homerun for people who do or don’t have high expectations for this trim level. Even Torque News who went to the official journalist preview couldn’t help but add how humbled they felt on reflecting on their time with the Si (even in the absence of an official driving impression.)
Torque News has driven Si. And frankly, we’re just a tad humbled by the experience. However, we’re under driving impressions embargo until the end of the month. We can tell you that Si is the quickest, and by some measures, the most comfortable Honda in the current 10th generation lineup. One forgets they’re driving a 4-cylinder, front wheel drive, compact car, when sitting behind the wheel of 2017 Civic Si. It’s road masterful!! We’ll leave it at that until May 30.
If you’re in the market for a quick coupe or sedan and are fancying the Si, guess what, it’s Memorial day weekend. Honda has made sure there are plenty of Civic Si’s at dealerships for buyers to try out. Go out there and try one out for yourself!
Also, if you’d like to keep up to date with how others are reacting to the new Si, click here to read all the first driving impressions from CivicX.com.
