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Keeping ahead of the curve
Honda's best-selling Civic adds a new, sporty Si sedan
By Bob English
Thursday, December 18, 2003
It looks like Honda's Civic will not only claim best-selling passenger car honours for 2003, but could also be Canada's overall best-seller too. Is this a surprise? No. The Civic, in its myriad configurations, has been Canada's best-selling passenger car for the last five years and has most of the things a very large chunk of the Canadian car buying public - the 40 per cent who purchase compacts - want. This includes, its smaller size, reasonable price, interesting but not far-out styling, adequate performance, a fair level of equipment, decent practicality in terms of passenger and cargo capability, reliability and fuel economy. And perhaps we should also throw in familiarity.
Honda's been selling the Civic since the early 1970s, so I bet it would be tough to find a Canadian, driver or not, who isn't at least aware of the car at some level. So there's a built-in comfort factor with it. I suppose being built just up the road from Toronto, in Alliston, doesn't hurt its appeal either.
So what does Honda do with a good thing? What the automaker has always done every few years over the past three decades with the Civic - make it better.
All four vehicles in the range - sedan, coupe, hybrid and sporty SiR - have been 'freshened' for 2004 (they were completely revamped in 2001) with new front and rear end treatments, including lights and fascias.
But the big change, the one we're most interested in, is the addition of the hotter VTEC engine from the coupe (and Acura 1.7 EL stablemate) to the sedan range. It's available in a new-for-2004 Civic Si, which replaces the LX Sport.
At $21,500 the Si is just $100 more than the '03 LX Sport, which makes it something of a bargain too.
This engine, essentially the same 1.7-litre, 4-cylinder unit that makes 115 horsepower and 110 lb-ft of torque in standard trim, produces 127 hp at 6,300 rpm and 114 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 revs when equipped with Honda's VTEC variable valve timing system.
This is just what the Civic needs to compete with increasingly high horsepower competition. The engine is delightfully revvy and smooth, right up to 7,000 rpm, and delivers its power through a 5-speed gearbox with perfectly chosen ratios and a light, accurate, short-throw shifter.
Despite its low torque output, this combination is eminently driveable, as long as you're willing to stir the cogs in the box to suit your acceleration requirements of the moment. The Si breaks the 10 second barrier from zero to 100 km/h with a 9.7 second time, and accelerates from 80 to 120 km/h in fourth gear in 10.3 seconds. Yet it somehow seems quicker than these numbers suggest.
It's also very fuel frugal, sipping 7.5 litres per 100 km in the city and 5.9 litres on the highway on regular gas.
The new 15-inch wheels and 195/60R15 all-season tires provide a noticeable improvement in overall agility. This, combined with moderate and well controlled body roll, makes turn-in crisper and the car responsively follows the commands of the linear and nicely assisted power steering. Ride is on the soft side of firm and pleasantly supple.
At highway speeds, the cabin is fairly quiet, with just a bit of audible wind noise and some tire slap over expansion strips.
Brakes are a front disc/rear drum system with anti-lock standard, and work effectively through a pedal with decent feel.
Dynamically this new model is very enjoyable to drive, a very refined package - as it should be after more than 30 years of Civic production. But I couldn't help thinking it would suit more Canadians with a torquier 2.0-litre under its hood.
The Si comes very well equipped. Standard stuff includes air conditioning, cruise control, keyless remote entry, leather wrapped steering wheel, power windows, locks, heated mirrors and moonroof. You also get a tachometer, a good sounding CD/stereo system and alloy wheels. The standard anti-lock brakes (with electronic brake force distribution) and dual-stage front airbags raise the safety quotient.
The interior has been made a little sportier with the addition of some carbon-fibre-look trim pieces. The instrument layout is simple, with the tach on the left, speedo in the middle and a joint fuel/temperature gauge on the right. Their dials are attractively trimmed with blue and silver bezels.
The centre stack conveniently places three rotary controls for the HVAC system by your right hand, with the stereo in the centre. Something I found annoying was that even with the heater mode set to deliver heat to the footwell, you still get a lot of hot air from the left hand dash vent. Power window buttons fall under your left hand on an upswept portion of the driver's door arm rest, but the power mirror and cruise control master switch are down by your left knee.
Our silver tester came with a black dash top, grey carbon fibre-like trim and grey cloth seats. If you're thinking it probably looked a little, well, grey in there, you're right.
The seats have soft thigh and firmer rib area bolsters, and they hold you in place comfortably. There's room in the rear for three people, as long as they get along well, and there's good headroom front and rear. The trunk offers a useful 365 litres of cargo space. It's not a richly finished interior, but it looks and works well.
After driving the Civic Si for a week it's easy to understand why Honda sells so many Civic sedans, and why, with the addition of the Si, it will likely sell even more.
Immediate competition:
Chevrolet Cavalier,
Hyundai Elantra,
Mazda3,
Mitsubishi Lancer,
Nissan Sentra,
Pontiac Sunfire,
Saturn ION,
Toyota Corolla
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