- There's increasingly little reason
for a car like the Honda Civic Si to exist.
People have generally moved on from compact sedans.
They're buying compact crossovers instead.
And hot performance compact sedans?
Well, that's an increasingly endangered species.
And hot performance compact sedans
that only come with a manual transmission?
Well, that just might be the rarest breed of them all.
And yet here we are,
standing next to a brand-new 2022 Honda Civic Si.
I don't think anybody would have faulted Honda
if they decided not to renew the Si
for the redesigned 11th-generation Civic,
but they decided to send a love letter to their fans.
They spent the money, they created a new one and here it is.
We've driven the new '22 Si,
and we've come away with some interesting thoughts
about how good it is versus the previous generations.
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Visually, there really isn't that much that's different
between lesser versions of the Civic and the new Si.
There's a couple of subtle cues like the grille up front
that uses a honeycomb pattern and the Si badge.
That honeycomb pattern actually kind of matches
the new honeycomb pattern that's on the dash
for the 11th-generation Civic.
You've also got matte-black 18-inch wheels,
gloss-black mirror caps, window surrounds and spoiler,
and that's pretty much it.
But one sure way to be able to identify a new Si is this,
the Blazing Orange Pearl paint which is exclusive to the Si.
Now, the Civic was kind of a conservative redesign.
We actually likened it to the Honda Accord
when it came out a few months ago,
and this Si version really doesn't look
all that much more aggressive or hotted up.
Now, if your plan is to slide by
under the radar of law enforcement, then yeah,
being able to blend in? Pretty good idea.
But we do hope that they've got something
a bit more aggressive planned for the upcoming Type R.
It's generally agreed that the interior redesign
of the 11th-generation Civic
was a bit more successful than the exterior redesign,
and you can really see why
when you sit in the new Si especially.
You've got the honeycomb mesh in the dash
that you have with lesser-trim Civics,
but it's got this red surround and piano-black trim
that really makes it pop.
You've got special sport seats, as well.
Now, they look very heavily bolstered,
but even for a big guy like me, they're super-comfortable.
You've got really cool red checkered fabric
and embroidery on the seatback, as well.
The same fabric is also in the doors.
So is this red stitching that you also see
on the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
You've got a couple of really interesting touches
in here, as well,
like a fully digital instrument cluster, which is new,
and you've got for the first time in the Si
a standard 12-speaker Bose premium audio system,
which sounds pretty kickin'.
And the general changes to the 11th-generation Civic
also carry over for the Si, of course.
It's bigger in here.
You've got a little bit more headroom,
a little bit more width.
There's a lot more room inside front to back, as well,
so up front and in the second row, you've got more legroom.
What don't you get on the '22 Si?
Adaptive dampers.
The sport suspension has only been tuned one way,
the way that Honda wants it tuned,
and that's the way you'll like it ... or not.
(engine roaring)
You see, Honda's gotten rid of the adaptive dampers
and they've tuned the suspension to be one way,
and that way is sporty - very, very sporty.
One would almost decide to say
it's borderline stiff and bouncy.
Now, it's not Toyota Corolla Apex Edition
tuned-in-some-teenager's-garage,
bruise-your-kidneys kind of bouncy,
but it is still pretty stiff.
It does feel stiffer than the last Civic Si,
and this is even on these relatively smooth
Southern California roads.
I can't imagine what this thing is gonna be like
back in the Midwest,
but it kind of makes up for it
by the fact that the steering is absolutely fantastic.
It is direct, it is crisp.
The feedback is fantastic,
and even the shape and feel of the steering wheel
is really good.
It's just the right diameter.
The actual cross-section to grip the thing
is also just the right diameter, as well.
But it is still pretty bouncy.
The engine itself doesn't feel particularly
any more powerful than the last Civic Si,
but it does love to rev,
and the six-speed manual transmission
also now has shorter throws.
I do wish the shift knob was a little bit larger;
it kind of disappears in my great big paws.
But overall, it's still a joy to row through these gears,
and there's also rev matching on the downshift, as well,
which is something new for the Si
that was originally found only in the Type R.
The shifter is really just a lot of fun.
And if you don't know how to drive
a manual transmission shifter,
this really isn't a bad car to learn on, frankly.
The clutch pickup point is right off the floor,
so it does take a little bit of getting used to,
but it's very typical Honda in its operation.
It's just been so well-tuned.
The chassis dynamics,
the steering feel, the shifter response.
I mean, it's pretty much a seven-tenths Type R,
but oof, it is bouncy!
You hit too big a bounce and you're a little too tall,
you're gonna smack your head up in the headliner.
Ask me how I know.
While it doesn't feel particularly quicker
than the old Civic Si,
that doesn't mean that it's not still fun.
Now, the engine power of 200 horsepower
is down from previous years,
and maybe more importantly,
it's down versus its competitors.
The Volkswagen GTI makes more
and the Hyundai Elantra N, which is new, makes a lot more.
They are also a little bit more expensive
than the Civic Si.
But just because the Civic, oof,
isn't quite as powerful as its competitors
doesn't mean that it's any less fun.
It is still a lot of fun.
So the engine noise that you're hearing
as you're rowing these gears,
at lower rpm, it's mostly the engine.
It's got a really interesting coiled exhaust
coming out the back.
But once you get up into the higher-rev rage,
it actually starts piping some of that music
in through the audio system, which I don't mind.
It still sounds pretty good.
And given how quiet most cars are these days,
they kind of have to pipe the audio in,
otherwise you'll never hear the engine.
There may not be as many sport compact sedan fans out there
as there used to be just a few years ago,
but for the remaining diehard holdouts
for whom no compact sport crossover will actually do,
the new Civic Si is going to be
a very satisfying choice, I think.
Pricing starts at $28,315, including destination.
Available high-performance summer tires will add $200,
and that is a screaming deal,
especially in today's super-expensive car market.
You can read the full review
and look up all the other details
on the Civic Si at Cars.com.
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