2002 civic si review

[chunky]

I test drove it today.

here's a link to where i did the review, it's 3 pages long (i tried to be complete).

http://www.hondavision.com/showthrea...&threadid=6015

[madtownhonda]

good review....I was going to drive one today but I was running a little late for work....I must say they look quite nice though.

[CivSiGuy]

very good review. Just wondering if you like this Si better than the 6th gen?

[chunky]

Originally posted by CivSiGuy
very good review. Just wondering if you like this Si better than the 6th gen?

stock v.s. stock, it's a tough call. I'd have to go with the new si for a number of reasons. The broad powerband is a big advantage for me as I like to auto-x. Powering out of a low speed turn is no problem even in 3rd gear. the 2.0L motor will also have far more upgrade potential than the b16a ever did - although aftermarket support remains to be seen, i believe it will be strong.

Plus, I can't deny that I really really like the look of the hatchback. It's even nicer b/c it doesn't share that bodystyle with any other car. The 2000 civic si's were indistinguishable to the untrained eye from the 2000 ex's - you will never mistake a 2002 si for anything else.

The price is somewhat of a hangup with the new model, but here's a comparison of MSRP's

2000 si: 17,545 + 440 = 17,985

2002 si: 19,000 + 440 = 19,440

that's a $1,455 price hike. I actually got my 2000 si for 16,500 + TTT, so I'd end up paying about 3 grand more b/c I doubt that even with my connections at the dealership I will be able to pick one up for less than MSRP.

So is it worth the extra money? I'd say so. The car is more solid, has more power throughout the powerband and will eventually proove itself on the streets.

Of course, the type-r variants of the civic and RSX are reportedly on their way over to the U.S. next year so some of you may wait. Those cars will probably arrive in limited quantities (5000 or so of each) and will sell for 3-5K more than the si and type-s. Being a poor college student, I can't afford to purchase a type-r. So the si is looking quite appealing once again. I still have to test out the 180hp GTI and the focus SVT. The sentra se-r spec V is somewhat out of the running b/c I wasn't overwhelmed by the car's handling dynamics. It also lost a lot of steam at the top of the rpm band. It's powerband really is only about 2000rpm wide and towards the middle of the rpm range. It also didn't seem to have as balanced handling as the si - it was very hard to coax the se-r spec V into oversteer.