One year after debuting a redesigned Civic Si and ditching the unpopular hatchback body for a traditional two-door design, Honda unleashes a sedan variant of its hot little econo-sport coupe because it has determined that young compact car buyers prefer the utility of
and hatchbacks over coupes. Huh. Normally it’s Ford that chases its own tail around like this. Whatever. The point is that if you’ve been craving a terrifically fun small car as a replacement for the V6- or V8-powered gas hog that currently sits in your driveway, the
practicality.
With this quick little four-door, Honda is aiming at the same group of young, educated men that buy the Mazda 3,
Evolution, and Subaru WRX because “fun-to-drive” is high on their list of purchase considerations. Honda’s research says that “fun-to-drive” is not a priority with Civic EX buyers. Honda’s research also says that the top trade-in model for these four “fun-to-drive” competitors is a Civic. Slapping that high-revving four-banger into the Civic Sedan and decorating it with all the same goodies that come on the Si Coupe was a no-brainer, and the result is the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan, which comes standard with “fun-to-drive.”
Honda invited us to the Motor City to drive the new Civic Si Sedan. Yeah, not the first place you think of when the phrase “great driving roads” comes to mind. But one of the Civic Si’s best traits is its tight, nimble feel when dicing through traffic, so the Dearborn area’s grid layout helped to showcase this part of the car’s personality. We resisted the urge to run over to Ford’s Glass House headquarters and drive rings around the building just as fast as we could, sticking instead to the auto-cross course Honda mapped out in the parking lot of the Hyatt hotel and to the city streets, freeways, and parkways nearby, and came away favorably impressed with this hot little family hauler.
Honda plans to launch the 2007 Honda Civic Si on November 1, to coincide with the annual Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas. The price is not officially set, but Honda thinks it will mirror the Si Coupe, with a starting price of about $20,000. Add the voice-activated navigation system with XM satellite radio and the stickier summer tires, and the price will jump to about $22,000. Honda plans to sell about 15,000 units annually.
Nuts and BoltsNuts and Bolts
Though it makes almost 200 horsepower, the Honda Civic Si Sedan is torque-impaired and the power peaks just shy of redline, which means you must thrash this car to extract maximum thrills.It should come as no surprise to anyone that the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan is essentially the same as the Si Coupe, but with two extra doors, 59 extra pounds and a few unique tweaks. Honda’s 2.0-liter iVTEC four-cylinder engine belts out 197 horsepower just 200 revs shy of redline at a lofty 7,800 rpm, and cranks 139 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,100 rpm. If you’re in Honda’s target market for this car, you’re doing the math right now. These figures do, indeed, indicate that you’re going to spend lots of time thrashing on the engine to generate maximum power, and extracting every last ounce of motive force is gonna require some serious attention to detail – especially when the standard five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty expires. And if you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for polar ice caps, you oughta know that this engine is the only one in the Civic lineup that isn’t rated LEV II ULEV or better.
As in the coupe, those ponies flow to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission and a helical limited-slip differential. An automatic transmission is not a part of the Honda Civic Si equation, so if you can’t shift for yourself, maybe you should buy a car that just
pretends to be a sport sedan – like a Chevy Cobalt SS four-door. Alternatively, choose the Civic EX, which is plenty more fun to drive than most people think while getting 40 mpg on the highway.
The Civic Si Sedan’s MacPherson strut front and double-wishbone rear suspension is tuned a little differently and gets a 1mm thinner front stabilizer bar to offset the weight gain over the coupe, and while Honda says the Si Sedan is a tick slower to accelerate than the Si Coupe, it promises that handling and braking capabilities are identical. Bright silver 17-inch alloy wheels are shod with P215/45R17 all-season tires and guided by electric rack-and-pinion steering, but for $200 buyers can select summer rubber in the same size. Ventilated front and solid rear disc brakes bring the Civic Si Sedan to a rapid halt, enhanced with ABS, EBD, and a stability control system. Honda has also tuned the Si Sedan’s exhaust differently for a more powerful note in the low-rpm range.
DesignDesign
The Civic Si Sedan’s interior is functional and made of high-quality materials, but the split-gauge dash design takes some getting used to. A navigation system is available for $1,750, and includes XM satellite radio. Of course, the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan looks different from the Si Coupe, with a unique body design as well as its own grille and rear spoiler. Otherwise, the Si Sedan is, for the most part, the spitting image of its svelte sister. It wears the same exhaust finisher, the same “iVTEC” decals, and the same snazzy silver-painted alloy wheels. For 2007, a new wheel finish called sparkle silver is available on the Si Sedan and Si Coupe, appropriately trendy in a darker color yet bright enough to avoid the dirty appearance elicited by most gray rims. The sedan’s humble wing spoiler integrates well with the Civic’s fresh design and isn’t too boy-racerish, but a lip spoiler would be preferable.
Inside, the Civic Si Sedan’s materials quality is excellent, and the car is decked out with the same well bolstered and embroidered sport seats as the Si Coupe, which means they’re also covered in fabric that sticks to clothing and shows lots of lint. The floor mats are also embroidered, and the Si Sedan gets sport pedals, a three-spoke leather-wrapped steering, and red gauge illumination with a high-rev warning indicator light.
Functionally, the split-level dash design is terrific but I’m not warming up to the look, which is too busy with panel joints in comparison to the car’s otherwise clean appearance inside and out. Assuming the split arrangement is a given, I think it would be better to have a green, yellow, and red bar graph tachometer up top with a traditional speedometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and oil pressure gauge down below. In this car, where maximum horsepower is made so close to maximum repair bills, revs are critical, not speed, so the tach should be located high and within the driver’s line of sight.
ComfortComfort
The Honda Civic Si Sedan deftly blends performance with comfort and practicality, thanks to its four doors, roomy interior, and supportive front sport seats.
Honda owes me dinner. A friend of mine was recently shopping for a
Volkswagen Jetta TDI, tired as she was of gassing up her
Lexus RX 330 for an 80-mile round-trip commute. Trouble was, the VW dealer wanted significantly more than sticker – $32,000 for a turbodiesel with leather and navigation. I told her that for more than ten grand less, she could get a Civic EX with navigation and a 40-mpg highway EPA rating. Today, she is the proud and happy owner of just such a car, which brings me to my point. She called the other day and said: “I didn’t realize how much room there is inside a Civic.”
Room translates to comfort, and the Honda Civic Si Sedan is especially comfortable thanks to its unique sport seats. It’s not just occupants sitting in the front seat who enjoy the ride, because with the two six-footers residing up front there’s still enough room for another pair of ‘em in the back, and leg room is generous enough that their legs won’t contact the seatbacks. Plus, the rear floor is flat so there’s no drivetrain or exhaust hump to crowd feet, and the Si Sedan comes with a rear center armrest. Seriously, in a practical sense, the Civic offers more back seat space than some so-called midsize sedans.
If I can complain at all about comfort levels, it’s with the location of the parking brake. I tend to sit in a splay-legged driving position, forcing the brake handle directly into my right knee. For this test drive, I spent extra time fiddling with the tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, as well as the seat settings. The result was that I found a position which resolved my complaint, perhaps in part because the sport seat bolsters placed my right leg on a more linear plane with the accelerator.
One of my favorite things about the Civic Si is its standard 350-watt stereo with a six-disc CD changer and XM satellite radio. Sound quality is terrific, and unexpected in a small car. I also think it’s nice of Honda to offer a navigation system at this price point, though personally I’d likely skip this option. Like the rear seat, the Civic’s trunk is surprisingly roomy, well shaped, and equipped with a low liftover height. There’s no close-assist handle on the inside, but the lid is light and easy to slam shut. For added space, the rear seatbacks fold in a 60/40 split.
Driving ImpressionsDriving Impressions
We like the Honda Civic Si better as a sedan, because it’s roomier, there’s more glass and better outward visibility, and there’s just something cool about a small four-door with attitude. Michigan is not known for its great driving roads. There are a few hills, dips, twists, and turns in the south-central region known as the Irish Hills, and if you travel up to the northwestern part around Traverse City you’ll get undulating topography that forces the road to bend and kink, but around Detroit it’s all straight lines and frost heaves. This is the land where the cloverleaf highway ramp becomes the highlight of an enthusiast’s day. Since this is the environment in which we first drove the Honda Civic Si Sedan, you may need to take these comments about the car’s capabilities with a grain of salt until we flog one around our normal Malibu Canyon stomping grounds. That said, somehow, this car seems more special as a sedan. It’s tight, entertaining, comfortable, and terrific to drive around town. It’s also less claustrophobic than the Civic Si Coupe thanks to the added glass and roomier interior. Plus, there’s something appealing about a four-door with this kind of attitude.
The Honda Civic Si Sedan’s steering, suspension, and brakes all make city driving a joy. In first and second gears, the Si Sedan is lively and seems to be less affected by the engine’s need to rev through the ceiling to extract maximum power than when passing on the highway. Steering is quick, crisp, and offers great feel despite its electric rather than hydraulic assist system. The brakes are a bit touchy until you acclimate to the pedal, then they’re as responsive and dependable as a best friend, and shifting is a joy thanks to the silky short-throw gearbox and easy-to-engage clutch.
Still, despite all this wholesome goodness, the Civic Si suffers a dearth of power under 6,000 rpm. This lack of oomph is especially frustrating when passing on the freeway. Downshift from sixth gear into fourth and punch it! Now the car is making a bunch of noise but not really going anywhere. Plus, well, you’ve gotta downshift two gears to get this lack of response. Wait a moment or two, and the Civic’s motor finally screams up into its sweet spot, and you get what you came looking for – it just takes awhile. A Volkswagen Jetta GLI, by contrast, just whooshes right along.
Due to the sheer lack of decent pavement on which to drive in Dearborn, Honda set up an autocross road course in the Hyatt hotel’s parking lot. The Civic Si Sedan proved to be a good time when threading through the cones, displaying a decidedly tossable and almost driftable nature. The course was seemingly designed to highlight the car’s second-gear performance, so in this environment any powerband deficiencies were masked, but we assume that the sedan experiences the same issues we’ve had with the Coupe out in the real world. On the autocross, there was more roll and tire squeal than we expected, and the brake handle resumed its role as the world’s worst acupuncturist, but the brakes held up superbly and the stability control worked nicely to reign my ass in when I exceeded my limited talent and judgment levels.
SpecificationsSpecifications
The Honda Civic Si Sedan’s main competitors include the Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan, Mazda 3s Sedan, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Nissan Sentra SE-R, Toyota Corolla XRS, Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T, and Volkswagen Jetta GLI Test Vehicle: 2006 Honda Civic Si Sedan
Price of Test Vehicle: $22,000 (estimated)
Engine Size and Type: 2.0-liter inline four with variable valve timing
Engine Horsepower: 197 at 7,800 rpm
Engine Torque: 139 at 6,100 rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Curb weight, lbs.: 2,945
EPA Fuel Economy (city/highway): 23/32 mpg
Length: 176.7 inches
Width: 69 inches
Wheelbase: 106.3 inches
Height: 56.5 inches
Leg room (front/rear): 42.2/34.6 inches
Head room (front/rear): 38.1/36.7 inches
Max. Seating Capacity: Five
Max. Cargo Volume: 12 cu.-ft.
Competitors: Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sedan,
Ford Focus ZX4 ST, Mazda 3s Sedan, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Mitsubishi Evolution, Nissan Sentra SE-R,
Saturn Ion 2.4 Sedan, Subaru Impreza WRX, Toyota Corolla XRS, Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T, Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Photos by Christian J. Wardlaw
