July 2nd, 2007 by 
anthony5150
Driving Impressions: 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan
by Tony S.
Photos by Derek Mau
Pros:
- Handling
- Interior and Exterior Design
- Sweet, High-revving Motor
Cons:
- Low Torque
- Terrible Speedometer Placement
A lot of words come to mind when thinking of Honda four-doors: practical, reliable, dependable, and mostly boring. There’s nothing wrong with making that type of vehicle….Honda has sold millions of them. But what do you do if you’re looking for a little sport in an economical and practical four-door and you don’t want to break the bank. Well, you could start off by looking at the four-door Honda Civic Si.
Conditions for the test drive were incredible (isn’t the Bay Area great), with clear skies and eighty to ninety-degree temperatures. I drove a combination of highway, city surface streets, and winding back roads. I think the conditions in which we tested the car will be consistent with how most people will drive the car.
Build
This is the 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan. It comes equipped with a 4 cylinder 2.0 liter motor that pumps out 197 horsepower at 7800 RPM and 139 pound-feet of torque at 6100 RPM. The motor is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Power is delivered to the road via a front-wheel drive system with a limited slip differential ending in 17 inch, split five spoke alloy rims shod with Michelin Pilot P215/45R17 tires.
Fit and finish is normal Honda excellence. The body panels align properly and the doors close securely.
Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The Si has a very modern looking interior, with flowing lines and an intelligent design. The instruments are easily visible behind a three spoke steering wheel and the controls are easy to understand and use. However, I did find one area of major concern. The speedometer is placed at the top of a double-stack instrument cluster and is almost impossible to read under direct sunlight. While this design is very distinctive and attractive, it loses points for practicality and is a little disappointing considering normally excellent Honda engineering.
The cloth covered seats are firm and have side bolsters that do a commendable job keeping you in place during spirited driving. This makes for a fairly sporting seat that maintains an appreciable comfort factor. The cloth material which adorns the seats and other surface areas of the interior is very attractive, but acts like Velcro with hair and other debris. Keeping this interior clean will require a little more effort than leather or vinyl. Rear seat leg room is adequate, but becomes a bit crunched when the front seats are place in the full rear position.
The rear seats fold down to provide additional cargo area, but if you want to carry bicycles or other large items, a roof rack will be in order.
It appears that Honda may have left out a little insulation in the interests of keeping this car light. It’s not exactly noisy, just a little more noisy than most cars at this price level.
Performance
The Civic Si boasts a197 horsepower i-VTEC engine with 139 pound-feet of torque….yaaawn. Where’s the sport in this Civic Si? Wait a minute,…I’m starting to feel something. There it is, just had to get over 6,000 rpm to find it. All kidding aside, this is a very nice little motor. Smooth, high-revving, and no quit. This motor is well-served by its six speed manual. Stir the gear-box frequently and keep the RPMs over 6,000 and this is a fun ride. This car makes you want to accelerate just to hear that great exhaust note. Not bad at all for a normally aspirated 2.0 liter.
I did notice that the shifting on this vehicle felt a bit vague. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the transmission, it could just use a better shifting linkage that would allow more positive shifts.
(Continued on page 2 - Handling | Styling | Value | Ratings | Conclusion )
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July 29th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Nice review. Did you forget to mention it requires premium gas? I couldn’t see where you mentioned that.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Whoops! You are right - the Civic Si uses 91 octane fuel. I have a K20A2 engine in my ‘02 RSX and that uses premium gas, also. The ‘05 RSX Type S and Civic Si share the same engine, K20Z1.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Oh yea the engine is the k20z3 in the civic si 06 and up. Just thought i would let you know so you could correct that.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
some of these reviews say the Si can “only” use premium gas, i have an Si coupe, and i put the high octane in but the car runs fine on regular. also, im not sure if i just suck at quick shifting, but sometimes, when i am, i miss 2nd gear and grind it. i saw in a different review that it happens sometimes, just wonderin… but, i think you did a great job with the review, and the rating system you did was sweet. but overall i love the car, and i think it has alot of potential. i am just wondering what would be better to put into it, a turbo, or a supercharger. thanks…. John
September 20th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
The ECU programming is setup for for a lower grade fuel, but the 91 octane is preferred to avoid pinging or pre-detonation. You have a hi-performance engine and it should be treated with the best available gas.
Sorry, I can’t suggest a supercharger or turbo either way. I prefer normally aspirated engines because of the faster throttle response and reliability factor. Although, I admit forced induction is the way to go if you are looking for the biggest improvement in speed with aftermarket mods.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
hey thanks for gettin back to me. i have couple more questions. first off, what is th difference between vtech, and i-vtech? next, im looking to get a controller for it. however, im not so sure if i should. i dont wanna take the risk of voiding my warranty or breaking my engine. thanks again.
JOhn
October 4th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
VTEC is the valve timing and lift control technology that Honda uses with their high performance engines (K20A, B16A, EK3 D15B) to squeeze more power out of a small engine, but still get good fuel economy numbers. I can get 30 MPG overall in my ‘02 RSX if I keep my speed down near the posted speed limit. iVTEC is VTEC + VTC (Variable Timing Control) which allows for dynamic/continuous intake valve timing and overlap control to optimize power, torque, fuel economy and emissions. You can read more about iVTEC at http://asia.vtec.net/article/k20a/
If I understand your question correctly, Hondata is my preference for ECU modification and enhancement.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:29 am
And just about EVERY car manufacturer uses some sort of variable valve timing, one of Subaru’s technologies is basically identical to VTEC, just the Hondas don’t seem to produce much torque and suffer from very tinny, whiny engines. As far as a sporty econocar, its not a bad package except for the wedge-of-cheese exterior, Fisher-Price interior, whiny engine note, vague shifting, and complete lack of torque. There’s no reason to put high-octane fuel in the SI. Keep the revving within reason and the car should perform fine. Apparently a terrible car to try to “tune”. Bigger wheels/tires don’t help the low torque engine or economy. You could tweak the handling but you’re still driving essentially one of the most efficient econocars on the road. If one is looking for the optimal Civic variant, the hybrid takes much better advantage of the Civic’s offerings…
June 12th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Wow RAV3 -
Have to disagree on a couple of things there … the exhaust note/engine sound from the 06-08 Si K20Z3 is quite pleasing to just about anyone I’ve taken for a drive in my 08. In fact, I can’t think of a car that sounds better (out of the box) for it’s displacement.
Vague shifting? Are we talking about the same car? The Honda shifter is in my humble opinion, hands down the best shifter in it’s class - period. Fast, precise, easy. Can’t imagine how one might improve upon it. I really don’t understand how you came to that conclusion.
“There’s really no reason to put high-octane fuel in the SI” —
Listen to me people DO NOT HEED THIS ADVICE. You should always use high octane fuel in the K20. If its an emergency and only 87 is available, then use it - but do not use 87 octane fuel regularly. When you do, you are asking the motor to operate on the edge of it’s operational range in terms of mixture, spark advance and valve timing. THIS CAN DAMAGE THE MOTOR OVER TIME. Keep your foot out of it when running 87 octane for sure, as there are potentially substantially greater mechanical stresses put on the motor.
The K20 Si may not be classified as a “fast” car (especially with a shift-point just shy of 60mph - ruining the 0-60 times) but it puts you back in your seat when in the 5800-8500rpm range with the short gearing. Not a glorified econo-car, certainly. In fact - it is so quick that it worries most owners that tickets are inevitable.
C.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Just got rid of mine. I had the same car you reviewed…4dr SI. From the dealer, the car pulled to the right, ate up the rt front tire, steering wheel jumped to the right when leaving a stop. No, I did not hit a curb. NOISY interior, lots of wind noise coming from the driver’s door, the floor, the doors rattled. Thin paint on the front meant I was constantly fixing stone chips. Couldn’t stand to keep it more than 9 months. That was my 5th and last Honda.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:57 am
“I can’t think of a car that sounds better (out of the box) for it’s displacement.”
I love how Honda guys always use “For it’s Displacement” in whatever argument they’ve got LMAO
November 16th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
OK u guys gotta learn am 19 and know more then all of you people… V-TECH is VARIABLE TIMING ELECTRIC CONTROL .Now what is pump up more oil to the head when u hit around 8 to 9 RPMS to add a bigger amount of stroke to the lobes of the cam so lifts the values more for intake(and as you know the intake values are bigger or have two values for intake Because intake is hard to suck in then to releasing). I-vtech is the same thing just that the lobe on the came is a little bit bigger by degress.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Fuck all you Honda haters, when your the best you always get hated on. Almost comparable to USA vs. “Insert your #2 country here” everyone hates us b/c we are numero uno. I have owned 5 Honda’s and each one is still on the road today outlasting every vehicle owned by my friends/family/neighbors/etc… I just purchased a ‘09 Civic SI 2DR and I’m loving every min. of it from the horsepower to the 12 mph cruzin’ down the strip. For $/HP show me a better deal. Remember there’s a reason why Honda is one of the few companies not having to take a loss on their cars/trucks now-a-days….I’ll just leave it at that.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:29 am
No comment, just amazing car!.
March 29th, 2009 at 12:04 am
joe_prog, your problems sound specific to your car. maybe something happened with it at the dealership and messed up your car’s alignment. i have the 2dr si, but i know people with the 4dr who haven’t had problems with their cars. on the other hand, i will agree with you about the paint being thin…but i’ve found that most cars nowadays chip paint really easily. it’s either there are more stones out there that hit the paint, or the manufacturers are just putting less paint on the cars.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Joe_Prog, are you for real? So the car just starts mysteriously pulling and eating tires? Did you bother to have it checked? Road noise, yes, and Honda has been gigged for that in the past, but not wind noise. My thoughts are that you did not service it properly or take care of it, then wondered why it fell apart. My ‘08 Si sedan is, hands down, one of the best cars I have ever owned. I even take care of it. What a thought.
Sorry dude, but Hondas are considered the best cars money can buy for a reason.
My only complaint about the car is the Navi system. It’s at least three years old, the routes it chooses are not always the most direct, and I’m finding more and more systems out there that have weather, traffic, and some other goodies. Otherwise, this car is awesome.
And Nickkk, you are wrong about the terminology. Sorry.