Honda Civic Si 2009 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $41,290 (auto)
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): metallic paint $475    
Crash rating: 5-star (EuroNCAP)
Fuel: 91RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.2
CO2 emissions (g/km): 219
Also consider: Mazda3 SP25, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, VW Golf GTI, Volvo C30 T5

About our ratings

Contrary to its lustfully suggestive appearance, the Honda Civic Si simply isn't a five-door clone of its seriously sporty three-door Civic Type R sibling. In shape and style they're a pair, yes. But in spirit and driving experience, no.

By design, the Civic hatchback body is brazenly provocative, a visually audacious car that exploits shock and awe to grab attention. That maybe rules it out for the archly conservative faction, but the rest of us can't help thinking it'd have to be a thrill to snuggle up with on winding roads to somewhere secluded.

Consequently, the merest eyeful of the Si's artfully bold lines and insinuatingly sporty outlook proclaims that this is not your average garden variety five-door family hatchback. Hell no... But, without putting too fine a point on it, the Si isn't every bit as exciting as it looks. A teaser or a pleaser? That's the 40-something thousand dollar question.

The Si has its work cut out for it on two fronts directly affecting its competitiveness: performance and price. Remember, the Si is making its pitch in the high-$30,000 to low-$40,000 hot-hatch market where rivalry is nose-bloodyingly, um, fast and furious.

Within that price range, at least 10 different sports-hatch models vie for short-list inclusion, among which the Civic Type R is far from last or least. Admittedly, some of the models don't offer the convenience of a five-door body and/or optional automatic transmission, but a fair share of them do.

On the performance front, the Civic Si is obviously out of its depth against bona fide hot-hatch rivals which put much more power and punch at your command. Besides having just the same bog standard 103kW and 174Nm to call upon as the entry and mid-level 1.8-litre Civics, the five-door hatch is about 80kg heavier than its sedan campadres. And slightly slower therefore. So no way can the Civic Si try running with its price-class peers without rudely embarrassing its sporty image.

Still, the Si can always promote the fuel-economy angle, maybe. Its consumption rating echoes the 1.8-litre Civic sedans; meaning 6.9L/100km for the manual, and 7.2L/100km for the automatic. However, that may be a shakey premise considering the test Si auto used 9.6L/100km for a week's worth of averagely wide-ranging driving conditions.

For face-saving performance's sake, one can only wonder why Honda doesn't endow the Si with at least the 114kW/188Nm 2.0-litre engine that lifts the Civic Sport sedan clear of its 1.8-litre stablemates. Too costly?

Funny you should raise that point, because the Si's pricing already teeters on the edge of credibility. Where the admittedly three-doors-and-manual-only Civic Type R asks about $41,990 before other charges, the $38,990 Si manual is merely three grand less while the $41,290 Si auto scrunches the difference to just 700 bucks.

For perspective, that makes the Si auto $12,300 costlier than the identically engined VTi-L sedan. And $7700 above the better-performing four-door Sport model. Doesn't add up, does it?

Besides suffering the contentious price and performance issues (too much of one and not enough of the other), the Si's detail execution is open to some lesser quibbles. For instance, although the hatchback Civic is produced exclusively in England, where LHD column stalks are the European-ised norm, it's a rare (and compromised) Japanese model that doesn't redress wands' orientation for other RHD markets.

As you'd fear, the high-tailed slopeback body affords relatively constricted fields of rear view, not helped in light rain by the backlight being wiper-less. Even with the Si's rear bumper sensors, tight reverse parking can be a bit of a trial.

Like Civic sedans, the hatchback's two-tier instrumentation works well; unless the wheel's set so high as to obscure the digital speedo. In general though, presentation of the instruments and controls is exemplary (those stalks excepted). At least until the sun's over your shoulder. Then the lenses glare reflectively and the central display panel's clock, HVAC info and mode settings are rendered invisible behind the sunlit sheen.

The Si's cruise control can't be depended upon for sticking to a speed limit. On the flat it's fine, but the car's speed increases significantly on descents. Your preset number is also exceeded on climbs when the automatic downshifts and accelerates too enthusiastically.

Although the autobox features five speeds and programmed Grade Logic to allegedly keep on top of the game, it isn't the smoothest, nor smartest self-shifter around. It sometimes hangs on too long before upshifting, or downshifts a bit pre-emptively. In either event the gear-changes tend to punctuate your awareness that the engine is revving busily and noisily to stir the car along. Not a particularly happy combination.

The Si's electrically assisted steering is quite handily weighted overall, and the 2.2-turns ratio is responsively quick without being darty. Yet while the wheel itself is nicely tactile, sense of connection with the tyre/road interface varies as intermittently as scrambled Morse code.

The brakes are great; as much for the finely progressive pedal feel and response as for the anchors' reassuringly arresting performance.

For many bums and brains, ride quality is perhaps the sportiest thing about the Civic Si. Abetted by the fairly shallow and grippy 225/45R17 tyres, the noticeably firm-ish springing and damping exercises disciplined control over the body roll, ride absorbency and handling.

Though there are times and surfaces where the suspension's authority can certainly be felt, it's seldom so sharp or harsh as to be discomforting. The benefit is that the chassis corners flatly, grips strongly, handles faithfully and is good fun through the twisty bits; albeit inhibited by the pedestrian drivetrain.

There's lots to like about the rest of the Si too. To our eyes it looks especially classy in the optional metallic silver paint. Yes, we know red is allegedly faster, but silver does the Si proud. Being a Honda, the build quality, presentation and furnishings are beyond reproach.

And, as expected for the price, the Si comes with plenty of kit. Included among the many niceties are heated front seats, auto on/off headlights, auto wipers, dual-zone climate control, sports pedals and footrest, perforated leather trim throughout, luggage net and 60:40 split-fold rear seat. Not just your usual split-folds either.

Besides tipping conventionally flat, these rear cushions (like the Jazz's) can easily be latched vertically against the upright backrest/s to create a very deep floor-to-roof cargo space behind the front seats. Good thinking.

For design brilliance though, the Si's seemingly invisible rear doors are a masterpiece. The slim shut-line and the unorthodox but entirely functional frame-mounted door handle are so easily overlooked that the Si is easily mistaken for a three-door. The illusion is so effective is that we had (different) intending rear passengers who instinctively opened the front door, expecting to slide/tip the front seat to access the rear bench. Gotcha!

So, in spite of its few quirks, the Civic Si has some tangible appeal, not least its highly visible individuality. Rationally however, keen drivers may have difficulty reconciling the Si's visual, material and sensory attractions with the quite ordinary drivetrain and the anything-but-ordinary price.

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