When my gf made a comment that my **Honda Accord looked "too executive"**, I decided it was time to change my wheels. Although I did like my Accord, it was indeed tad to comfy for my taste. Which is what started my hunt for a car. The criteria was quite simple. I wanted all the **safety** features of the Accord but in a **sportier **car that was also **economical **and **reliable**.
The search on google brought up 3 names - The **MINI Cooper **(those who have seen The Italian Job know what I mean), **Volkswagen GTI **(loved the fact that it came with a built in TURBO!) and the **Toyota Celica **(loved its low profile, sleek shape and muscular styling. the dials and the seats . ok. I’ll stop now).
Search as I might, I could not get a **Celica **within my price range and if I did, the car was not in my color choice. When my birthday arrived, I decided that I was going to **sell my Accord **to put additional pressure on myself to make a decision. Having done that, I said to myself - If I’m going to be denied a **Celica **and have to pay high maintenance anyways, I’m gonna treat myself to a **Merc **or a **Beemer**! Having said that, I went to the local car dealer and there it was. Sitting demurely and yet commanding attention was a **Honda**. It felt quite at home with all the classy cars. As my love of **Japanese cars **is well known, I decided to go for a spin.
The first thing I noticed from the **outside** was the **distinctive shape**. It has a lot of **curves and slopes in the hood**, but as you progress towards **the boot**, the car gets more and more **muscular and leaner**. I guess the idea was to make people think that the car is a **puny kitten**, but when they take this **pocket rocket **up for a race, the boot is what they’ll see most of the times which will make them have new found **respect **for the vehicle!
The first thing I noticed on the **interior **was the **inviting trim** on the vehicle. **Black cloth seats with red stitching **is the theme of the vehicle. The **dials **have a **white background with black letters **and a **red glow **to them. The **seats **are meant to be **comfortable **and **hugged my body **well for **aggressive cornering **and **driving comfort**. The **head rests** have a ho!e - the kind you see in **expensive sports convertibles **or in **rally racers**. Such is the **attention to detail **here, that the **rally style shifter **and the **leather steering **also have **red stitching **- like a base ball- to **match the seats**. The **silver center console **lends a **touch of class **to this **sporty vehicle**. Again, the **door knobs **are made to **match the console **and have a **matt sliver finish **to them. Full points to Honda for the interiors. They even have 3 cup holders in the front seats with the driver getting 2 - one on the left that pops in and out and another in the usual place below the center console; this was to help make the car comfy for left handers and for subtly saying "we are **designing **this to be **a drivers car**"!
The **2.0 liter iVTEC DOHC 16-valve 4 Cylinder with Continuously Variable Cam Timing** has 3 distinct sounds to it - A **low grunt **in the 1.5K - 3K RPM range, A **gentle purr **in the 3k-4.5K range and a **Deep throaty Roarrrr **in the 5-7K range! The power delivery can be felt accordingly in each of the ranges. The thing I love the most about this engine is that it is **very happy to redline**! In the initial days of owning my car, I loved revving it and feeling the surge of power propel the car at the whims of my right foot! It was a beast that could be easily tamed and we got along perfectly!
The **iVTEC **technology means that when you are not revving the engine you can get **26 MPG **in the **city **and **30 MPG **on the **freeway**. I get 24 in City and 28-29 on the freeway. If revving it, the fuel economy drops to 21-22.xx range, but the **fun **had while doing it more than makes up for the measley gas milage:-)
The engine generates **160 horses @ 6, 500 RPM **and can propel this beast to **60 MPH in 7.9 Secs**! This makes the **Civic Si an under 20, 000 Dollar vehicle that is an under 8 second car**! All this while looking good too! If the Civic’s your wife, you wont need a mistress!
The **front suspension **of the Civic is a **MacPherson Strut **design to allow room for a **high-mounted steering box **with **longer steering arms for improved stability**. The **rear suspension **is the **double wishbone type **biased toward handling. The suspension is calibrated toward a firm ride at the expense of comfort(again, this is a sports car). The longer steering arms for improved stability mean that you can **take corners at insane speeds **without going over the edge as I found out in the 1st week of driving it. I hit an off-ramp designed for 25 MPH at 50 MPH and the car was riding on 3 wheels, but the rubber didnt leave the road and the corner was conquered without a scratch! **I got my money’s worth right there**!
It comes with an **electric power steering **for **better control **and **improved fuel economy**. As you speed up, the computer varies the power steering effort in one mile per hour increments up to 99 miles per hour. This is done to provide the **best steering feel **at **highway speeds**, while providing a **light steering effort **during **parking maneuvers**. Very intelligent and very effective.
Being **a driver’s car**, it comes only with a **5-speed manual tranny.** An automatic option is not available in the Si version. The **clutch **is **very light **and the **short throw shifter **is **rally inspired **- this is a boon because the engine and the gear box are mated in a way that will require you to shift gears often in the city, but the Honda engineers have made shifting a breeze.
The car comes **fully loaded **and there is **no other option **available for this vehicle.
Now **the bad **- After an year of driving, the car **feels under powered**, especiallly in 1st gear. The 2.0 **engine feels small **and **at highway speeds**, you feel the **need of an extra gear **as the **engine revs **are **very high **at **highway speeds**. A **6-speed gearbox **would have **improved gas milage **and will also be easy on the engine because the **ideal cruise speed should be 2.5K and not 3.5 K RPM **if one is **cruising **on the freeway. The car lost points only because of this little nag that is important to me.
The **verdict **on this car - **It is a head turner for sure. What looks like a demure cat easily turns into a beast if you wish it to. The car will get you noticed as you arrive in style!
4.9/5 on style
3.9/5 on performance
4.5/5 on the X-factor
*(check out the vehicle’s pics uploaded in my album)