The message arrived last Tuesday: The 2019 Honda Civic Si that we’d been fostering needed to return to the mothership that coming Thursday. The yearlong loan was up.
Our season with this one was over before it began.
The decommissioning process was fairly easy: Remove the GRM stickers, remount the stock wheels, and clean it up. A plastic razor blade and some quick detailer facilitated that last step.
The car had only recently been serviced, and it still had a full tank of fuel after a few weeks of sitting. Thursday morning, right on cue, the Civic was fetched.
But we still have the memories. We found the Civic, even with the stock rubber but especially when fitted with the Falken Azenis RT615K+ tires, very easy to drive on track. It never got twitchy or nervous. The car was also relatively gentle on tires and brakes.
For a second opinion, here’s what Tom O’Gorman told us about the current Civic Si chassis:
“First, you have the chassis,” he told us, “in my opinion, the best front-wheel-drive chassis I’ve ever driven, with the mechanical grip and sharpness—especially at turn-in—reminiscent of the Honda S2000.”
Then there’s the relatively long, 107-inch wheelbase, he added: “That makes the rotation necessary to go fast in a front-wheel-drive car very progressive and predictable, giving the driver a great amount of confidence.
“This combo of high mechanical grip and long wheelbase means you can really get the nose rotated toward the exit of a corner at turn-in without any fear of that dreaded front-drive understeer coming in later down the corner.”
What else did we like about the latest Civic Si? Solid interior: meaty steering wheel, proper pedal placement, smooth shifter, comfortable yet supportive seats. The touch points have a substantial, quality feel to them. Bonus points for Apple CarPlay, too.
The Civic was also good on gas—we saw low 30s without even trying—and offered plenty of power. No, it’s not the Type R, but we found it plenty quick for daily use and a good match for the chassis. And thanks, Honda, for making the limited-slip standard.
What broke? In 9222 miles, just had that blown brake light bulb. That’s it.
And we have to mention the Tonic Yellow Pearl paint. Can’t remember the last time a car got so many compliments based on color alone.
We’re going to miss this one, but perhaps one day we’ll meet again.
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Man, what a perfect color for pollen season!
Looks like lightly used Si's are starting from about $17K right now. Not super cheap, but a total bargain next to the $30K starting price for used Type R's. And an ECU flash is the easy button to give the turbo a generous bump in torque and power in these cars.
In reply to nderwater :
Yes, the color did hide the pollen well. 
An Si with a chip, yeah, that would fun. It's heck of a chassis.
It's a shame they had no exciting colors for the 2020 refresh. Black, two grays, white, blue, and red. They need to bring back that 90s teal as a standard.
Is this THE car for GS now? From what I have seen, it punches well above its class.
In reply to DirtyBird222 :
Tahitian Green for the win.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I want that .
Hasbro (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
I want that .
Yup. Our '92 Civic Si project car started out as red. So I redid it in red-oxide primer.
Too bad its uglier than sin.
I'm still firmly in the "love the looks" camp, especially in the Tonic Yellow.
Bon voyage, Civic. Even though my time driving you was brief and during a frantic time, I'll never forget your trick camera for right turns. And that tonic yellow pearl.
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