dlq04

You can have old socks, Crown Royal bags, or just get your own built..... of wood, which is what I did for the S2000.

tof

Nice write-up, Rob. Very informative and very readable. You have a nice clean writing style. You have me anxious to test drive an Si.

I'm with you on the bumper inserts. (Likely along with most everyone here.) They spoil an otherwise very nice design. Kudos to Honda for again limiting the Si transmission choices to one...a smooth 6-speed manual. Probably the only manual transmission vehicles on the lot at my local Honda dealer.

Glad to hear the seats are comfy. Those in my old 99 Si were ok...for about five minutes. Good lateral support but bad backrest contour, at least for my back.

ralper

Thanks Mike. You should test drive one. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how good it is and how much fun it is to drive. The only problems with the Si in my opinion is the exterior trim. If you can get past that and make up your mind that you bought it to enjoy it, I think you'll find it to be a great daily driver.

ralper

I did almost the same thing on my S2000. I have an old, walnut MG shift know (complete with the MG emblem). It accomplishes two things,1) gets rid of the metal shift knob that gets too hot in the summer and 2) gives me a sense of heritage or legacy. After all, My MGB was my first sports car back in 1972 and the car that started it all for me. Had British Leyland not screwed things up, those old sports cars probably would have evolved into Mazda Miatas and Honda S2000s. But thats for another thread.

For my Si, for now, I'm perfectly content to keep an old sock over the gearshift knob in the summer. It was cheap to get (I just had to go through the rag bin) and it works. And added benefit is that after the summer I can wash it. Also, I get some funny comments about it which I like.

Legal Bill

Thanks for that well balanced review, Rob. I always enjoy hearing pros AND cons from new owners.

ralper

Now with about 2,100 miles on my Si I thought I’d revisit my report and add to it. First I’ll talk about some of the items that I mentioned in the first post then I’ll discuss some new things.

Things I spoke about in the first post:

1. The 1.5 litre turbocharged engine-The jury’s still out on this one. I really like the low end torque, but I miss my revs. I love the fuel economy (30 mpg during my commute) but I don’t like the turbo lag at startup from a stop. I miss vtec but I very much like it when the turbo kicks in under acceleration. I think I’ll come to like the engine as time passes and I get more used to it.
2. The headlights-I still think the car should have come with HID headlights. The projector beams aren’t terrible but there is no substitute for HIDs. I still don’t understand why Honda went so cheap on a “performance” model. I’d have paid extra for HIDs.
3. Sport mode-The more I use it, the more I like it. It really does make a difference especially in the steering feel. I’ve upped the tire pressure to 35lbs and that coupled to the sport mode makes the car bumpy and bouncy and firm exactly how I like it.
4. Android Auto-The more I use it, the more I like it, but I wish the little bit of quirkiness would disappear. Almost always it does exactly what I want, but sometimes it misbehaves and drives me crazy, not often, but once in a while. One thing that I don’t like is that when I leave the car I oftentimes forget to take the phone with me which means that I have to go back to the car and get my phone. I suppose I’ll get used to it, but right now it’s a pain in the neck.
5. The gearshift knob-I still think a metal gearshift knob is bad design. It’s too hot in the summer to touch and too cold in the winter to be comfortable. My solution is an old sock. This accomplishes two things, a) it prevents the knob from burning my hand and b) it gets a lot of funny comments (usually sexually oriented)
6. The ugly bumper inserts and the rear wing-I still think that they’re ugly and wish someone in Honda’s design studio had taste, but now that I own the car for 2 ½ months I’ve stopped seeing them. It helps that the car is black so they all blend in. I still don’t like the HDMI shaped exhaust outlet but I’d more or less stopped seeing that too.
7. No spare tire-No excuse for this one. Honda should never have gone this way.
8. It’s only a Civic-The more I own the car, the more I like this. Nobody has told me how rich I am or how much the car cost or what a great car it is since I’ve bought it. I probably drive the Si harder than I ever drove the BMW but nobody tells me that I’m a “typical BMW owner” anymore.

Things that I like that I didn’t talk about last time and some things I don’t like.

1. This might sound silly, but there is a trunk open button right on the drivers door. Really convenient. I always put my computer case in the trunk on my way into the office and home. With the trunk open button on the door it’s a natural movement to just push the button and get open the trunk.
2. Auto locks.-You can set the car to auto lock the doors after you leave it. I sometimes forget to lock the car but the Si remembers. I really like this feature. I didn’t know about it but it was in the portal that they assigned to me.
3. The Parking Brake-I’m not sure about this one. The parking brake is no longer a lever attached to a cable, now it’s a switch which electronically actuates the parking brake (you have to have your foot on the brake pedal for it to apply it or release it). It works fine and doesn’t need adjustment but the engine has to be running. After 50 years of driving cars with cable actuated parking brakes which you can apply and release with the engine off it’ll take me some time to develop a new habit. Now I find myself turning the car off only to have to restart it to apply the parking brake. Aside from that I do like the feature.
4. Climate control-I could never figure out why in my BMW once I set the temperature I still had to tell the system if I wanted heat or cold air. In the Si (and all of the Hondas) once you set the temperature the car automatically decides if you need heat or cold air.
5. The tires-I like the fact that the car came standard with all season tires. SOs were an extra cost option but since this is a daily driver I’m glad about the all season tires. The wheels are a different story. The same person who designed the HDMI shaped exhaust outlet must’ve designed the wheels. They're not exactly the ugliest I’ve ever seen, but I’ve seen much nicer too. I wish Honda would hire some designers with real talent and not just talented engineers.

I think it’s a bit too early, and the car is still a bit too young to talk about reliability. I’m hoping the car is as reliable as the Honda’s I’ve owned in the past. We’ll see as time passes. As I mentioned my other Si (2006) was sold by Adam a few weeks ago with 180,000 miles and it still ran well. It was sold to another Honda employee who uses it as a daily driver.

All in all, I’m really liking the car. I really enjoy driving it. Aside from my few dislikes, I’m loving this car. I smile all the way to work and all the way home, even with New Jersey traffic. It’s fun to drive and it’s relatively small, bouncy, bumpy, noisy and just what I was looking for.

More at 5,000 miles.

dlq04

Rob, I thought you'd be pleased to know Honda Civic is on track to dethrone Toyota Camry as America's best-selling car. Civic is ahead by 6,000 sales after 10 months. Is Camry’s 15 year rein at risk?

As a footnote.... Audi has recorded 96 straight monthly U.S. sales increases beginning in November 2009, the longest string of success in the market.

Legal Bill

Thanks for the update, Rob.

dlq04

And continuing with Civic news - you can't make this stuff up - from this weekend

Lamborghini Murcielago Driver Wrecks It Street Racing A Honda Civic In Toronto

Emil St-Hilaire

Link ???