Daily Driving Enjoyment

For years, this car — the Civic Si — was the hottest vehicle Americans could buy from Honda.
That changed two years ago when the completely insane Civic Type R first hit the United States’ shores, changing from forbidden fruit to merely rare, wing-covered fruit in an instant.
Does the Si still merit attention now that it’s relegated to second place?
That’s the question I was asking myself while driving the 2020 Civic Si, a car Honda just heavily updated with fresh styling, a more responsive driving feel and new standard safety equipment.
The short answer is “yes.”
The long answer is “yes, and I might actually prefer it over the Type R as my daily driver.”
While the Type R remains one of the most memorable cars I’ve ever driven if only for the sheer audacity of it — 306 horsepower in a small, light commuter car is the very definition of madness — it also felt a bit silly at times. Its “Fast and Furious” vibe didn’t exactly match middle-aged, boring driver.

Also consider this: The Civic Si starts at $25,000, which gives you a whole lot of speed and style over the base Civic for around five grand more. That seems like a reasonable premium.
The Type R, while still a bargain compared to cars with similarly wild performance numbers, seems outlandish at $36,300, or $16,550 on top of the base Civic’s $19,750 price tag. That’s uncomfortably close to doubling it.
Even if you don’t consider the vast price gap, though, I find the new Si is easier to drive, easier to live with and perhaps even easier to love than the Type R, with a lightweight, flingable feeling in corners, fantastic gas mileage, one of the best manual transmissions for sale today, and styling that looks sleek without making teenage kids want to race you at stoplights.
The Civic Si still looks aggressive, and even more so after styling updates for 2020. It gets a fresh look for the grille and lower housings for the LED fog lights, making it appear more custom. A new, lower rear bumper matches the sporty theme.
Power comes from a 1.5-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection. It delivers an impressive 205 horsepower through a limited slip differential and has a final drive ratio that’s 6 percent shorter than last year, making it feel even more responsive under acceleration.

It also comes with the Honda Sensing active safety features as standard equipment, including new automatic high beams. This package includes adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and sensors to warn and stop the car before wrecks.
Active Sound Control is another new feature this year. It seems like a perfect fit in a tuner-focused car designed for enjoyment by using the car’s sound system to augment the engine noises during aggressive driving. It’s terrific fun and subtle enough not to drive you crazy.
In fact, that may be the best description of the Civic Si as a whole. The Type R, with its more attention-getting body, rock-hard suspension and antisocial exhaust note may be more fun on the weekends.
This Civic Si is just enjoyable enough for serious enthusiasts without driving you nuts on the weekday commute.