Specs & Details
'12 Honda Civic Si
Engine 2.4 liter K24Z7 inline-4 DOHC i-VTEC
Horsepower 201 at 7000 rpm
Torque 173 ft-lbs at 4300 rpm
Transmission 6-speed manual
Price Starting at $22,995
When you’ve got a good thing going, why change it? That’s gotta be what Honda has been thinking all along with its Civic lineup of automobiles. The Civic has been a tremendous success for the better part of the last decade, which has made it hard to improve upon.
The sportiest model of the lineup, the Si has done some growing up, while still retaining its fun, sporty, performance-oriented attitude, and with the introduction of the new ’12 Honda Civic Si, an even better experience is there. That said, somehow it still leaves us wanting more.
At first glance you may think, “Wait a second, the ’12 Civic Si looks like just like its older sibling, with a few minor styling changes” — and you’d be right. Honda was very conservative on the exterior redesign, thus the reason why the Si doesn’t look much different than years past. But behind the sheetmetal, there are many new features and upgrades that make the new Si stand out in big ways.
The biggest and arguably the most noteworthy change comes in the engine department, where the previous-generation 2.0-liter K20Z3 4-cylinder has been replaced with the larger-displacement 2.4-liter K24Z7. Despite horsepower only being up 3 hp to 201, torque has been increased by 31 ft-lbs (139 versus 170) and available at 4300 rpm. Before crying foul and complaining about the lower-rpm redline (7000 rpm) and less rev-happy nature of the K24 engine versus the K20, go drive it. With the added torque on tap, the Si feels much more competent to get up and go without a need to downshift and rev the engine past 6000 rpm. The K24 suits this chassis much better than its smaller-displacement sibling and provides a stronger base platform to build off of. With bolt-on modifications, horsepower numbers upward of 260 can be easily had with the K24. For all these reasons, the K24 is a welcome addition to the new Civic; it even betters the old generation in mpg (22 city, 31 highway), despite the displacement increase. Now you can have your cake and eat it, too.
The Civic Si has arguably been the best-handling FWD car on the market for some time, and its new improvements will surely cement that title for several more years. Thicker sway bars (18mm front, 15mm rear) and a lower ride height provide less body roll during turn-in, resulting in razor-sharp cornering ability that’s hard to not like. The Si possesses great composure no matter how hard you push it — a trait that arguably makes it such a fun and predictable car to drive fast and hard. With a precise point-and-shoot character, there are very few complaints about the suspension; set your wheel where you want to go, apply the power and it does as you command without any fuss. Part of the Si’s excellent handling prowess is also thanks to a factory-equipped mechanical limited slip differential. This silent operating LSD works wonders at transferring power to the front wheels equally and smoothly.