Everyone loves the 11thgen 2022 Civic Si : Straight Pipes review - “Perfect Civic!”

[charleswrivers]

One other thing and I'll go back to my home at CivicX. Everyone is praising the 11th interior as amazing and I certainly think it's nice looking and well put together. Yet that stuck on tablet looks awful IMO and that flat "retro dash" is "meh" to me. The 10th gen interior isn't as bad as many people make it out to be. I'm out.

Enjoy your 11th gens.

Yeah. I really liked the Mazda 3 I test drove in ‘15 in a lot of ways… but hated the “glued-on-tablet” look they had. It was the first car I test drove like that and more and more cars are going that way. Aesthetically the 9th gen Si I ended up going with that had a integrated infotainment was a layout I liked much better which was carried over to gen 10. I didn’t mind they dumped they 2 tier setup from gen 8 and 9 to gen 10. Gen 9s dash layout was kind of gimmicky too, IMO. The “power meter” and VTEC thing was a bit dumb. That engine has so little character compared to the earlier K20s you just about needed a light to know when VTEC had engaged anyways. Had it kept an earlier K20-variant, I probably would have been less quick it dump it for a gen 10.

I hated they went with the high tablet look for gen 11. I haven’t been a fan of it in anything I’ve test drove this far. It’s kind of the fad… or maybe trend at this point… to break up the dash line to have this screen stick up and be more in the line of sight. I think it’s a double edged sword. You don’t have to advert your eyes as much from looking out your windshield to see it… but it’s more of a distractor to me as it’s less in my peripheral and more right there as I’m driving.

The retro vents for gen 11… eh. Not a fan of that aesthetic. The round vent thing keeps coming and going and coming back again. It’s just “on” now. Reminds me of a Mercury cougar or something like that. I think the new Mustangs have it too. When folks was to shake a retro tree… in the round vents go. It’d be in no way a deal breaker or anything… just an aesthetic that doesn’t appeal to my eye.

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[Maxdriver]

You're not going to find an Si available at MSRP

Gotta love folks who speak in absolutes.....it took 3 phone calls, but I have a dealer in my area that is selling at MSRP.

 

[Maxdriver]

That's why my 08 SI was my favorite car, even though it was the slowest, least expensive car I've ever owned. Everything about it felt good.

Sounds like a Miata driver....and that's a good thing.

 

[slayerx02]

Its always funny reading threads like these. Most of the 10th gen owners getting riled up by all the 11th gen praise hasn't even test driven the 11th gen, most are just bandwagon hating or just being a contrarian. Not all 10th gen owners hate on the 11th, but there are those that do, same goes for the 11th gen folks, this always happens with every new generation of the civic lol.

For those that haven't test driven the 11th gen Si, go test drive one so you guys know what others mean the 11th gen "feels better", it means a lot more than it sounds. Unless you're really stuck on the missing heated seats...then you are not the target demographic for this generation Si lol, maybe the mid-cycle refresh will bring back some of the features.

and just a comment on the interior of the 10th gen, the headliner is literally held down in some spots with stick-on hook and loop velcro... if the 11th gen doesn't use Velcro anywhere...that alone puts it miles ahead in build quality/fit and finish ?

 

[charleswrivers]

I mean… I jumped ship on the 9th gen forums over to CivicX and ranted and raved how much better the GenX was over Gen9. The power train, chassis, seats… substantially better. I’ve commented over on ClubRSX too… to give folks my opinion on the differences. I also thought the RSX had some advantages over both the other generations of car I’ve owned. Considering that was based on gen 7… it makes sense there was improvements… and the Acura branding and interior was reasonably (and comparatively) upscale for its era

I’ve been openly critical about the fake vents and how the adaptive dampers had too little difference between their modes as opposed to other cars I’ve test driven or own(ed). I just don’t see enough to differentiate gen 11 to gen 10 to make me want to experience a light refresh of gen 10 and aesthetically I kind of don’t like how the exterior to interior look. That’s a completely subjective option. Had the power train been heavily revised or instrumented tests showed a remarkable improvement, like GenX showed in handling against gen9 when both had the summer tire option… I’d be intrigued. Gen11 looks to have a fatter untuned powerband from VTEC and it’s turbocharger, a little lighter drivetrain from the lighter SM flywheel, and wireless CarPlay/Android Auto is a nice touch. The rev match is neat… but it’s a gimmick to me much like it was on the 370zs to me. V4A made genXs audio pretty decent and I’ve had a few cars with factory BOSE that were pretty disappointing (I’m looking at you 300zxs and RSXs) so I'm not bought into the branded audio necessarily being better… though they may well be. I’d have to sit in one and play around.

I would have loved had gen 11 been a substantial change, but on paper or in pictures it hasn’t wowed me. (shrug)

 

[VicVal01]

Such an interesting perspective! And I mean that in a sincere non-sarcastic way. It all depends on what you’re buying the car for. I guess If you’re serious about tracking, good feelings don’t win races. For me, numbers don’t make me happy. Good feels make me happy.

Its just confusing to see what the direction for this car is. If they had kept the old features + the 11th gen features, then you could say “Honda is going for a sporty, comfortable, usable daily driver”. And if they removed the features but improved the performance of the car, you could say “Honda is sacrificing a bit of luxury to go for a sportier car and focus on performance”. Instead, they couldnt make up their mind and ended up somewhere in the middle with missing amenities but better materials for interior, and some performance additions like a lighter flywheel and rev match but worse performance overall. The result is a very mediocre car that makes it hard to sell because in many areas, you wouldnt be upgrading with the 11th gen, you would moreso be trading benefits. A new gen should be a overall upgrade in most areas, not just a few. My opinion of course.

 

[ebhaynz]

I'm sure the 11th Gen is a great car but it sure doesn't seem like a great value

The result is a very mediocre car that makes it hard to sell because in many areas, you wouldnt be upgrading with the 11th gen, you would moreso be trading benefits. A new gen should be a overall upgrade in most areas, not just a few. My opinion of course.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I'm sure the 11 gen Si is a great car, but why get rid of a 3 or 4 year 10 gen Si? which is one of the best Civic's ever? It doesn't make sense unless you're the type that just has to have the new toy no matter what the cost.

 

[gtman]

Its just confusing to see what the direction for this car is. If they had kept the old features + the 11th gen features, then you could say “Honda is going for a sporty, comfortable, usable daily driver”. And if they removed the features but improved the performance of the car, you could say “Honda is sacrificing a bit of luxury to go for a sportier car and focus on performance”. Instead, they couldnt make up their mind and ended up somewhere in the middle with missing amenities but better materials for interior, and some performance additions like a lighter flywheel and rev match but worse performance overall. The result is a very mediocre car that makes it hard to sell because in many areas, you wouldnt be upgrading with the 11th gen, you would moreso be trading benefits. A new gen should be a overall upgrade in most areas, not just a few. My opinion of course.

I think you bring up a very valid point. I mean, clearly Honda was trying to attract some more "mature" buyers with the more sedate look. But jacking up the price a few thousand and then removing basic features like heated seats and fog lights is an odd decision. Performance overall isn't better although subjectively it "feels better". I'll disagree with you that it's a mediocre car (it isn't) but anyone trading in a 10th that's only a couple years old either hates their 10th or has to have the newest thing.

 

[charleswrivers]

I think you bring up a very valid point. I mean, clearly Honda was trying to attract some more "mature" buyers with the more sedate look. But jacking up the price a few thousand and then removing basic features like heated seats and fog lights is an odd decision. Performance overall isn't better although subjectively it "feels better". I'll disagree with you that it's a mediocre car (it isn't) but anyone trading in a 10th that's only a couple years old either hates their 10th or has to have the newest thing.

I’m interested in how the hot reflashes turn out. The different turbocharger and exhaust side VTEC might make some some higher numbers up top. We already saw how the late Sis with the lower gearing did a negligible change to instrumented tests. This looks to carry over the lower final ratio. A faster spool and holding power a pinch longer along with a lighter flywheel still have effectively done nothing objectively. Even with the same summer tires, everything is odd a bit, though it’s within the error of environmental differences. It certainly isn’t better.

As it stands, the Civic will be stuck at around the same performance levels in instrumented tests for fully 20 years once gen 11 wraps in the mid 2020s that started with gen 8 in ‘06. I know CTR is too dog and my jump from gen 9 to an easily modded gen 10 was a good one. A ~50 whp gain was a cheap and easy affair and should be again with this… since… well… it’s still a L15B7. I sure was hoping Honda was holding out that TD03 for gen 11 or something.

You know what stupid frivolous option I wanted that has *nothing* to be with performance though? Ventilated seats. I thought maybe this would have been the generation for it. Hell… I’d of paid for a seating package if they had it as an option. Summers have been the only option for awhile… other than gen 9 having a Nav option pre-CarPlay/AA. Stretch goal would have been power seats with a memory function. I assume we’ll see that in the integra.

For now, I’m kind of watching for what the Type S has. I had on years ago and it’s a little intriguing to me. Before I got my GenX I did look around if a TL SH-AWD manual was around to test drive. Alas… just like the Chevy SS in manual when they were knocking 20% of MSRP off of them and liquidating them, there wasn’t one w/in a system drive to check out. As a base model that is a Si-equivalent, I’m not too interested. The type S might have some teeth… I’d assume in the guise of a K20C1. The base RSXs shared the 7th gen Si engine… so it stands to reason that’ll be what an S may have.

 

[mjh]

I think you bring up a very valid point. I mean, clearly Honda was trying to attract some more "mature" buyers with the more sedate look. But jacking up the price a few thousand and then removing basic features like heated seats and fog lights is an odd decision. Performance overall isn't better although subjectively it "feels better". I'll disagree with you that it's a mediocre car (it isn't) but anyone trading in a 10th that's only a couple years old either hates their 10th or has to have the newest thing.

This is all nudging me to pull the damn trigger on tuning my 10th.

 

[gtman]

This is all nudging me to pull the damn trigger on tuning my 10th.

As you know me being the pied piper of tuning, what's been holding you back?

 

[mjh]

As you know me being the pied piper of tuning, what's been holding you back?

Oh the usual stuff -- not wanting to have to worry about voiding warranty (only at 19k miles), concerns about the clutch (even though I think using phearable and adjusting bbg I'd be fine). I'm not a gearhead at all, so just the residual fear of messing up a pretty good thing by going for a better thing. It has nothing to do with your yeoman service (and so many on the boards), believe me!

 

[Nessism]

Am I the only one that appreciates the upgraded audio system? All the Si threads bash the heated seat delete hard, but almost nobody mentions the better sound.

 

[alhounos]

Yep, that's very true. It also has the bigger infotainment screen from the touring.

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