Just took delivery of my 2023 SGP SI!

[Dan_E26]

Hey all! This is my first actual post on this forum, as well as my first Honda and first brand-new car!

Today, I flew out from Columbus, OH to Philadelphia to pick up my new SGP Civic SI. The buying experience was super smooth; I was in and out in about an hour and I could not be happier right now! Just got back from a very short drive to a hotel where I'll be sleeping tonight, but tomorrow I get to take it on a nice long ride home! Should help a bit with break-in as well as getting more familiar with the car's inputs.

So far, I'm really impressed with the shifter. Without even being broken in, it's snappy and precise. I'm not gonna really romp on it until I'm past the break-in window but I can tell it has some impressive torque for such a small engine. With what little driving I've done, I can say it handles well, steers well, and rides comfortably enough for a firmly-sprung sporty sedan. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my purchase, and looking forward to many years with this thing!

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[Savannah@TSP]

Congrats! Now that you’ve had more time to drive it, do you have any further remarks?

 

[Dan_E26]

Congrats! Now that you’ve had more time to drive it, do you have any further remarks?

Drove the car home almost exactly 500 miles, so there goes a good chunk of the break-in!

CHASSIS:
The suspension is firm enough that there's no body roll around corners, but not punishing. It's definitely a very active, playful chassis. Honda did an excellent job here; the car feels super lively just putzing around town, but when you push it a little (what little I could) it feels very grippy and buttoned down. Steering is heavy in all modes, just how I like it.

ENGINE/TRANS:
Toooorque!! The 1.5T is a dream in this car. I never drove a K20 or K24, so to me the L15 is perfectly matched and doesnt leave me hurting for a NA screamer. The throttle is super responsive and it'll pull in 6th gear reasonably well. It's more power than I've ever had in a car, so to me, it feels like it pulls like a freight train! I got 42MPG on the way home from PA. Even though it takes premium fuel, it still saves me money over my old Sonata, which would get 30MPG highway if you really babied it.

I initially didn't think I'd like it, but the auto rev-match is a really smart feature and one that makes traffic super easy, as well as giving me some peace of mind knowing my clutch will see less wear over time. I can certainly heel-toe myself, but I think I'll leave the rev matching on.

The shifter is typical Honda: an absolute peach. Feels really crisp and precise. I think it needs more time to wear in, but it already feels smooth and I'm never left wondering what gear it just went into.

INTERIOR:
The only real "luxury" I lost by trading oht of the Sonata was heated seats, which I'll miss, but who cares? The driving experience is worlds better. The seats are comfortable, the ergonomics are great (the deeply-set cupholders to leave space for your shifting hand? Genius!) and the infotainment is intuitive and non-obtrusive. I did turn off Honda Sensing as I found the lane keeping and road departure to be way too aggressive, but thankfully the car remembers your settings when you turn it off. The only thing you always have to turn off is the idle-stop, which is a pain in the ass but minor in the grand scheme of things

Overall, I'm super pleased with my purchase. It's an excellent little car that's fun, practical, economical, and (hopefully) reliable.

 

[Savannah@TSP]

Drove the car home almost exactly 500 miles, so there goes a good chunk of the break-in!

CHASSIS:
The suspension is firm enough that there's no body roll around corners, but not punishing. It's definitely a very active, playful chassis. Honda did an excellent job here; the car feels super lively just putzing around town, but when you push it a little (what little I could) it feels very grippy and buttoned down. Steering is heavy in all modes, just how I like it.

The stock suspension is pretty impressive. Did your Si come with summer or all-season tires? What plans do you have for this car? Any modifications or keeping it a stock daily driver?

ENGINE/TRANS:
Toooorque!! The 1.5T is a dream in this car. I never drove a K20 or K24, so to me the L15 is perfectly matched and doesnt leave me hurting for a NA screamer. The throttle is super responsive and it'll pull in 6th gear reasonably well. It's more power than I've ever had in a car, so to me, it feels like it pulls like a freight train! I got 42MPG on the way home from PA. Even though it takes premium fuel, it still saves me money over my old Sonata, which would get 30MPG highway if you really babied it.

I initially didn't think I'd like it, but the auto rev-match is a really smart feature and one that makes traffic super easy, as well as giving me some peace of mind knowing my clutch will see less wear over time. I can certainly heel-toe myself, but I think I'll leave the rev matching on.

The shifter is typical Honda: an absolute peach. Feels really crisp and precise. I think it needs more time to wear in, but it already feels smooth and I'm never left wondering what gear it just went into.

I can definitely understand that. I had a K20 NA in my previous vehicle, and it just didn't do it for me. May I ask what made you switch from the Sonata to the Si?

The shifter is really nice from factory. I did find that the shift knob got very hot in the summer heat and opted for a Delrin shift knob to save my hand. I also installed some upgraded shift linkage bushings shortly after and it definitely makes the shifts more rewarding. Not sure where you're located, but it may be worth considering.

INTERIOR:
The only real "luxury" I lost by trading oht of the Sonata was heated seats, which I'll miss, but who cares? The driving experience is worlds better. The seats are comfortable, the ergonomics are great (the deeply-set cupholders to leave space for your shifting hand? Genius!) and the infotainment is intuitive and non-obtrusive. I did turn off Honda Sensing as I found the lane keeping and road departure to be way too aggressive, but thankfully the car remembers your settings when you turn it off. The only thing you always have to turn off is the idle-stop, which is a pain in the ass but minor in the grand scheme of things

Overall, I'm super pleased with my purchase. It's an excellent little car that's fun, practical, economical, and (hopefully) reliable.

Ha, I feel you there. The 10th gen Si did come with heated seats, and I was a bit bummed to find out that this generation did not get them (as well as fog lights). The Honda Sensing package is a blessing and a curse. It's definitely improved this generation. My last vehicle was a 2020 Civic Coupe LX, and it did come factory with the Honda Sensing package. With the lane keeping assist, there were times where it would have a mind of its own. For instance: driving on the interstate inside lane, and you want to go straight, but it decides you want to take that exit/off ramp.

Idle start/stop is incredibly annoying. I do know that KTuner is working on a potential fix for this. Not sure what your plans are for the car, but it may be worth looking at one of those units for that feature (and the tuning, of course).

 

[BallisticSquid]

Gorgeous shots of your new car. Congrats!! SGP was my first choice in color but I've grown to really like mine in black. I just have to keep on top of keeping it clean so it looks good.

Lack of heated seats and fog lamps felt like a giant step backward to me. The much improved infotainment system makes up for it though. I totally agree with your points on the torque and suspension. It is such a fun car to drive!

Let us know what you think once you are done with the engine break-in and you can get on it more.

 

[Bigcatman]

Congratulations on your new car! I just passed 3000 miles on my black Si and it is fantastic. If you turn on sport mode the idle stop feature is disabled. Everything you said about your car is true, it really is fun to drive and for me it’s my first new sport car (coming from 2 large pickups )

 

[MYK20C1]

I love the color. I like your choice. My type R is so much fun to drive but the Si is too and gets great mpg. I’m probably better suited for the Si but love mine too. Glad I got it! Enjoy your car!

 

[Daddarussia23civicsi]

Drove the car home almost exactly 500 miles, so there goes a good chunk of the break-in!

CHASSIS:
The suspension is firm enough that there's no body roll around corners, but not punishing. It's definitely a very active, playful chassis. Honda did an excellent job here; the car feels super lively just putzing around town, but when you push it a little (what little I could) it feels very grippy and buttoned down. Steering is heavy in all modes, just how I like it.

ENGINE/TRANS:
Toooorque!! The 1.5T is a dream in this car. I never drove a K20 or K24, so to me the L15 is perfectly matched and doesnt leave me hurting for a NA screamer. The throttle is super responsive and it'll pull in 6th gear reasonably well. It's more power than I've ever had in a car, so to me, it feels like it pulls like a freight train! I got 42MPG on the way home from PA. Even though it takes premium fuel, it still saves me money over my old Sonata, which would get 30MPG highway if you really babied it.

I initially didn't think I'd like it, but the auto rev-match is a really smart feature and one that makes traffic super easy, as well as giving me some peace of mind knowing my clutch will see less wear over time. I can certainly heel-toe myself, but I think I'll leave the rev matching on.

The shifter is typical Honda: an absolute peach. Feels really crisp and precise. I think it needs more time to wear in, but it already feels smooth and I'm never left wondering what gear it just went into.

INTERIOR:
The only real "luxury" I lost by trading oht of the Sonata was heated seats, which I'll miss, but who cares? The driving experience is worlds better. The seats are comfortable, the ergonomics are great (the deeply-set cupholders to leave space for your shifting hand? Genius!) and the infotainment is intuitive and non-obtrusive. I did turn off Honda Sensing as I found the lane keeping and road departure to be way too aggressive, but thankfully the car remembers your settings when you turn it off. The only thing you always have to turn off is the idle-stop, which is a pain in the ass but minor in the grand scheme of things

Overall, I'm super pleased with my purchase. It's an excellent little car that's fun, practical, economical, and (hopefully) reliable.

Nicely written

 

[Dan_E26]

Let us know what you think once you are done with the engine break-in and you can get on it more.

I'm at around 740 miles now. Still taking it easy but I've gotten on it gently a few times. It pulls everywhere in the rev range, which is just insane to me. How they managed to make a 1.5L engine make usable torque everywhere is so impressive. The shifter has gotten even smoother and the clutch, while overly light, is easy to get used to. Other than a quick moment where my mind drifted off and I accidentally slipped it to about 3k RPM (because why would anything ever go smoothly with a new car?) its been very easy to be kind to the clutch. In fact, there's enough torque that you can basically start the car with just the 3rd pedal!

 

[Dan_E26]

Any modifications or keeping it a stock daily driver?

Keeping it stock. I think, if anything, I'd find some way to get more feel through the clutch pedal, but otherwise I don't plan to change anything on the car besides consumables like brake pads and tires. It does everything I want it to. It's a fun, reliable daily, which I couldn't say the same about the Sonata! I sold the Sonata because it was a boat. The suspension was too soft, the steering was vague, it couldn't handle if you paid it to, and it was pretty thirsty for a 4cyl sedan! Not to mention the recent wave of people stealing Hyundais and Kias. My insurance actually went DOWN when I switched to the Civic.

Anyway...It's a great little car! Thanks for commenting!

 

[BallisticSquid]

I'm at around 740 miles now. Still taking it easy but I've gotten on it gently a few times. It pulls everywhere in the rev range, which is just insane to me. How they managed to make a 1.5L engine make usable torque everywhere is so impressive. The shifter has gotten even smoother and the clutch, while overly light, is easy to get used to. Other than a quick moment where my mind drifted off and I accidentally slipped it to about 3k RPM (because why would anything ever go smoothly with a new car?) its been very easy to be kind to the clutch. In fact, there's enough torque that you can basically start the car with just the 3rd pedal!

I was surprised at how much torque you get through the entire rpm range. It's to a point where I felt like I had to watch that I didn't over-rev when I was really getting on it. My 10th gen Si doesn't have that kind of pull through the rpms.

I wish the clutch had a little more feel, but you do get used to it. On my 10th gen, I can easily feel the grab point. On the 11th gen, it feels a bit ambiguous. Overall, I do prefer the 11th gen to the 10th.

 

[McSwine]

I sold the Sonata because it was a boat.

That's EXACTLY why I sold my '22 Accord 2.0T Sport and got a '23 Si. Great car, just too damn big.

 

[D0n.Quix0te]

Congrats to the new ride! I'm in love with the SGP color although I do prefer and miss the shade of the pearlescent on my FK7. Funny enough I picked up my FL5 on June 10th!

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