The new engine is far torquier, too, with 192 lb-ft delivered from 2100 rpm to 5000 rpm, compared with the 2.4 liter’s 174 lb-ft at 4400 rpm. While the turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four makes 205 horsepower, exactly matching the peak output of its predecessor’s naturally aspirated 2.4-liter unit, maximum power now arrives at 5700 rpm, down from the previous 7000 rpm. Remembering how previous Si models required frequent shifting to stay in the powerband-especially once the VTEC valvetrain arrived in the ’92 Civic Si-the ability to thread corners together without two or three shifts is one significant way the new model differs. So we hopped into a red Civic Si coupe along with one of Honda’s friendly professional driving coaches, who said, as we donned our balaclavas and helmets, that we would be able to drive the whole course in third or fourth gear. The straighter sections aren’t long enough to attain much speed-the facility has a 7.5-mile high-speed oval for that, which remained off-limits to us-but the road course would give us a chance to experience the Si’s transitional fluidity and engine elasticity. The course has it all: various types of corners-steeply banked to off-camber, increasing and decreasing radius, high and low speed-plus a few flat straights, some steep grades, and blind crests. Our first taste of the 2017 Civic Si came on the winding road course at the Honda Proving Center in the Mojave Desert, freshly repaved as part of a $25 million renovation of the 3840-acre facility. STEVE SILER, THE MANUFACTURER Shift Less, Go Faster Now that the base Civic is back in our good graces, how much of the Si’s former sparkle has been restored? And how will the new Si coupes and sedans fit into an expanded Civic range that will soon include the rip-snortin’ Civic Type R in all of its 306-hp hatchback glory? These are some of the questions we couldn’t answer until we’d driven the Civic Si, preferably on a track, which we’ve now done. The seventh- and outgoing ninth-generation Si models, though, were relative duds, as there is only so much allure Honda could engineer into the lackluster Civics on which they were based. Thing is, this is the eighth Civic offered in Si form, and those sold between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s were remarkably charismatic. ![]() And none of the Si additions-a 205-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter engine, a short-throw shifter for the six-speed manual gearbox, a helical-gear limited-slip differential, 18-inch wheels, and a healthy list of interior and exterior upgrades that are fully detailed here-are going to muck things up. Adopting as it has the boldly styled forms of Honda’s 10th-generation Civic sedan and coupe, the new Si starts out with a darn good foundation. There is no denying the overall excellence of the 2017 Honda Civic Si.
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