Two hours from Dresden, Germany, and we were lost. We had been looking for a gas stop at an unpronounceable exitsomething like Frankenstein or Frankenheimer (What about Fleckenstein?EF)but the autobahn ended instead, discarding us onto a thin two-way road surrounded by nothing but tall trees. This is what happens when you drive the new 02 Honda Civic Si. Its easy to forget you are even driving. You zone out on the currents of clouds in the distance and the shimmering sunshine atop the firs. Kilometer markers are passed in a blur. Signs are missed. Your mind flutters with bad poetry. All because driving the Si is too enjoyable to bother with the restrictions. You want to follow the road as fast as you can as far as you can. Then the autobahn ends.
Flash an accusatory glance toward the guilty party, and the car returns a look that says, Who, me? Its not the innocence of the Sis teardrop profile thats startling, its the fact that its shape and style run radically contrary to all Civics before it; it has a personality, which under normal circumstances would have the entire Honda corporation running around in a state of Defcon 1. Strangely enough, in this case, Honda has gone far out of its way to deliver an Si with extreme style. How far, exactly? For the first time ever, Honda has called upon its facility in Swindon, England, to produce a vehicle for the American market. No, the name Swindon just doesnt conjure up visions of cutting-edge Japanese technology, but if this is what it can do for the Civic, it deserves a shot at the new NSX.
But it wasnt the flares on the fenders or the short-nose treatment that made us lose our way on the autobahnit was the ride. Honda calls the Si the Type R for America and says that the two match up closely in every way but power. Strong words and big expectations.
However, the first moments behind the wheel revealed it to be true to form. The new Si wields the perfect combination of power, drivetrain, steering, and suspension. The 2.0L DOHC i-VTEC engine puts out 160 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque (20 percent more of the latter than the previous coupe and the most torque ever for a Civic). Power is robust from idle to redline. Steering is slightly artificial and both ways a notch off center (in very un-Type R-like fashion) but spot-on elsewhere. The much-hyped shifter (on the center console rally-style, using Hondas words) quickly proves more than a fancy gimmick. A few short toggles up and down turn the topic from the knobs location to admiration of its worth instead. It might be Hondas best ever behind that of the S2000. And in terms of slacker appeal, the new location makes the shifter the perfect hand rest while toying with the radio.
Lets take a minor timeout here to explain how these press trips work. Its very simple. To introduce the new Civic Si, Honda whisked several of our nations most esteemed automotive journalists and me to Germany. There were three cars on hand for the two-day drive from Frankfurt to Dresden. I shared my car with Natalie Neff from Auto Week and Eddie Alterman from Automobile. We were handed a map of Germany, a direction packet, and a small library of CDs, including the latest (and worst) from Eric Clapton, Sting, and U2. It was going to be a long trip. At least we were on the autobahn. Here, the intimidation factor is highnot only are you constantly being passed by a parade of AMGs, S8s, and M Coupes, but also by an equal number of Seats, Skodas, and Saabs. Even Fiat Cinquecentos appear to find their backbones on the autobahn. Thats because its not the material of your car thats being tested on these highways; its the fire of your will. Sureness of foot is vital to keeping up with the natives, which means spending most of your driving time over 120 mph. Faltering confidence can be detected and squashed as easily as the rain falling to the windshield.
The Civic Si is in its element in the left lane. Really, its such a star that it doesnt leave much for the driver to do but fiddle with the stereo and pray for 99 Luftballoons to come on. (The chassis has a lot to do with that.) The cross section of each member has been built up in size, and new members have been introduced, including a floor gusset that runs the length of the car and an additional front pillar stiffener. In addition, 57 percent of the body structureby weightis constructed of lightweight, high-tensilestrength steel, which meant little to me when I first read about it before our drive. My appreciation came later, after we plowed our Si through the high-crosswind straights.
Like the Acura RSX, the Civic Si uses Control-Link MacPherson struts up front and a Reactive-Link double-wishbone suspension in the rear. The very adult 15-inch aluminum alloys and 195/60R15 tires are more indicative of Hondas traditional mass-consumer ideology (even though the Civic Si is clearly built for Sports Center junkies and so far limited to only 15,000 per year), but they did hold their own on the smaller mountain roads, which were far more intimate than anything the Si would have to attack in America.
As is typical of these sorts of press trips, Honda delivered a Power Point extravaganza filled with laser pointers, videos, graphs, and cutaways to diagram the power and torque characteristics of the engine and the shifting characteristics of the close-ratio five-speed manual transmission. I pride myself on being an experimentalist and chose to succumb to my slacker side, waiting for the road test to find out for myself.
Outside Honda headquarters in Germany, the experience began at idle. Inaudible. Harmless. The new camshaft Variable Timing Control (VTC) system aboard the 2.0L DOHC i-VTEC engine sets the intake cam at full retard, minimizing engine effort, saving on fuel, and reducing emissions. But with a light snap on the gas in First, I watched the rpm needle swing around with a blur. Next came a quick bump through the gearstempering my natural urge to exhaust each to their limitsas I pulled the car into traffic. Revving the Si is like watching Britney Spears wiggle her navalminimal effort, maximum gain. And both shamefully addicting.
Unlike the previous Si coupe, the i-VTEC engine runs even and strong across the powerband due to the VTC system, which advances intake timing as the rpm increase. Honda is proud of the engines environment-friendly Low Emissions Vehicles II standards. I had less complicated goals in mind as I stuffed the shifter into Fifth heading onto the autobahn. I was eager to hit three-digit speeds.
Cruising at 110 mph with the tach fluttering at 5,000, the Civic Si doesnt break a sweat, unfazed by the higher-dollar horsepower surrounding it. Perhaps it knows from what pedigree it was derived. Indeed, the race seats are very Type R, as are the white gauge faces and pedals. The new shifter steps into slicker Volkswagen territory, and the silver center console shows that Honda is really tryingthat is, until you touch it and realize that its the same plastic Civics have always been made from. Elsewhere inside the cabin, fit and finish levels have seen a more careful hand. Colors match and gaps have been closed. Even the back seat has a more competent look and feel.
But if youre in the back seat of a new Civic Si, then youve done something wrong. The only seat to be in is the one behind the wheel. Although the 02 Civic Si may not have the 200 hp the Type R does (available in Japan and Europe), its got pretty close to everything else. And 40 hp less isnt all that much when you consider what one of Hondas two executive chief engineers for passenger cars, Ken Hashimoto, told me at one of the press-trip dinners: Turbocharging the Civic Si is no problem. Cheers to that. Look for the 02 Civic Si this March.