Combo Plate

Is The Type R Worth The Extra Dosh Over The Spritely Civic Si?

- Chris Walton

Few badges inspire loyalty and lust among Hondaphiles like the one that reads “Si.” Except perhaps “Type R.” After nearly two decades of watching European hot-hatch fanatics feast upon the Civic Type R, America finally is getting its own taste of this outrageous road rocket. And if you think the Type R is just a wee bit more powerful, tighter, and wild than the Civic Si, you would be mistaken. It’s a lot more. But then so is its price. Is it worth it?

Civic Si: The sharper edge Honda’s go-a-little-faster, carve-a-lot better Si from 1999 to 2000 is considered by many to be the apex predator of the breed. The new Si, available as either a coupe or a sedan, fulfills that car’s performance-on-a-budget mission. Compared to a garden-variety Civic, the suspension is more rigid, but the overriding control part of the equation is due to the

Si-standard two-mode adaptive dampers. Ride and handling qualities between normal and sport settings are subtle until you find rough pavement or pitch the car into a fast, sweeping corner. Like cutting a tomato using a reasonably sharp knife or a finely honed blade, you don’t notice the differences until you apply pressure and aren’t left with a mushy mess. The 2017 Civic Si is a Honyaki.

There’s a genuine tidiness and wholeness of purpose to the way the Civic Si behaves and feels when driven in earnest. It really does remind us of that last Electron Blue Si coupe we drove in 1999, plus the new Aegean Blue paint harkens back to that very special ’99 Civic, as well.