The Alchemists

They were the enthusiast cars of the 1980s. Does the old magic still work?

- David Zenlea

A THIMBLEFUL OF EXTRA POWER, a dusting of chassis upgrades. Otherwise, the Honda Civic Si and Volkswagen Golf GTI are nearly in distinguishable from humble, volume-selling transportation devices, the sort most people think of the way you do your living-room couch. That they’re objects of affection, even lust, is a tribute to the powerful alchemy that makes some cars more than just cars.

Powerful, but also fickle. Slight changes to the potion can break the spell. (See: Dodge Caliber SRT4.) Which is why the new Si is, on paper, worrisome. It’s no longer top dog, as it now sits between the Civic EX-T and the Civic Type R, while borrowing from both. And it’s turbocharged for the first time.

To test the new formula, we compared it to proven stuff, a 2017 Volkswagen GTI.