With 14 available versions and trim levels of the Honda Civic, there’s bound to be a combination of equipment, engine, and number of doors that fits most people’s requirements. Unless those requirements spell out “pickup truck.” The Civic is versatile and at this point, the only thing that’s missing that would make the offering virtually perfect is the all-wheel drive. Who knows what the future will bring.
Out of these 14 possible options, I got my hands on the Civic Coupe Si. If the Civics were a family, the Coupe Si is the fun cousin with the colourful and bubbly personality (as opposed to the Type R that’s the straight-up badass cousin who wears sunshades inside and leather jackets.)
When you choose to drive a Coupe, you send a pretty clear message, something along the lines of “You may ask me for a ride at your own peril.” In all fairness, it’s not that the Coupe doesn’t have decent room at the back — legroom is only four millimetres shorter than in the Civic Hatchback.
It’s only because access to the back is more challenging due to the absence of the extra pair of doors. Cargo volume is also reduced due to the body style — the car is overall shorter which impacts pretty much every measurement, except passenger space at the front of the car. In that regard, the car is just as comfortable at the front as all the other Civics.
The Coupe Si gets a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine. The Si version of this engine produces 205 horsepower and 192 lb.-ft. of torque, which are decent numbers in the small world of sub $30k coupes. Not breathtaking, but enough to get a little daily jolt of fun. The trim level is also only offered with a six-speed manual transmission. If you want an automatic — or a CVT to be more specific — you’ll have to go down a notch and choose the Touring trim level instead (also offered with the turbo).
The good thing I find about Honda’s manual box is that if you’ve never really driven a manual car before, the Civic makes it pretty easy to learn. The clutch pedal is a bit heavier under the foot which makes finding the friction point easier (in my opinion) and the throws are easy to switch around and naturally slot it where they need to. That's something to keep in mind if you’re hesitating to make the jump from automatic to manual. Come to the dark side, we have manuals and fun.
In terms of handling, the Civic can be surprising. It can hold its own in the bends and will take a decent amount of abuse before meeting the limits of its comfort zone (or your own).
If you ride it hard, the Coupe Si can be a lot of fun. The manual transmission is easy to get a hang of allows you to make the most of the car’s performance. Plus, its on-road behaviour has just enough personality without being fussy. The way I see it, the Coupe Si is a good way to ease yourself into a sports car without biting more than you can chew.
Even though it produces a good amount of power, the delivery is measured and easy to handle and the ride quality is superior compared to some of its competitors. It’s performance in a small dose.
That’s what the 2019 Honda Civic Coupe Si has to offer. It has no pretense to do more or less and that’s perfectly alright.
The specs
Model: 2019 Honda Civic Coupe Si
Engine: 1.5L, I-4, turbocharged, 205 horsepower
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
NRCan rating (L/100km city/highway): 8.4/6.2
Length: 4,505 mm
Width: 2,087 mm
Wheelbase: 2,700 mm
Weight: 1,330 kg
Price: base, $21,690, price as tested, $31,276 including freight
Competition: Subaru BRZ, Toyota GT 86
Standard equipment: Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Lane Keeping Assist System, seven-inch colour TFT centre meter display with Driver Information Interface, Acoustic windshield, HandsFreeLink-bilingual Bluetooth wireless mobile phone interface, Multi-angle rearview camera with dynamic guidelines, Steering wheel-mounted cruise control, Heated front seats, 180-watt AM/FM audio system with MP3/Windows Media Audio playback capability and 8 speakers, Apple CarPlay / Android Auto, Bluetooth Streaming Audio, Illuminated steering wheel-mounted audio controls, Siri Eyes Free compatibility, SMS text message / E-mail function, Speed-sensitive Volume Control, 2 USB device connector
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