Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today
The 2022 Civic Si delivers early Honda vibes but with a futuristic twist.
The Honda Civic has always been one of the top-three best-selling vehicles in the United States. Despite its huge success in reliability, fuel consumption, and efficiency, automotive enthusiasts always loved it for its Type R and Si badges. Since the Civic Type R never saw American soil until 2017, U.S. Civic enthusiasts made the best of the Si. The Honda Civic Si is the middle ground between the Honda Civic and the Civic Type R.
Ever since its introduction in 1985, the Si always offered advanced-technology with a focus on performance. The commitment to performance went as far as to never offer an Si with an automatic transmission from the very first day until this very day.
We got our hands on the all-new 2022 Honda Civic Si HPT to review. Here’s where this budget-performance 2022 sports car excels, where it comes short, and why we think it’s still worthy of carrying the Si badge.
With an all-new design, the 2022 Honda Civic Si continues to offer iconic body lines. The sleek, smooth exterior offers a low-stance that Honda described as “Racing-Inspired.” In spite of being a four-door sedan that is as practical as any, the shell features a very aerodynamic silhouette. However, we feel the Si could be a tad more daring and aggressive. This is not to say that we don’t like the new exterior design, we just don’t like that it’s that similar to the regular Honda Civic without the Si badge.
The Civic Si comes with unique dual exhaust tips, and a well-designed gloss-black decklid spoiler. The exhaust and the spoiler work together brilliantly with the 18-inch matte-black alloy wheels. Our loner featured the Blazing Orange Pearl paint color. This orange offers just the right shade that isn’t too flashy, yet brings a whole new meaning to “attention-getter.” All in all, the exterior design of the 2022 Honda Civic Si is beautiful, it just needed to be different from its non-performance variant (other than the exhaust, spoiler, wheels, and a few touches).
The cabin welcomes you with red-accents all around, a vibe only available in the Si and the Type R. The iconic “Si” seats bring a new feel and look with a black and red cloth finish, and of course the Si logo on them. The seats feel comfortable on longer drives, but they also offer more shoulder support than its predecessors and do a great job holding the driver and passenger in place on spirited drives.
Unfortunately for some, they don’t offer power adjustments, but we happen to like it as it adds to the raw heritage of the Si. A beautiful and well-designed honeycomb grille graces the entire dashboard, with the air conditioner vents hiding inside them. This created a truly clean and interesting look to the interior and completely changed its feel from the 2020 Honda Civic Si model.
Move your eyes up, and you’ll see Honda’s new 9-inch touchscreen. The system contains wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s a simple system; it’s not complicated nor is it impressive. What’s impressive, however, is the BOSE sound system that this screen gives access to. The BOSE system comes with 12-speakers, and it sounds better than any Civic in the past.
The Si sport shifter will be your only option in an Si, and it’s brilliant. It feels great in your hand, it looks great, and it’s positioned just right. The material around the cabin is a mixture of hard and soft, some feel a tad cheap, while others feel great. Some materials tend to rattle on the freeway as well. In addition to that, the Civic Si will no longer come with heated seats. For the price, however, the Si’s cabin is a great place to be. Overall, the redesigned cabin of the 2022 Honda Civic Si is leaps and bounds better than the previous generation.
Related: Here's Why The 2022 Honda Civic Si Is The Best Daily Driver Sports Car Under $30,000
The Civic Si sports a 1.5-liter inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine. The engine works collaboratively with a 6-speed manual transmission, which is the only transmission option for the 2022 Honda Civic Si. The transmission comes with Rev-Matching Control that works flawlessly. The Si’s commitment to performance hasn’t changed since its humble beginnings, even with the change in the direction of the industry. The Civic Si also comes with a limited slip differential to increase traction and cornering capabilities. As any other Si in the past, the engine sends the power to the front wheels.
Weighing in at just 2,906-pounds, the 2022 Honda Civic Si makes 200 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 192 lb-ft of torque between 1,800-5,000 RPM. It’s strange that Honda didn’t aim to at least match the power of the previous generation Si, but the 5-horsepower loss is slightly made up in earlier torque delivery and horsepower that peaks at a higher RPM. Peak horsepower coming in at 6,000 RPM allows you to rev the Si higher while staying in power, giving you a small glimpse of the old Si models. This can be attributed to the high-flow turbocharger and increase in exhaust air flow volume. The exhaust offers 27-percent increase in flow over the Civic Touring, and it also improves the throttle notes with its coiled-type silencer. On paper, the specs of the Honda Civic Si seems like a fun sporty sedan, but how does it do on the road?
Related: New Announcement Sees GM And Honda Enter An Electric Partnership
Having driven the previous generation Civic Si, I knew it’s not the quickest car; however, the Si has never been about the quarter-mile. Instead, the momentum-car has offered exceptionally-fun cornering abilities for decades. Upon putting the Civic Si in gear, it’s clear this shifter feels much crispier than the previous generation, and the clutch feels heavier in the best way possible. The previous generation had a tremendously soft clutch that took the engagement out of driving. This clutch makes you feel like you’re doing the driving, while the shifter is impressively precise and short. In fact, you won’t want to stop shifting this transmission; it feels tremendously satisfying. Honda designed a new lever ratio that adds 10-percent shorter throws, with a 30-percent increase in spring load.
With three driving modes, Normal, Sport, and Individual (you can customize the latter); switching between them will mainly affect the power delivery and steering feel. In Sport mode, the steering is very precise. Not only is it accurate, it also offers a raw driving experience around corners. Suspension is tight, but not completely punishing, thanks to the multi-link suspension in the rear, and MacPherson struts in the front, with front and rear stabilizer bars. The decision to not incorporate adaptive suspension doesn’t change how well the Si handles. In fact, the current suspension setup feels extremely well-rounded. The suspension complements the stiff chassis, with more torsional rigidity than the previous gen, more bending rigidity, and more structural adhesive in critical areas of the chassis. It could get a little loud on the highway, but unless you are comparing it to the German quality of the Volkswagen GTi, this seems standard for the class.
The new single mass flywheel is 30-percent lighter than the previous generation. This improves throttle response and acceleration performance. While the Si feels responsive, there is still a little lag. However, if you drive it the way Honda intended and keep it revved up, the Si is a blast. Again, it’s not a quick car, but it’s definitely a fun one. Rev-matching hasn’t failed us. It’s tuned well and lands on the right RPM as soon as the shifter starts touching the gear you’re going down to. When up-shifting, it feels like the RPM hangs a little too long, giving a slight impression of laziness. While we believe this Rev-match would do wonders on the track, and the canyons, you can easily turn it off for full control over your Si.
With the 12.3-inch brake rotors in the front and 11.1-inch in the rear, the Si’s brake system feels more appropriate for daily-driving. It works well, but once you push it, you will realize a brake upgrade is something you have to consider if you are an occasional track user. While the Si always shined on track, this generation feels like the perfect daily-driver. The HPT next to the Civic Si on Honda’s website stands for High Performance Tires. These tires offer really good grip, but you must know when you buy performance tires, you are also buying tires that will wear faster. I spent 2021 driving Corvettes, Supras, Stingers, BMWs, and tons of other relatively quick cars; but there is something special about how fun a lightweight Civic Si is. It still offers a very pure experience while remaining an affordable platform for most enthusiasts, not to mention averaging 28 mpg without conservative driving. That’s a huge plus. In addition, if you consider the aftermarket and what a flex-fuel kit with E85 and a Hondata tune would cost, you will realize the Si still offers one of the best values for the money.
While we had a blast driving the 2022 Honda Civic Si, we have to address the elephant in the room. The all-new Si is over $2,000 more than the 2020 model, coming in at $28,315. While we could argue that the cost of living is increasing, this price tag makes it extremely close to the 2022 Subaru WRX. The only problem is that the Si doesn’t stand a chance against the WRX when it comes to performance. This also puts the Si in a similar price-point with the VW Golf GTi. If you’re not a fan of all-wheel drive, however, and you’re a true Honda fan (or you are weighing the pros and cons of the GTi), you will find the Civic Si very satisfying and reminiscing of the old Si we all loved.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About The 2022 Honda Civic Si
For true Honda fans, the Si is a no-brainer. In fact, with the direction the automotive is going, it’s almost crucial that you buy one. Things are moving quickly and hybrid and EV cars are slowly taking over, but the Si somehow stayed true to its origins. Not to mention the Civic Type R is completely unaffordable now with all the markups, which makes the Si the last true, affordable performance Civic. We love the Civic Type R, but we realize it's not for everyone. The Si, however, is a car that is spacious enough for your entire family, will give you great fuel mileage, and will continue to provide you with the fun that made you fall in love with Hondas in the first place. This fun will come in the shape of a great manual transmission, the best in-class handling, and a reliable engine that you can keep revving high all day long.
Bassem has been writing in the automotive industry since day one of his career. The love for any machinery with wheels has been embedded deep into his heart at a tremendously early age by his father. Bassem has created content for a variety of sources in numerous styles, from pure entertainment to the most technical of topics. His work can be found on newsstands, websites, and social media, reaching millions of enthusiasts.