2020 Honda Civic Si

Overview

The 2020 Honda Civic Si must be experienced to be appreciated, because few alternatives offer this level of performance for the price. While this class of sport compacts is populated with various body styles, the Civic Si comes as either a coupe or a sedan. Both are boosted by an effortless 205-hp turbocharged four-cylinder that feeds the front wheels through a lovable manual transmission. Despite questionable design cues, its sublime ride and handling will enchant drivers of all skill sets. The Honda's wide range of standard infotainment features accompany all manner of driver-assistance technology. Likewise, its practical interior and fuel efficiency helped the Civic Si win our 10Best award and a spot on our Editors' Choice list.

What's New for 2020?

For 2020, the Civic Si gets updated with exterior and interior changes, revised transmission gearing, and a bunch of standard driver assists. The redesign includes subtle tweaks to the front and rear bumpers, standard LED headlights, and new matte-black 18-inch wheels. The cabin receives more red accents on the dashboard and on the updated sport seats. Honda also says the Civic Si's six-speed manual has a quicker final-drive ratio that should improve acceleration responses. Every 2020 Si now has active-safety features such as automated emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and more.

Pricing and Which One to Buy

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

There's only one available powertrain for the Civic Si, and it's very good—although its small turbo engine does suffer from boost lag when the revs are low. The manual transmission is a joy to row. The Si is powered by a 205-hp turbocharged four-cylinder that sends its power to a six-speed manual gearbox and then on to the front wheels. Once you've found the torque, zipping around in the Si is a gas. The car is light enough that you'll rarely want more power—the coupe version we tested sprinted to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds—even though some of its competitors offer significantly more horsepower. And once you've mastered the springy clutch, the transmission and the engine play well together. The Si is that rare example of a car that can drive like a little terror when you want it to but also cruise placidly when you don't. You'd be hard pressed to find another front-wheel-drive car that handles this well. While it shares its basic underpinnings with the regular Civic, it has a stiffer suspension, standard adaptive dampers, and retuned steering. The ride is so smooth over rough roads that you could almost forget that the Si was designed for grander things. Dial up the intensity on a back road, and you'll be impressed at how flat it corners and how much feedback comes through the nicely weighted steering wheel.

View Photos

Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG

In theory, the 2020 Honda Civic Si offers the best of both worlds. It's a blast to drive and is rated at 26 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, according to the EPA. In our real-world highway fuel-economy test, the Si coupe returned 36 mpg and the sedan earned an impressive 42 mpg. The former wore the optional summer tires, while the latter wore the standard all-season tires.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

The interior of the Si is relatively spacious and comfortable, but the lack of option packages means that drivers are stuck with gaudy, narrow sport seats—a good fit for some, but not for others. Plus, the Si's rear spoiler impeded rearward visibility in our tests, and some of us found it tacky. The Si sedan has an extra 1.5 inches of rear legroom compared with the coupe, but even the coupe has more rear legroom than some four-door rivals. The Si has about as much cargo space as its two-door coupe and four-door-sedan competitors, but it can't compete with hatchback rivals such as the VW Golf GTI for real-world hauling prowess. Honda's clever small-item storage solutions carry over from the Civic, with more interior cubby space than similar rivals.

View Photos

Infotainment and Connectivity

The Civic Si's infotainment system is light on flashy features, but it has the ones we care about the most. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as are two USB ports and Bluetooth connectivity with audio streaming. The audio system also has a volume knob, which instantly makes it more user-friendly.

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

The 2020 Honda Civic Si earned a five-star crash-test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but it wasn't named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The 2020 Civic Si adds a host of standard driver-assistance technologies that includes Honda's LaneWatch that acts as a blind-spot monitor by displaying an image of the passenger-side of the car on the center screen when the right-turn signal is used. Other key safety features include:

• Standard forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking
• Standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist
• Standard adaptive cruise control

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

Hyundai has the best warranty in this class—as it does in most classes—but Honda's warranty closely tracks with the offerings of the Si's other competitors.

• Limited warranty covers 3 years or 36,000 miles
• Powertrain warranty covers 5 years or 50,000 miles
• No complimentary scheduled maintenance

More Features and Specs