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2006 Honda Civic Si Road & Track Test
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2006 Honda Civic Si Road & Track Test
by Trevor Hofmann / Canadian Auto Press
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The "Si"zzle is Back
Am I the only one who thinks that the legendary Si badge has been a little mistreated in recent years? Once it was revered  | | Honda's Si has got its "si"zzle back! (PHoto: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
among hot-hatch aficionados, placed right beside VW's GTI designation, as well as Nissan's SE-R and others, but now, after fitting the alpha badge to relatively anemic Civic sedans and coupes, Si has lost some of its "si"zzle, so to speak.
Honda shouldn't have any trouble putting such lackluster memories to rest, now that it's all new Civic Si is available. Not only does it look better, and more distinctive than any previous Civic coupe, but it also boasts a monolithic improvement in performance.
Funnily enough, even the base sedan and coupe make more power than last year's Si, now sporting 140-horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque in DX, DX-G, LX, and EX trim levels, compared to last year's 115-horsepower entry Civic and 127-horsepower Si models.
The  | | The new Si poses an entirely new threat in the super-compact segment, with a much more respectful 197-horsepower under the hood, a 23 percent upgrade over the previous Si. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
new Si, however, poses an entirely new threat in the super-compact segment, with a much more respectful 197-horsepower under the hood, a 23 percent upgrade over the previous U.S.-spec Si - SiR in Canada. Torque is improved too, but not so dramatically. At 139 lb-ft, it's now impressive when shown side-by-side with last year's Si Coupe, which could only muster 114 lb-ft. While a four-cylinder engine's peak horsepower is expected to arrive at high revs, especially a Honda four-cylinder, the Si's 7,800 rpm peak is heady indeed. Peak torque doesn't exactly come on too quickly, however, being that it isn't maximized low down in the rev range, but instead needs 6,300 rpm to achieve full thrust. Still, there's a lot more available throughout the rev range than there used to be, giving the Si much greater pull no matter the speed.
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