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Honda Civic Si vs. VW GTI
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Comments
Also I think edmunds is going to have to revise the depreciation schedule for the SI. I have heard of many areas of the country where SIs have been discounted $3000 or more to move them. Edmunds.com quotes $3,396 for 1st year depreciation which is something that now seems illogically low considering lack of demand for the SI.
Of course the GTI costs more to own cause you get more features. More car - more money. If you want to compare feature content the SI isn't the best to use. I would use the more expensive base RSX to compare to the GTI feature for feature.
The $663 is something that I won't have to pay but honda si owners will have to pay their $505.
Hmm. Then we start talking about what we SHOULD be comparing it to. I didn't say features. Actually when I reread the cost to own page it said nothing about features either. I just used the criteria that the forum gave us. Wanna start a RSX vs. GTI forum be my guest.
The $507 seems illogically high to me. Where does that get us? You know since "it's not realistic to base it off the few examples you have had personally since there is no statistical sampling there."
By the way the Acura is cheaper by 1 penny per mile.
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2003/acura/rsx/2drhatchbackwleather20l4cyl5m/tco.html?id=lin0648
And look at the chart..Only the powertrain lasts 5 years/60,000 miles, 5th year maint costs are $468. Must be something other than the engine breaking. By the way the chart is assuming 15,000 miles a year which would leave you with NO coverage in the 5th year and NO basic coverage during the 4th year. Those costs seem to spike quickly when the warranty coverage leaves.
And yet again, Hyundai has a long warranty does that mean that it's a better car than VW? I wouldn't think so. It just means that they have to have a longer warranty to add value. As the old cliche goes "the best warranty is the one you don't have to use". Never had to take my prior Honda's to the dealer for warranty work. Heck, never had to take one of our used Honda's to the shop for anything other than routine maintenance. 14 Honda/Acura products might be a small sample to you but that's a pretty good track record and that's why we keep going back to Honda.
I assume the $507 is something they have tabulated from repair histories, cost of parts, etc. I have a good amount of confidence in edmunds.com measurements in these regards as I have noticed that many models they don't provide this. I assume that they, like CR's reliability scores, omit this information if they don't have enough samples to base it off of and the results would have had a high liklihood of error.
Yes, I agree that it will more likely cost you more to repair a GTI after the warranty is up, but before it is up a blown tranny will cost me a lot less on my GTI than an SI.
Me, I go about 12,000 miles a year so I don't have a problem with the miles matching the length of the warranty.
About the magazine reviews I guess we all have our favorites. The GTI did very well in the edmunds.com comparo in 2001. For 2002 the GTI beat the SI in Sport Compact Car(the SI was last and the GTI next to last and the Neon SRT won). My favorite car magazine in America is Automobile magazine* and they had......
1.) Focus SVT
2.) GTI 1.8t
3.) Civic SI
4.) Protege MP3
5.) Sentra Spec V
* - They didn't actually break it down like I did but it is something you can discern from reading their conclusisions
I don't think that C&D takes into account reliability when rating any cars in tests including the Focus SVT.
I would never buy a car w/o taking a test drive(yes that includes WRXs, Minis, etc.) so take mag test as second hand information only that I have to verify for myself.
[non-permissible content removed] for tat: you have never had to take your Hondas in and I have never had to take my VW in. Very inconclusive.
So it really depends on who you read.
[Background: Actually I almost bought an SI, but I was looking in early 2002 and none were available in Austin, TX. Instead I test drove and RSX and liked it despite the fact that I wasn't sure if my road bike would fit in the trunk(with the seats folded down of course. The Acura salesman told me on the test drive that no discounts were available and that I had to pay $300 for window etching that the city of Austin provides for free. I guess this is what happens when a given town only has 1 dealer for a particular brand.]
1.) Focus SVT
2.) GTI 1.8T
3.) Sentra Spec V
4.) Civic SI
The Acura salesman even had the nerve to tell me that the company was going to make less than 10,000 units of both the base and Type S for 2002 when I knew that wasn't true(Acura was aiming for 30,000 units combined). Then for some odd reason he kept trying to push me towards the automatic version of the base RSX. Isn't the shifting one of the best points for these cars I thought to myself?!?
Anyway my point being that circumstances beyond my control had an effect on what car I eventually chose. I think some buyers today are affected by the West coast dock workers strike that has delayed introduction of the Mazdaspeed Protege. I'm sure there are some potential oweners of this car that will be driving Minis, Neons, etc. instead.
I'm not permanently allied to any maker of automobiles or any other consumer product for that matter. Nissan had a bad period and now they are back. A Subaru sports car? Hyundai quality equal to or better than established makes? So yes my next car could be a BMW, Mazda, Mini, Subaru, Nissan, Ford, Audi, or Honda.
The only thing I can tell you for sure about my auto purchasing decisions is that I will never buy a pickup truck or SUV.
The Civic is just cheaper to repair. Period.
Warranty??? Then another personal story. I thought it was "it's not realistic to base it off the few examples you have had personally since there is no statistical sampling there."
The SI has lost reviews more on comparisons to what they thought it should be, what it was, what they want it to be. It seems no one really looks at it for what it IS. Look at it...It has a sub 7000 rpm redline, 15 inch tires, no body cladding. It is about as non racer as it could be. It sells just as well as any of the other hatchbacks do. If Honda had limited it to 5000 examples they would have all gone for MSRP. There will always be faster cars. Look at the new Neon. It'll clean the R32's clock. Does that make it better than the R32?
[non-permissible content removed] for tat??? I can show you several sources that show where GTI's (VW's in general) have a tendency to be problematic. Can you show me several instances where SI/Honda owners have had horrific problems?
Background: I worked for a very large used car store where the employees were allowed to buy trade ins at cost. I have owned several (in the high teens) Civic-based vehicles ranging in mileage fron 27,000 to 150,000 and have not had to return to the dealership for any purposes. Just CV axles and timing belts.
Not to mention several Accords, and a Vigor. Non Hondas include RX-7's, Mr2's, 300ZX, a Silverado, and a couple FX16's to name many. I just bought an 03 Accord coupe.
I used 12k a year for me personally and because I think most people travel less than 15k a year.
I really am at a loss then as to what the Civic SI represents if it not supposed to be a "hot hatch." The GTI has been lambasted for not being a true hot hatch like it was in the 90's but it is still being put in with comparos to MP3's, Spec Vs, Focus SVTs, etc. This is the only place for the magazines to group the GTI and SI. I would not compare my GTI to a WRX, Mustang, or Elantra. GTI has carved out its own niche in the marketplace as the "luxury muscle hatch" but that is such a small niche that magazine editors have to lump it and the SI with all of the aforementioned vehicles. I don't get too upset when the GTI comes in the bottom 50% in a comparo if the criteria used in judging the vehicles is far from my own. That's why I am not disappointed when C&D and Sport Compact Car diss the GTI(and SI). I think their criteria is very narrow(race track perspective) and doesn't reflect my day-to-day needs in a vehicle.
Yes I do know someone who had a Civc die on them and I know personally one person who traded in his VR6 Jetta b/c of transmission problems. Everything else I know is from the internet, so I can't make definite statements regarding 2nd and 3rd hand accounts from people whose faces I don't know.
About resale values I checked out the recent Auto issue of Kiplinger's. VWs had some of the highest resales values in their segment.
It's from Jan. 2002 and it's called "Cheap, Fast, and Under Control." A very well written article even if you don't agree with everything they say about the cars.
Is this a compro between these cars?
Yes, it is basically a comparo even though it is less structured than those at C&D. They don't seem to use any kind of points system so I assume the writers must have to reach some kind of consensus.
Is the article available via the internet?
I looked at their site and elsewhere but I think this magazaine keeps a very tight reign on its content unlike C&D and others.
The interesting thing I thought is that C&Ds winner(even though the Focus SVT wasn't out) was the Mazda MP3 while in Automobile magazine it was next to last...............
A/C was designed that way. If you don't like it you should have bought something else. A problem is a malfunction. You A/C performs as designed. You just don't like the way Honda designed it.
No AC in most mass production car in this world DO NOT ALLOW you to shut it off if you so desire to in defrost mode. What's the point of you keep arguing?? You can say it ten times, a thousand times, the Honda AC is still defective. On top of that, when I change the mode back from defrost, the A/C still stays on when it was off before. Argue all you want, you'll never win this.
Michelin tires are known as some of the best quality tires on the market. I'm sure the "average" comsumer will disagree with you. Do you think the 17" tires on the VW will perform better in the snow? I doubt it.
Average consumer?? I'm an average consumer and I dislike the tires that came w/ the Si. Why do I care what the performance of the VW tires?? I bought the Si and I dislike the tires and I'm giving my opinion about the tires. I don't care if another tires perform the same or worse. I only care about how the tires on my car perform and on the Si, it is bad. Maybe you shouldn't care too much about what other people think about you, your car, your gf etc.
Gas mileage gets better after the break in. You car is still new. Not quite in the position to judge it.
Didn't I state that it is only my second tank and I said hopefully as I drive it, it'll improve. But in my 2 weeks of ownership, I'm reporting my gas mileage and I'm saying it is bad. So, what's your beef?? I'm reporting my experience. What does it concern you?? If I reported a good results, would you care to rebutt me??
Seat belts? Shoulda bought a different car. that's the way they designed em. Not a problem.
What is it with you?? When I found a seating position that is comfortable for me in the car, the seat belt is too far away for me to reach comfortably. Maybe you don't have a problem with this in your 00 Si or in your gf's 02 Si BUT I have a problem in my car w/ my stature. Me and my car. Not you and your car.
Cold creaks are normal. Check other forums all cars do it. It's cold ya know.
It is just the beginning of Dec. I didn't have this in my previous car (01 A4). But then again, one cost $28k and the Si cost me $16k. You can choose what you want to accept. Car makers love consumers like you. But for me, I'm critical of things that I spend my hard earn money on. Did I say it is a problem for you?? I'm reporting it is a problem for me. Moi! Understand??
All Honda trannies whine in reverse. They designed it that way. Not a problem. It's the design. Honda is the gold standard of FWD manual tranmissions.
What is wrong with you?? No other cars that I've driven makes this whinny sound. And yes, I'm questionning it coz' it is really annoying to me and it sounds *bad*. Maybe when all the V6 Honda/Acura breaks, Honda will just say it is normal which I'm sure you are aware of since there have been tranny failures and Honda/Acura cars have been replaced with rebuilt tranny.
Dash lighting is the same as it was when you bought the car. The way they designed it.
I'm not the only one complainning about the dash lighting. Auto reviewers have said the same thing. Unlike you I don't take the usual "This is normal" line fed to the drivers of Honda when they take their car for repairs. The dash lighting white/orange, makes it hard to read the numbers during dusk/dawn driving condition. I noticed it again this morning driving to work. I could turn OFF the headlights and it would have been better (or dim the dash lighting manually) but it was still a little dark out.
Here's a bit of advice to you. Don't worry too much about what you hear from other people or read too much into surveys. And lastly this is my car and I reporting my experience with the car. I just have a higher expectations for my car and I'm sure there are a lot of people who share the same views as me. If there are more consumers like you who just accepts, years from now, we'll have a lesser car for more money and I think we can agree that's not a good thing.
What I really like about a VW is all the aftermarket support for it. The GTI is a great car as-is from the factory but I looked at it as a blank canvass, I've had fun seeing how much performance I could wring out of it without spending a lot of money.
I like a very controlled suspension so I've upgraded my GTI's suspension with Neuspeed race springs (2" drop) and 25mm adjustable rear sway bar, Koni Sport adjustable shocks, front and rear upper stress bars and lower front tie bar - it handles like it's on rails - all the stress and tie bars make the body extremely rigid, an amazing transformation and a very acceptable ride as long as I leave the Koni's on the soft setting (which is far from soft compared to factory shocks/ struts). I adjust them to rock hard for Autocross events.
The 1.8t engine is a gem, extremely over engineered and is actually somewhat de-tuned at the stock 180 HP factory output. I chipped it (www.goapr.com) for 235 lb ft of torque, Made it breath better with a Neuspeed turbo inlet pipe (70% more flow into the turbo), downpipe (ditto out) Eurosport exhaust (not loud perfect tone)for a total of around 240+ HP. Plus I vented the wheel well (like an Audi S4) for better intercooler breathing. With all these enhancements it's drivability is still perfect, nice smooth power delivery, minimal turbo lag, etc.
All told I've spent a little over $2k in upgrades that have transformed very nice factory car into an extremely competent hot hatch that embarasses a lot of expensive sports cars. Two of my track buddies have 99 and 00 MCoupes that I can keep up with all day long. Another friend has a BMW 330 coupe with sport package that I easily beat. IS300's stock S4's, etc - no problemo - talk about raised eyebrows. All for a total of $22,500 or so (including the car). I belong to SCCA and a local Euro tuner club with lots of enhanced VW's, BMW's, Audis - the majority are VW's - no one has major problems with their cars - maybe a window regulator here or there (before the redesign) and a few other minor things - nothing major ever goes wrong with these VW's that get beat on and abused performing way beyond what the factory intended. VW drivetrains are extremely over engineered, I'm continually amazed at what they can edure without a wimper.
When I lived in the snow belt I'd buy a winter beater to commute in, ususally a small inexpensive FWD car - I could have cared less that it was a tin can - the SI would be perfect for that, a winter beater commuter car. Although personally I'd get a TDI Golf or a base Mini Cooper with no options before I'd get a $16k SI for a commuter car - but that's me.
If you didn't like the car you should not have bought it. There's not much else to say about it. No wait yes I will.
Performs as they designed it so it's not defective. Again. Shoulda bought another car.
Don't drive in the snow then. Now you know. Go buy new tires. Not a defect.
One tank of gas and you are getting bad gas mileage now. Not worth answering.
Seat belts are in the same place they were when you test drove the car. Shoulda bought another car.
Not a problem for those who know in cold weather things contract. May cause a creak or pop or two until they reach normal temp. Simple physics. Not a defect. All cars will do it. Guess you'll have to walk.
Honda trannies are the standard of the industry. Let me know when they break. They all whine in reverse. Not a defect. Shoulda bought another car.
What part of the dash lighting are you going to repair when it's not broken. That's the way they designed it. Shoulda bought another car.
All in all it seems like someone just bought the wrong car. Not a single "defect". The car is performing as designed. But of course you can't please everyone. Thank though for buying the Honda product though. They've made their money anyway. And since most other SI owners seem to be happy with their Si's, those with complaints look to be in the minority. Those that aren't happy are definitely not average.
FORD should pay you to be their spokesperson during the Focus recalls.
"That's how we designed it".
Hahahaha
According to your theory, if anyone has any complaints about his or her car, we bought the wrong car. You are a genius.
The way the AC system works is DEFECTIVE. Honda was retarded to design it in such a manner. Why is it no other AC systems in other cars that I am familiar with works in the same manner?? I challenge you to show me a car that DOES NOT allow you to shut off the AC system while in defrost mode.
The other problems I have with the Si, I DID NOT say they are defective. I said I'm not satisfied with them or do I need your permission, or anyone for that matter, to voice out their disappointment in the Si?? Do you think I'm the only one who complains about the tires? The dash lighting, the seating position, the gas mileage etc?? It must kill you inside that your beloved 00 Si and your fiance's beloved 02 Si is not perfect in our eyes. Why is it so important to you that we must agree with you that the Si is perfect and the VW is crap??
Get a hobby, please.
Sure you can voice disappointment. But why did you buy the car with so many of them? If I hated so many aspect of a vehicle I would not have bought it.
We haven't even said anything about my 2000 SI(which will become a 2003 Accord EX-L 5 speed in a couple weeks). What you wanna talk about?
This IS the SI vs. GTI room. Where else are you going to go to call the GTI crap?
I need a hobby? But you are right here with me.
Reverse gears are typically a spur (straight-cut) gear, which is more efficient for power transfer.
Forward gears are hylical gears, which has greater thread engagement, but less efficient (do to design), but is quieter.
But what my complains generally is in a good intention. I complain about the tires for example. Honda could have given us summer tires or at least more aggressive tires than the all season in 15" rims that we have now. Is it wrong for me to ask Honda to give us better performance tires?
I complain about the dim lighting. I know of no one who places the sole decision on buying a car on dim or well lighted cluster. What I am saying is, the lighting is indeed dim IMO and especially so in the dawn/dusk driving conditions. I want Honda to improve on this aspect. What is wrong with that?
I also complain about the seating position that I'm comfortable with with respect to the seat belts. Again, don't I have the right to give my opinion as to how I feel about the car?
Sure, this is a Si vs. VW forum. VW has better interior lighting and tires/rims. I'm sure it doesn't have the quirk in the AC system either. I can fix the quirk which I have. But why can't Honda allow it from the factory?? For those who doesn't want to shut it off, the AC still comes on as expected even after we apply the fix. But at least now we can turn it off if we so choose to. At least you admit this is a quirk and have applied the fix. What gee35coupe and anony still hold to is it is a design feature. Honda design it as such, so it must be right coz' it is Honda.
I don't buy into that mentality. Sure, I'm one voice but I sure would like them to hear my dissatisfaction about the car. Even if in the future I buy a $50k car or a $100k car you bet I'll never be satisfied with the car. Hey, if you are satisfied with what the car makers give you, good for you. As for me, I would like them to work harder to get me to spend my hard earn money.
But that's just me.
It's the same as the separate detents on the airflow direction. In manual controls you can control the amount of air going through the upper and lower vents and vary it with the slider. The automatic ones are designed that they are fixed detents. Not a defect, but the design.
If there is enough light outside to make the lights of the instrument panel look dim then there must be enough light to still see the instruments. I doubt Honda will "fix" it.
Honda has been using this model Michelin throughout the model line. I doubt they'll "fix" them. I mean the RSX Type-S has only 16's.
Chrysler, Ford, & I think Subaru are the same also. It's meant to improve the full defrost mode performance.
I agree with you...I rather have the ability to control the AC compressor.
It's probably outlined in the owner's manual (maybe not...I don't own one).
I've noticed you've been accused of being a "defective owner" -- this is my impression of some how are treating your ownership of the car (based on reading the threads, if they had experience with the car, they might offer you a real solution, instead of chatizing you).
of course there's some quirks of the Golf & GTI (Jetta), the ventilation -- routing of air isn't quite right....AC seems kinda weak....the ignition switch is different from what I'm used to (toyotas and honda), opening the hood....
You have yet to name one problem that is a problem instead of just naming things you don't like about the car that you should've found during the test drive. I love my SI. Do I think it's the perfect car? No. But for $16,000 it's as close to it as any other new car out there.
Typical Honda fanatic line. LOL.
Poor Focus.
Still beating the dead horse even in the VW/Honda forum?
BTW how come you are still ignoring numerous complaints about the oil burning Civic Si/Acura RSX engines and faulty RSX transmissions?
Faulty RSX transmissions? That's a new one. As is happening with some other 6-speed transmissions people are grabbing 2nd gear instead of 4th. It's happened in the S2000, GTS, and M3.
THE REAR WHEEL HUB RETAINING NUTS CAN LOOSEN AND ALLOW THE LEFT REAR WHEEL AND BRAKE DRUM ASSEMBLY TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE.
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ZETEC ENGINES, LOOSE OR BROKEN ATTACHMENTS AND MISROUTED BATTERY CABLES COULD LEAD TO CABLE INSULATION DAMAGE.
What about gas tanks???
Acura Tranny TSB:
http://forums.clubrsx.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=383322
Acura Oil consumption thread:
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35134&highlight=oil
How long have you had your 02 civic Si? How many miles on it now? Did your 01 Golf have the 1.8T motor?
What is your opinion on comfort for trips in the Si vs. VW?
How about fuel economy comparisons?
Any oil consumptions with the Si yet?
If I missed anyone else who has had both a golf 1.8T (or GTI) and 02 Si, forgive my oversight. I would value your experience as well.
I'm sorry.
I must misunderstand what you mean...
vadp: I would really leave the SI and the RSX alone.
Yea, Love it or Leave it. LOL.
The Focus complaint sites and recall history have used up 50% of the entire internet.
Then why to pollute this thread?
If you read it in it's full context it's quite simple to understand.
Interior lighting - this is one of my favorites - Indelglo blue lighting for everything you view at night and red/orange backlighting for everything you touch - so intuitive and nice. All the switchgear is red/orange backlit power window, locks, hatch and gas door release, climate, radio controls all red/orange backlit. The interior lighting is amazing as good as anything Benz or BMW puts out - individual front map lights in an overhead console plus a bright central light, individual rear side reading lights and the hatch area is well lit when the hatch is opened - all these lights can be individually programmed to light with the doors opening or not plus turned on when the car is running. Dual Visor mirror makeup lights, slide the visor mirror door open and if the headlights are on a perfectly placed light in the headliner above the visor mirror lights up. If any interior lights are left on the car turns them off automatically after 10 minutes if the key is out of the ignition. The radio stays on as long as the key is in the ignition after shutdown too.
The sunroof has a nice one touch dial for opening or venting the sunroof open to any position with a simple twist - the windows are one touch up/down. Another feature I use all the time in the sunbelt is Auto close - put the key in the driver's door lock, turn all the way to the right and any open windows and sunroof close - nice. Plus you can vent a hot car by turning the key to the left all the way to open the windows to any position. For $60 you can get an accessory that allows you to close/vent with the standard remote keyless entry.
Speaking of the remote keyless - the cool keyfob is a switchblade, panic alarm, lock/ unlock doors or hatch all when you walk up to the car. The standard alarm system has a nice muted beep and lights flash when it arms - no beep? - check the doors or hatch one's not closed all the way - nice. Unlock with remote and don't open the door or hatch within a couple minutes and it relocks/ arms itself automatically - nice.
The doors lock automatically at 8 mph - don't like that? program them not to do it.
So many parts of the car are nicely designed - I love the wiper stalk - talk about thoughtful design - 4 position intermittent timer switch on top, one push down (spring loaded) on the stalk is one wipe - up one intermitent - two more up for 2 speeds of wipe - push stalk forward one for rear wiper push further for rear wash - pull for front wash - so intuitive. All the switchgear - buttons, stalks dials are extremely high quality and have a very substantial feel.
All the standard safety features are great - major selling point, especially in a small car. 4th generation 4 channel ABS, ASR - anti slip regulation (electronic traction control) Airbags? - dual front, SIDE and HEAD airbags all standard in every VW. In a crash the doors unlock, flashers activate and interior lights turn on automatically. The active seatbelts have the gas charges that activate in a crash to pull you back into the seat. Very nice and comfortable head rests (5) that adjust up and down and tilt forward for the perfect fit - on long trips you can rest your head in a perfect position plus whiplash injuries are reduced with properly adjusted headrests. The structure is quite strong as well - rated a best pick in crash tests. The next generation Golf V due out late next year has knee airbags and foam filled doors STANDARD for even better crash saftey. Don't forget the current Golf platform was designed awhile ago - the next one has multilink rear suspension and all sorts of new features.
My GTI puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it - I never feel like I settled for anything less than the best little hot hatch on the market.
Also:
- Warning lights for low windshield washer fluid and worn front brake pads
- Lockable glovebox
- valet key(cannot open glove box or rear lid)
- padded center armest that can be tilted out of the way and has storage
- Power windows and sunroof with pinch protection
- Emergency manual closer for sunroof
- power heated mirrors that fold
- tilt and telescoping steering wheel
- 12 volt sockets in center console and trunk
- full size(16") spare tire
- prewired for CD changer
- cabin air filter
- stereo w/ CD and cassette
- cargo tie downs
- rear heating ducts
Options for 1.8t:
- heated front seats and windshield washer nozzles
- ESP
Options for VR6(in addition to 1.8t options):
- Climatronic climate control system
- auto-dimming inside rear view mirror
- rain-sensing wipers
Am I forgetting anything Rickover?
You have yet to name one problem that is a problem instead of just naming things you don't like about the car that you should've found during the test drive. I love my SI. Do I think it's the perfect car? No. But for $16,000 it's as close to it as any other new car out there.
I didn't know I am not suppose to complain about the car eventhough I freaking OWN it. I'll go to my room now. Bad bad boy.
In my test drive, how will I find out about the dim lighting when I drove the car in the middle of the afternoon?? How am I suppose to know I can't turn the AC off?? How am I suppose to know the tires are pretty bad in the wet/snowy condition when it didn't snow in November??
Although I knew about the whinny reverse but was told it's normal. Whether it is normal or not doesn't matter to me. It sounds bad and if I'm a head honcho in Honda, I'll make them fix it coz' the uninformed buyer like myself will think there's something wrong with the car.
The seatbelts was too far away for me to reach in my good seating position. When I drove the car, I paid more attention to how the car feels and drive than to the few seconds it took me to reach back and grab the seatbelt. Now that I own the car and I've to reach back EACH AND EVERY time I get into the car, I begin to notice it is uncomfortable to ME. MOI! Understand??!!
The creaks and rattle package I accidently bought? Well, are you telling me (or rather gee35coupe but you live with him, so..) all cars creak and rattle in the cold?? You are unbelievable! Creaks occurs when plastic parts rub against each other. If the car or any car has been assembled properly, you won't find any of these creaks. Maybe it is just me, but there are times I like to drive w/o the radio or CD playing. It's amazing what kind of sound you can hear coming from the car. Incidently, I found another mysterious sound coming from the left side of the engine compartment when I was going at 75mph. Some kind of chattering sound. I was going on a smooth road. Sound doesn't come on when speed is low.
I am 5'3 and have no problem reaching the seatbelt nor does my 6'6 boyfriend. My tires are fine in the rain. Have had Michelin MXV4's on a total of 4 cars. Never had a problem driving in the rain and it doesn't snow here in Atlanta. We get ice and nobody can drive on ice. Here is a quote from Motor Trend "Honda specifically asked Michelin for tires that have low rolling resistance, decent mobility in snow, 50,000-plus mile longevity, and gave up grip with each requirement" so I doubt Honda will change from MIchelin any time soon. And that should be a positive. The MXV4's are some of the highest rated (and most expensive) tires on the market. If Honda had put high performance tires on the SI then someone would've complained about how fast they wear out or how noisy they are.
I actually like the noise it makes in reverse. Don't know why but I do. Sounds kinda cool. Mechanical even. And even if I didn't like it as long as I don't drive around in reverse what's the big deal.
Hope you didn't pay extra for those creaks and rattles. Again, mine has none. There was a slight cricket sound seemingly coming from behind the dash near the steering wheel. We fixed it. There are some wires underneath the steering column and we traced the noise to there so we tightened the wires down with a zip-tie and no more rattle. Not sure if that is the chattering you are hearing but you might want to give it a shot.
Usually if you spend some time tracing down the problems you will find there is an easy fix for them. Action is much more productive than complaining.
squeaks, but they are minor nuisances.
Oil consumption has stopped at 1Q. Wallmart
sells castrol in the right grade (5w-20?)
if you need some oil but
the dealer isn't convenient.
Gas mileage is 27-28.5, mostly 28ish. Regular gas, no knocking that I can detect. Agressive
driving, highway at 80+ pretty much 50+ miles
of highway per day, maybe 20 city per day.
Still having minor tremors/vibrations in the front end, seems to me like the suspension, funny
the vibrations go down as you grip the wheel more firmly.
Could still be the tires, but I have had a lot
of cars and a lot of tires and my gut tells me
the front end is pretty sensitive. It seems
worse on "smoother" road surfaces.
The dealer did replace the original tires, one of which flat out failed the balancing tests, (on the rear), but
after the fact I realized they replaced the
MXV4 pilots with MXV4 energy, which may have been
responsible for making the vibrations go way
down. In either case, its not that annoying and
I think lessening over time as the suspension loosens up a bit. (I am disappointed with the dealer making this change without asking me since
the energy mxv4 are lower speed rating hence
cheaper.)
Overall? Great car for 15,900 IMHO. I love its peppiness, its smoothness, the handling, the
very firm ride, and will probably move to big
wheels / tires in the spring for summer driving.
I think the controls in the car are very intelligently designed and easy to use, including the funky shifter.
I highly reccomend the 2002 SI at this price point. So far, across all weather (including snow / cold), it has been great. Of course, if
you don't like the Civic SI, don't buy it! You
will be much happier buying a car you like as
opposed to buying a bundle of statistics that
beat another bundle of statistics when compared
side by side.
Look forward to getting in the car and driving
it every day.
devoz
I had a slight vibration when I bought it which pretty much disappeared after the first few thousand miles but after having the tires rotated and balanced at 6500 miles it's running smooth as glass now.
I agree with you. The 03 Si is a steal at $16,000, if they had stayed at $19,000 we would not own one. But then again we would not be buying a 03 Accord if it were $25,000+ like it said on the sticker.
Like only around 5% of U.S. cars are manual.
If the Matrix body hasn't look so tall and I'm not that turned off by Toyota dealership price scheme, I would have prefer the Matrix over the P5 or 5 door Civic. In anycase, since we don't have a 5 door Civic here, there isn't much choices left.