2024 Honda Civic Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Compact, quick, fun, and affordable cars have been a staple of the American automotive diet since the sporty 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI taught us that outright power isn’t the only ingredient necessary to taste the joy of driving.

More than four decades later, the Volkswagen GTI is still teaching that lesson, accompanied by other small and speedy cars, including the 2024 Honda Civic Si. The Civic Si isn’t new to this classroom, having arrived on campus two years after the GTI as a “sport-injected” version of the tiny little 1985 Honda Civic CRX.

Now approaching its own 40th anniversary, the modern Civic Si remains a sport-injected version of the Civic sedan, offering more performance and driving engagement than you’ll find elsewhere in the Civic lineup but not nearly as much as the downright riotous high-performance Honda Civic Type R hatchback model. Better yet, it still adheres to the original stealth-mode styling formula that characterized early pocket rockets. After all, why advertise that you’re likely to exceed the speed limit? That’s not smart.

To that end, the 2024 Civic Si features LED headlights, a different upper grille insert, a gloss-black lip spoiler on the trunk lid, dual exhaust outlets, and 18-inch wheels with a matte-black finish. There are discreet “Si” badges, too, and while half the paint colors are vivid and eye-catching, the other half are perfect for blending into the background.

Inside, the Civic Si is more expressive thanks to the red seat and door panel inserts with matching accents and stitching throughout the cabin. Like in other Civic models, the Si features a metal mesh strip of trim that hides the dashboard air vents, and the rest of the cabin employs gloss black surfaces, polished metal detailing, and simple but effective digital instrumentation paired with a touchscreen infotainment system. Metal pedal covers and an aluminum shift knob represent the frosting on a high-quality cake.

The base price of a 2024 Honda Civic Si is $29,100, not including the $1,095 destination charge. Our test car had attention-getting Blazing Orange Pearl paint, adding $455 to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $30,650, including the destination charge.

Honda specs the Civic Si with a high-output version of the turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that you’ll find in the EX and Touring sedan models. In the Si, it makes 200 horsepower (+20 hp) and 192 pound-feet of torque (+15 lb-ft of torque) and pairs with an exclusive close-ratio six-speed manual transmission with a downshift rev-matching feature. If you’d rather exercise your heel-and-toe shifting ability, you can turn off the rev-matching.

The drivetrain employs what Honda describes as a single-mass lightweight flywheel, and the power flows to the Civic Si’s front wheels through a helical limited-slip differential that limits wheelspin and introduces a torque-vectoring effect when powering out of corners. Larger brakes, thicker suspension stabilizer bars, and an Si-only dual-pinion variable-ratio steering system are also standard, and the test car’s 18-inch wheels wore 235/50 Goodyear Eagle F1 summer tires.

Software modifies the powertrain’s sound and behavior. Active Sound Control enhances the engine note while Normal, Sport, and Individual driving modes adjust throttle response and steering effort levels. You can set up a speed limit warning threshold setting within the infotainment system, and it’s a good idea to use it because the Honda Civic Si is a ton of fun.

In urban and suburban settings, the Civic Si is surprisingly docile to drive. The suspension feels properly connected and occasionally firm, but it doesn’t beat you up, preventing fatigue. When you want or need it, the turbocharged engine is ready to deliver a burst of torque, and the Civic Si can effortlessly slice and dice through traffic while whipping around corners or into parking slots.

On the highway, the Civic Si is never quiet and, depending on the quality of the pavement, can be downright loud inside. But that is to be expected in a compact car priced under $30,000. Otherwise, it provides good passing power and allows a driver to effortlessly squirt through holes in the traffic.

The Civic Si works well as a daily driver but is made for taking the long way home. We evaluated the car in Southern California, where the driving route includes legendary Mulholland Highway running across the top of the Santa Monica Mountains to the beach below. This road separates the pretenders from the performers, and with a single exception, the Civic Si was an absolute ball to drive on this twisty stretch of two-lane blacktop.

Forward visibility is critical on a road like this, and the Civic Si’s flat hood, thin windshield pillars, and door-mounted side mirrors supply exceptionally clear sightlines as you round corners. In addition, the excellent steering makes it easy to pick the correct vector and expertly clip the apex of every curve. The tenacious grip from the Goodyear Eagle F1 tires instills plenty of confidence in the car’s capabilities, and they’re quiet as you hustle through a canyon.

On a road like Mulholland, the Civic Si requires nearly constant shifting between second, third, and fourth gears. The engine is incredibly smooth and clearly communicates the approach to redline, while the shifter and clutch are a joy to use. Thanks to the helical limited-slip front differential, you can feel free to blast out of corners with enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, we encountered a problem with our Civic Si’s braking system. Despite its upsized and ventilated front discs, hot testing weather revealed a vibration due to overheating, suggesting that Honda may need to revisit how it cools the Si’s braking components. They didn’t fade, and we didn’t experience this issue in any other environment but in the mountains. Still, the behavior did dent our trust in the car.

As for fuel economy, the EPA says a Civic Si should get 31 mpg in combined driving. We averaged fuel efficiency of 29.5 mpg on our testing route, driven in Normal mode except for a switch to Sport mode for mountain driving.

With the 2024 Honda Civic Si, practicality doesn’t take a back seat to performance. Though it has sport-bolstered front seats and a manual transmission, this sports sedan is just as sensible as other Civic sedans.

Up front, you get sport-bolstered seats wrapped in cloth. They hold you securely in place when exploring the upper reaches of tire adhesion, and a manual driver’s seat height adjuster ensures a proper driving position behind the thick-rimmed tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel.

However, because the Civic Si sits close to the ground, entering and exiting the car takes a little more effort. In addition, though we thought the driver’s seat was terrific, more seat-track travel and padding on the side of the center console would significantly enhance long-distance comfort.

Every 2024 Civic Si has single-zone automatic climate control, heated exterior mirrors, and a power sunroof. However, the car does not offer heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, or air conditioning vents for the rear-seat passengers. They’ll need to do without USB charging ports, too, an odd omission for a youth-oriented car.

Honda makes up for these oversights by giving the Civic Si a surprisingly roomy back seat. You sit high on a supportive cushion, and legroom is generous enough that taller adults can cross their legs in comfort. Would more front seat-track travel impinge on rear legroom? Yes, but the trade-off would be worthwhile.

Storage space for the driver and front passenger is generous, though the bin under the center armrest is small. In the back, storage is merely adequate.

Cargo space is a commendable 14.4 cubic feet. Notably, you can stow full-size suitcases on their sides, which is unusual in any sedan, much less a compact car. A standard 60/40-split folding back seat allows you to carry longer items, and Honda provides a little bit of hidden storage underneath the trunk’s floor. There isn’t a handle to grip when closing the lid, so you’ll get your fingertips dirty when shutting the trunk.

Honda equips every 2024 Civic Si with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It lacks a native navigation system but includes everything else you might expect. The highlights include Bluetooth, text-messaging support, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, HD Radio, and a basic version of HondaLink connected services.

We had no trouble pairing an iPhone 13 Pro to the infotainment system or using the wireless Apple CarPlay feature to get directions and stream Pandora internet radio. Honda makes it easy to return to the native environment using a Honda icon within CarPlay or pushing a physical Home button to the left of the display.

The infotainment system includes a knob for stereo power and volume, buttons for tuning radio stations, and a Back button to return to a previous menu or screen. Steering wheel controls adjust the volume and tune between stations and tracks and also provide access to different data panels within the digital instrumentation panel.

A 12-speaker Bose Centerpoint premium audio system is standard in the Civic Si, and it sounds impressive in part because Honda involved the audio component company early in the Civic interior’s design stage. That ensured proper speaker placement and favorable acoustics.

Overall, the Civic Si’s interior technology is simple but satisfying.

We wish the same were true of the standard Honda Sensing collection of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). It offers plenty of technology, but in this instance, it proved irksome enough that we didn’t want to use it longer than was necessary to evaluate it.

Honda Sensing equips the Civic Si with forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centering assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights. In addition, the car has a driver monitoring system, traffic sign recognition, and a rear seat reminder system to prevent a driver from accidentally leaving someone or something important in the car.

Perhaps because the Civic Si is what enthusiasts call a “driver’s car,” the lane-keeping assist (Road Departure Mitigation in Honda-speak) almost immediately began rubbing us the wrong way. In addition, the lane-centering assist (Lane Keeping Assist System in Honda-speak) struggled when left-turn lanes would appear in the middle of Pacific Coast Highway. It wanted to hug the yellow line and tug the Civic into the turn lane instead of continuing straight.

These safety features worked better on freeways. However, the adaptive cruise control isn’t terribly responsive to changing traffic conditions. In one situation, the SUV ahead began braking, triggering speed reduction in the Civic. But then the SUV suddenly accelerated as traffic ahead of it cleared. Meanwhile, the Civic was still braking, and the situation caused irritation in the motorists following behind us.

Later, in thickening traffic, the Civic Si would brake too early and too hard as other vehicles cut into the gap ahead. In addition, the lane-departure warning system causes the steering wheel to wobble rather than vibrate, and the latter is our preference.

Ultimately, during this evaluation, we decided Honda Sensing was ruining the driving experience, so we shut everything off that we could and much preferred driving the car without the tech fully active.

As far as safety ratings go, the 2023 Honda Civic sedan earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Updated tests measuring crashworthiness in moderate overlap frontal-impact and side-impact collisions reveal the car gets an Acceptable instead of Good rating in those two evaluations.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the 2024 Civic sedan an overall safety rating of five stars. The Civic earns that rating in all of the individual assessments, too, except for a 4-star rating for front passenger protection in a frontal-impact collision.

Within its small competitive segment, the 2024 Honda Civic Si is priced higher than some new car rivals and is more affordable than others. This positioning, coupled with a standard Honda Service Pass with complimentary scheduled maintenance for the first two years and 24,000 miles of ownership, inspires us to give the car a favorable cost-effectiveness rating.

However, with the exception of the Volkswagen Jetta GLI, the rivals that are more expensive also bring more performance and, in two instances, all-wheel drive (AWD) to the table. They include the Hyundai Elantra N, the Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo sedan, and the Subaru WRX.

In addition, the less expensive alternatives to the Honda provide better warranty coverage at a big discount. Plus, the Kia Forte GT is available with a manual transmission, and the Hyundai Elantra N-Line adds three years of free maintenance and a three-year trial subscription to connected services as a part of the deal.

As a result, the Civic Si is a mid-pack player regarding outright value. But otherwise, all it needs is a better set of brakes to fulfill its sport compact car mission and ensure that class remains in session.