My wife and I are still in the market for a daily driver/autox car and we
just got a chance to test drive a 99 Civic Si. I was very impressed by
it's grip and pep. Our other car is a 98 Prelude SH and I can say that
the Civic Si handles the twisties nearly as well and with almost as much
power. Makes me wonder which car is misclassed...the Civic Si (ES) or the
Prelude (GS).
I'm worried that if we buy one of these cars that it is going to end up in
DS or GS eventually. I really don't understand why it was put in ES. If
you compare it to the Integra GS-R (GS), then it doesn't appear to have
any disadvantage. It's lighter and has better F/R weight distribution.
It has only 10 less HP, but it also has a lower first gear to make up for
it. My impression from driving both is that the Civic has at least as
much grip and more composure in the turns. The brakes are excellent on
both and they both have the same wheel size.
Either the GS-R should go to ES or the Civic Si should go to GS, at least
based on my testdrives. Maybe they completely change character on course,
but I doubt it. Opinions?
Rich Johnston
95 Z28 ESP
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