A few months ago I made a post debating a Civic Si and a GTI. I have since forgot my password, but would like to explain the choice I made and invite a friendly debate over a topic that has been beaten to death. With that said, I now drive a 2008 GTI.
I was in the market for a car that performed well, did decent on gas, and was in my price range. Coming from a completely unbiased background, through loads of research and actually having experiences with both cars, I was able to make a great choice. I hope this thread may catch the eye of someone interested in both cars. I am not here to bash the Civic Si, just to give a logical explanation of why I think the GTI trumps the Si in many categories.
Before I test drove both vehicles, I already knew a substancial amount of information about both of them. I drove the Civic Si coupe first. My impressions of the vehicle were not very good at all. Just looking at the car, I had quotes from the fast and the furious running through my head. The spoiler, overall boy racer image turned me off big time. The dash is very awkward and fails horribly at bringing a newer, techy look to the Si. The seats were nice, very comfortable. However, I did not like the materials and overall fit and finish the Si seemed to have. It seemed very cheap and only suited for cheap thrills. On to the actual driving. Before I let the VTEC roar, I took it easy to see what daily driving would be like. And I was very dissapointed at the torque provided in the lower RPM's. I had no "get up and go." Once the dealer invited me to open the car up a bit, I was impressed at the VTEC's ability to throw me back in my seat. But at what cost? I don't want to seem like a psycho every time I want a little power out of my car. And to make matters worse, what would I look like in a civic with an abnoxious spoiler, horrible VTEC decals, redlining my car just to get my jollies? I was 16 once, and am no more. Handling felt good, but I felt like I wasn't connected to the car at all. Very impersonable. Onto the VW...
I test drove a 2008 candy white 2dr GTI. From the outside, I immediately fell in love with the image. The GTI is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Subtle sporty accentuations bring life to the GTI. Stepping in, I was shocked at the quality of the interior. The steering wheel was meaty and sporty. Everything seemed to flow. The fit and finish is astounding (not surprising considering VW/Audi set the bar in interiors).. The leather seats were sporty with subtle "GTI" logos on the headrests. Immediately I knew this was something I could get used to. I test drove a stick considering that is what I wanted my car to be. Driving conservatively, I was shocked at the amount of torque produced in the lower RPM ranges. This car would pull from anywhere! The steering is sharp, tight, and precise, and you get the feeling the car is "one." When I opened her up, I immediately remember thinking, "This has GOT to be faster than the Si." And on paper.... it is. And the TURBO! I am looking to modify my car quite a bit, and the GTI just takes the cake here again. A simple $500 chip will boost (no pun intended) the car to 250hp and 303 ft/lb.
I began asking myself why this was even a debate! Then i remembered the dreaded reliability stigma that still haunts VW to this day. While I do believe the Civic Si will overall more reliable than the Civic, many notions of VW's reliabiltiy stem from the Mk4's. I also am a firm believer that 16-25 year old female jetta drivers who do not believe in maintaining their cars may have skewed the numbers just a bit. The MKV's up until this point have proven a lot more reliable than the previous generations.
Finally I was able to understand why everytime someone mentions a GTI on this forum, every response is a knock on VW's reliabiltiy. That is the one of the only things the Civic has on the GTI.
And at the end of the day, my Honda civic si will still be a honda civic. A cheap car made for economical reasons. And I wanted more than that, so I bought the GTI.
As Jeremy Clarkson said, "When you buy a Honda, you end up with a Honda. Whereas when you buy a Volkswagen..... you don't. When you put everything aside, this car is a SENSATION."
And I agree. Open the floodgates.
I was in the market for a car that performed well, did decent on gas, and was in my price range. Coming from a completely unbiased background, through loads of research and actually having experiences with both cars, I was able to make a great choice. I hope this thread may catch the eye of someone interested in both cars. I am not here to bash the Civic Si, just to give a logical explanation of why I think the GTI trumps the Si in many categories.
Before I test drove both vehicles, I already knew a substancial amount of information about both of them. I drove the Civic Si coupe first. My impressions of the vehicle were not very good at all. Just looking at the car, I had quotes from the fast and the furious running through my head. The spoiler, overall boy racer image turned me off big time. The dash is very awkward and fails horribly at bringing a newer, techy look to the Si. The seats were nice, very comfortable. However, I did not like the materials and overall fit and finish the Si seemed to have. It seemed very cheap and only suited for cheap thrills. On to the actual driving. Before I let the VTEC roar, I took it easy to see what daily driving would be like. And I was very dissapointed at the torque provided in the lower RPM's. I had no "get up and go." Once the dealer invited me to open the car up a bit, I was impressed at the VTEC's ability to throw me back in my seat. But at what cost? I don't want to seem like a psycho every time I want a little power out of my car. And to make matters worse, what would I look like in a civic with an abnoxious spoiler, horrible VTEC decals, redlining my car just to get my jollies? I was 16 once, and am no more. Handling felt good, but I felt like I wasn't connected to the car at all. Very impersonable. Onto the VW...
I test drove a 2008 candy white 2dr GTI. From the outside, I immediately fell in love with the image. The GTI is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Subtle sporty accentuations bring life to the GTI. Stepping in, I was shocked at the quality of the interior. The steering wheel was meaty and sporty. Everything seemed to flow. The fit and finish is astounding (not surprising considering VW/Audi set the bar in interiors).. The leather seats were sporty with subtle "GTI" logos on the headrests. Immediately I knew this was something I could get used to. I test drove a stick considering that is what I wanted my car to be. Driving conservatively, I was shocked at the amount of torque produced in the lower RPM ranges. This car would pull from anywhere! The steering is sharp, tight, and precise, and you get the feeling the car is "one." When I opened her up, I immediately remember thinking, "This has GOT to be faster than the Si." And on paper.... it is. And the TURBO! I am looking to modify my car quite a bit, and the GTI just takes the cake here again. A simple $500 chip will boost (no pun intended) the car to 250hp and 303 ft/lb.
I began asking myself why this was even a debate! Then i remembered the dreaded reliability stigma that still haunts VW to this day. While I do believe the Civic Si will overall more reliable than the Civic, many notions of VW's reliabiltiy stem from the Mk4's. I also am a firm believer that 16-25 year old female jetta drivers who do not believe in maintaining their cars may have skewed the numbers just a bit. The MKV's up until this point have proven a lot more reliable than the previous generations.
Finally I was able to understand why everytime someone mentions a GTI on this forum, every response is a knock on VW's reliabiltiy. That is the one of the only things the Civic has on the GTI.
And at the end of the day, my Honda civic si will still be a honda civic. A cheap car made for economical reasons. And I wanted more than that, so I bought the GTI.
As Jeremy Clarkson said, "When you buy a Honda, you end up with a Honda. Whereas when you buy a Volkswagen..... you don't. When you put everything aside, this car is a SENSATION."
And I agree. Open the floodgates.
