2025 Honda Civic Si review: DIY is best

Mitchell Weitzman
Jun 30
7 min read

Updated: Jul 6

2025 Honda Civic Si review | The Road Beat

Row Your Own: 2025 Honda Civic Si Review by The Road Beat

Words and pictures: Mitchell Weitzman

Preaching about rowing your own gears is a cliché at this point, but the merit can't be overstated when it comes to modern cars—whether it’s performance-oriented supercars or the mundane, modest ones like this Honda Civic Si. Over the past few decades, the Si has built something of a legacy: an affordable entry point to a raw, high-revving experience that does away with compromise. The 8,000 RPM-and-beyond redlines may now be a relic of the past, thanks to emissions laws, and it's smoother and more hospitable than ever, but the Si still delivers the goods when it comes to driver involvement and sheer fun.

And yet—I expected to like the Civic more than I did. Despite ticking the correct boxes for an affordable performance car, a few nagging annoyances left me puzzled, and at times, irritated.

Picks

The skinny on the highlights of this deft and relatively light sport sedan is simple—and not particularly worth shouting about. It’s powered by a 201-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter engine driving the front wheels, with a curb weight right around 3,000 pounds, neither being figures to gloat over. What is worth shouting to the moon and back about, though, is the six-speed manual transmission in the middle—a beautiful and increasingly rare find in today's cars. Simply slapping a manual in a car isn’t enough, but luckily this is Honda, and Honda knows how to make this DIY operation a joy.

2025 Honda Civic Si manual transmission review

Even if it doesn’t quite hit the absurdly high bar set by their Civic Type R’s transmission—arguably one of the best in the world at any price—the Si brandishes a talented skillset of its own, with a defined, mechanical shifter feel that slots into gears cleanly. Compared to another popular purveyor of manuals, this Honda avoids the vague, notchy slop you often find in modern BMWs. If you'd like some assistance, there’s also an auto-blipper for downshifts that’ll make you feel and sound like Kamui Kobayashi every time you drop a cog. Clutch action is light, with a long throw that makes it easy to find the engagement point, making it a wonderful transmission for first-time gear-rowers.

Is it too light? Maybe, for seasoned drivers. I personally prefer the added heft of my Nissan Silvia, but the Si’s gearbox doesn't detract from the experience in the slightest, as a car of this stature is greatly suited by its transmission’s approachable nature. And if you do want that extra solid and mechanical bliss, then they offer the hardcore Type R as well.

2025 Honda Civic Si interior dashboard and steering wheel

Power comes from a tiny turbocharged four-cylinder that’s a long way from the charismatic, VTEC-screaming die grinders of yesteryear, with the rev limit now at a staid 6,600 RPM. The upside? A torquey unit that delivers solid shove from 3,000 RPM and pulls cleanly to the top, with only a slight falloff. Even if this engine leans more midrange than high-rev thriller, it doesn’t suck the fun out of rowing through the gears. Instead of chasing the 6,000–8,000 RPM window like past models, you’re now living between 3,000–6,000 RPM, and thanks to short gearing, there’s still plenty of shifting action on backroads between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. It’s not the banshee of before, but it has more character than most modern turbo-fours—helped in no small part again by that brilliant gearbox.

It's also quite unexpectedly throaty, even in stock form, with a guttural growl that may or may not be synthetic—but I don't really care because it sounds decent, and that’s what matters. Sport mode bumps the volume to a near-perfect level for daily driving without becoming annoying on freeways. I also appreciate the lack of ridiculous snap, crackle, and pop noises—always a telltale sign of insecurity for both carmakers and drivers. And if you’re anxious about straight-line metrics, 0–60 MPH takes around 6.5 seconds with a good launch—which can be tricky in a front-wheel-drive car.

Perhaps the biggest standout of this power unit is fuel economy. Over a week, I averaged an astonishing 34 MPG from mixed driving, including hilly highways, city traffic, and numerous spirited runs up and down the rev range. Manufacturers love to claim manuals are less efficient than automatics, but this is pretty compelling evidence to the contrary. Thirty-four MPG! That’s only a few ticks shy of the last Civic and Corolla Hybrids I tested, and those are terribly dull.

2025 Honda Civic Si exterior rear three quarter

Being a performance-oriented Honda, the chassis and handling are predictably superb. The steering may be electrically assisted, but you’d barely know it due to the organic vibrations. Response is quick and immediate, with enough feedback to give you a real sense of what’s happening at the contact patch. Sport mode adds artificial heft, but I found it unnecessary—the base setting is already sharp and precise.

The Type R remains the pinnacle of front-wheel-drive dynamics, but the Si is closer behind than I expected. Lateral grip is impressive at both ends, and the front resists understeer commendably—at least until you're being genuinely stupid and the grip from the modest tires give up the ghost. Torque steer shows up a little in 1st and 2nd gear, but I kind of enjoy the added involvement and correction needed.

Exiting a cloverleaf freeway on-ramp—a favorite practical handling test—I found third gear best exploits the engine’s midrange without overwhelming mechanical grip. You can apply throttle gradually yet eagerly through the corner while maintaining your line. At the exit, just as adhesion is tested the most, you feel the skinny front tires start to struggle with full power and lateral load—but it’s all beautifully communicated through the wheel, letting you manage the car with nuance. Driving is about involvement, and in this case, front-wheel drive almost enhances it at least in this 200-horsepower application. Do I still prefer rear-wheel drive? Yes. But a Miata isn’t exactly a drift monster with its slimmer powerband.

Also of note: the cabin is spacious and well-designed. The rear seats easily accommodate adults, and the trunk is generous as to not hinder shopping potential. The Si-specific front seats offer an excellent blend of comfort and support, and the latest Civic design language is cohesive and attractive inside and out.

Nicks

As enjoyable as this turbocharged engine is to work hard, a 6,600 RPM redline is a letdown. I wish it were tuned to rev past 7,000 and bring back some of that old-school Honda magic at the top end. More annoying and what solidifies this view, though, is the harsh rev limiter—it cuts in abruptly right at 6,600, meaning you need to shift closer to 6,400 just to avoid it. And instead of a satisfying "wom-bom-bom" of famous tuner cars, the engine just flatlines in groaning disapproval.

2025 Honda Civic Si exterior detail Si badge

Modern safety systems also chip away at the driving experience. The lane-departure assist in particular is overly aggressive, and radar cruise control is poorly tuned, preferring to hit the brakes when coasting would be better. By default, it also beeps every single time it detects a car ahead, even if hundreds of feet away. Why does that feature exist? If you’re driving, I would sure hope you're not that visually impaired.

And the beeps... oh, the beeps.

Close a door? Beep. Trunk? Beep. Exit the car? Beep. The electronic parking brake? Beeps even on a level surface. It became a running joke by midweek as just existing around the car meant triggering a chorus of chirps. I scoured the infotainment menus and cluster settings multiple times and couldn’t find any way to disable them. If the option does exist, it’s buried somewhere utterly obscure. And that alone soured the experience in a real way. There are more than enough bongs in modern cars for various silly reasons, and this has more than jumped the shark. If I'm wrong, please let me know in the comments if all that nonsense can be disabled, because as a car to live with each day, that kind of actually ruins the car for me.

2025 Honda Civic Si interior front red seats

The infotainment itself is user-friendly, but was plagued with connectivity issues when using Apple CarPlay. Besides constantly unlinking, Siri would refuse to respond, and it failed to read any messages out loud—a problem I haven’t experienced in other cars, suggesting this one’s on Honda.

Verdict: Affordable, Fun... and Annoying

I genuinely love the Civic Si as a performance car—and the affordability is a major bonus. Combine that with 34 MPG and daily practicability, and you’ve got an extremely well-rounded package. But the endless beeps and overly nannying safety features got under my skin. After a long day at work, I want to relax on my drive home—not be chirped at repeatedly after I’ve arrived home.

At $31,800, it’s a great value. But for just $4,000 more, the Hyundai Elantra N exists—and that weapon absolutely obliterates the Si in nearly every metric, including driving thrills. We're talking Civic Type R-level thrills for thousands less than the Type R itself, and that’s really difficult to ignore.

Maybe more telling is that when the Si left, I didn’t miss it. As fun as it is on a backroad or regular commute, I kept thinking about how close it sits to the evocative Elantra N —just a few grand more, and oh so much more car. While the Civic Si is a big leap above other Civics in terms of sporting credentials, Hyundai has built a true game-changer. It’s unfortunate for Honda, but the bar has been raised—and the Si can no longer coast on legacy alone. For the money, it's a terrific performer and roasts a Jetta GLI for fun, but with the Elantra N in tantalizingly close reach, the Civic Si is not the sure thing it once was.

2025 Honda Civic Si

As-tested price: $31,800

Pros: Excellent chassis and gearbox, 34 MPG overall

Cons: Why does it beep so damn much?