The 2022 Honda Civic Si will arrive in dealerships in the 2nd half of December 2021. Honda’s 1.5-liter turbocharged I4 returns to the Si’s engine bay, down 5 horsepower versus its predecessor. It’s now rated at 200 horsepower and an unchanged 192 pound-feet of torque. The 5-hp loss at the top end is basically imperceptible, even when driven back-to-back with the 2020 Si. Peak torque now comes on at 1,800 Rpm and is more generously distributed across the tachometer’s swing, making the new Si feel more awake, powerful, and responsive in a wider range of conditions. The responsiveness of the engine is augmented by a lighter flywheel and a standard 6-speed manual transmission, but the automatic transmission isn’t available.
The engine will automatically blip the throttle when downshifting for instant and perfectly matched gear changes. The 2022 Si also inherits the rev-matching feature from the Civic Type R. The feature makes the Si more approachable to novices interested in learning the dying art of driving with 3 pedals. The system can be deactivated if you’d prefer to blip your own shifts. The 2022 Civic Si should return 27 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined, a single tick better than the previous car across the board with the manual transmission. The new Si’s dual exhaust looks fantastic. However, it’s almost a shame to hide its coiled design behind the rear bumper.
The previous Si wasn’t a slouch in the handling department, but the new model sharpens and simplifies its cornering capabilities. The 2022 Civic Si ditches the previous generation’s 2-mode active dampers, which is a bit of a bummer for folks who enjoy fiddling with settings. But the new static setup works well for both sporty and daily driving. The Civic Si rolls on standard 18-inch matte black wheels shod with all-season rubber. Summer tires are one of the only options available to Civic Si shoppers and a fairly affordable upgrade with adding just $200 to the bottom line. There are standard bigger brakes with 12.3-inch rotors up front and 11.1-inch discs at the rear.
The cabin has the same great tech as the rest of the 11th-gen Civic lineup, including a 7-inch partially digital instrument cluster combo paired with a standard 9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard with wireless connectivity. The company also included the full Honda Sensing suite of driver aid technologies, rolling in adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and collision mitigation braking. Blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and traffic sign recognition will also join the Si’s suite of standard features this year. The new Civic Si is better than before, but it’s also more expensive, starting at $28,315 including the $1,015 destination charge. The new Si costs $2,320 more than the 2020 model.
