2017 Honda Civic Si Coupe Vs. Civic Si Sedan

If you’re in the market for a a vehicle like the 2017 Civic Si, Honda will sell it to you in two varieties: sedan or coupe (shown here). I tested the Honda Civic Si sedan for our First Drive, then spent a week with the Honda Civic Si coupe — and even after all that, I’m still not sure which one I’d take.

Related: 2017 Honda Civic Si Review: First Drive

Both vehicle body styles of the sedan and coupe are similar (though they do have some key differences). The coupe and sedan have the same price ($24,775 including destination charges) and identical fuel economy of an EPA-estimated 28/38/32 mpg city/highway/combined. Both coupe and sedan also use the same high-revving turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which makes 205 horsepower and 192 pounds-feet of torque. The lone transmission option is a six-speed manual (insert cheers of delight from purists here), and the Civic Si also comes with an upgraded adaptive suspension type, limited-slip differential and a Sport mode, which when engaged, really changes the character of the car. 

There’s not much difference between the wheelbase and curb weights of the Honda Civic Si coupe and sedan models, with only 17 pounds of difference separating the two: 2,889 pounds for the coupe versus 2,906 pounds for the sedan. Because of this, the driving experience between the two vehicles is practically identical, which is a good thing — the Civic Si hits the sweet spot for me for this generation of Honda Civic cars. When driving the regular Civic model variants, no matter the trim, in both the coupe and the sedan, I wished for more torque and a bit more stiffness from the suspension. The Civic Si does a good job of answering that call, providing a car that’s a joy for both drivers and passengers. 

So which car to choose — the Honda Civic Si sedan or Civic Si coupe?

To me, the turbocharged six-speed Honda Civic Si coupe with manual transmission is the better-looking of the two. Its proportions scream sporty styling and the more prominent wing on the back tickles my boy-racer funny bone a bit more. Both are an improvement over the standard versions of the Civic; borrowing those bumpers and air inlets from the hatchback are a change for the better.

If I had one bone to pick with the styling of the coupe, it’d be the exhaust — someone recently described it to me as a big micro-USB port, and now I can’t unsee that. The dual-pipe center exhaust and the tri-pipe exhaust found on the Type R both would be preferable to my tastes.

Of course, there are trade-offs to this coupe-over-sedan preference. Opting for the Civic Si coupe instead of the Si sedan means sacrificing a good amount of vehicle practicality: Besides losing two doors, there’s less rear cargo room in the coupe (11.9 cubic feet in the coupe versus 14.7 cubic feet in the sedan) and less legroom and headroom in the backseat for passengers, as well. The shape of the sporty Civic coupe also pushes that rear glass directly over the head of passengers, which makes sitting in the rear seats awkward even for shorter folks. So the Honda Civic Si sedan might the better choice if you’re frequently driving passengers around.

Are those compromises enough to sway me off the Honda Civic Si coupe? Not right now, since I’m 30, single and childless (sorry about that last part, Mom and Dad). But it’s good to know that if those things change, there’s still something fun I can drive around that would fit my new life a little better.

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