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Hey all--
I'm currently in the market for a new car. At the moment, pickings are slim in my area for the year range/mileage range I want. And does no one drive a manual Civic anymore??

One person is selling a 2009 Si. I like the manual transmission. It would be fun to own something a little sporty. But it might be pointless as this car is mostly going to be a daily commuter... I won't be really taking advantage of the sport features just tooling up and down the freeway to work or around town. Is it worth sacrificing some gas mileage (Trying to watch my finances, every little bit might make a difference) for a fun-to-drive car if I never really get to do anything fun with it? (And I assume insurance costs more on one of these, too...) OTOH, a little more pickup-and-go for those freeway merges might not be a bad thing? The mileage is slightly higher than I'd prefer (my drive to work one way is about 20 miles, and while that's not a lot, it's also not 5 miles down the road, and I recognize it's going to put the miles on so I'd like to start low), so I'm not certain I'm interested in this one, but in case I do think about it or come up against others...

Also, I've never driven a six-speed manual before... what are the differences from a 5-speed-- anything I need to know that Google won't tell me? From what I can gather, it might actually make it easier to get good mileage to the gallon (I tend to usually drive with that in mind)? How does it handle in low gears? The only time I hate driving a manual is in either really heavy traffic, or snow... can I get into 1st and 2nd sooner with a 6-speed, or is all of the difference at the top end?

Thanks!

 
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First off, if you can afford it, why not. Freeway traffic, you'll find that the extra sportiness and power will help with crap drivers, especially when you have to take evasive maneuvers. 140BHP vs 200BHP is quite a difference. Plus, K series vs R series -- The K engine is a beast of an engine.

As far as 6 gears vs 5 gears and daily driving, everything you have a set "i should be in [x] gear for this," just anticipate the next gear. For example, in my 2002 ex, if I was making a right turn, I knew my exit from the turn would be in 2nd gear. In my buddy's 6-speed 2018 mustang, I'd be doing the same maneuver in 3rd instead of 2nd. I'd imagine it'd be similar in a Honda 6-speed. 6 gears are just going to end up with shorter gears, really is what it comes down to. You'll spend less time in lower gears than you would in a 5 speed MT. You can still manipulate your RPMs to achieve great MPGs by shifting when you want to. That's the beauty of a MT.

If your finances will make it tighter if you get the Si, then don't do it. A little bit of extra fun and power isn't worth having to budget a bit tighter to accommodate it. Fuel economy with the Si will suffer compared to a non-Si variant, however. With any MT, you'll be able to manage your RPMs to get the best fuel economy, and still be able to take evasive actions by changing gears accordingly.

Here's the real question, though. Will you be genuinely happy with what you choose if you don't have an Si. I know it sounds kinda weird, but if you get, say, an EX, will your mind be stuck on the what ifs? Say you get some down time, will you wish you had that Si so you can have some fun driving around wasting gas? Some punk on the road thinking you ain't s*** because you drive a civic, but you knowing the Si can hold its own? I'm not much younger than you, and I still deal with crap like that. lol. Helps keep me young up top. Thankfully, Honda's 1.5T is a beast in itself, and can most definitely hold its own.

As far as insurance, it may or may not matter. I'm pretty sure it's all dependent on the insurance company. Some might say, "yea.. Si stands for 'Sport Injected' so it's sportier," while others may say, "hell, it's a damn civic. screw it. It's all the same." I pay less than $100/mo for insurance on a turbo'd civic (granted, it's just enough to meet/barely exceed NV state min, but that's neither here nor there). The insurance on my 2002 civic was a hair cheaper, but not by much, but then again, we're comparing insurance on vehicles that have a 16 year age gap. I'm with progressive, FWIW.

 
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Thanks, good thoughts. As far as gas mileage-- it's advertised as only slightly worse (I think plain Civic advertised around 39mpg on the highway, Si around 34 to 38) so it might not make that much of a difference? OTOH, if it requires premium gas (not sure), that's a dealbreaker for me.

I'm not too worried about whether I"ll want to take it out for "fun" driving some time. It literally wouldn't be possible... I live in a metropolitan area; between other traffic and speed limits in the suburbs, and traffic on the freeway, there'd be little to no opportunity to have any fun with it. That's why I feel like it would be wasted on the driving I do. I'm not too worried about image, either. I don't exactly look like Michelle Rodriguez, so whatever I drive, people are going to assume I'm some little girl who borrowed her brother's car and will probably blow out the transmission. And, hell... I'll be happy if I can find an EX for sale (I'm fond of the moon roof. And I know that somewhere around the EX. they started putting disc brakes on the rear, which would be cool).

 
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Haha. That was my sister when I let her use my rice rocket while I was deployed. I told her to tell everyone that it was her car, and taught her basics of "what's in my car." She played it off really well

Fuel economy wise, and just using my 2018 as a basis for comparison, my 1.5T gets slightly worse fuel economy than my 2002 did (28-32 city, depending on how I drive, versus my previous 32-36). Also, it's recommended I use 91 octane, but the 1.5T is designed to be able to use 87 octane. I now only fill up with 91 octane and it's not really a bank-breaker. I went from about $28 to fill a tank to about $32 to fill a tank.

Kinda sounds like you've kinda got your mind made up, to tell the truth. You're not 100% on team EX, but you're definitely leaning toward it. Take both for a test drive. See which feels better, feel more "right." Then compare price vs. mileage.

 
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The 2015 sign I was driving got 26.xx mpg no matter how gentle I drove it. When I'm not driving like a racecar, i think the six speed is annoyingly close with the ratios and i usually skip from 1 to 3 to 5 and never use 6 unless on the highway. Even then the rpms are just as high as a 5 speed and when you're doing 70-80 it feels like it should have another gear. It's a fun car, not particularly fast or economical, just fun, with lots of buttons, screens, and crap to keep you occupied. It'll give most cars a good run for their money up to about 50mph. If that's what you want, it's the car for you.

 
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5 or 6 speed...

all depends on gearing.
my 01 miata have shorter 5th gear than my 95 5th gear, but the 6th is an overdrive.
nd the 1st is basically useless for most of things and 2nd does not get to 70MPH...

if honda did a better job, maybe it's usable 6 speed.
about traffic. I have a different issue that forced me to get an auto transmission car, but it is better in traffic. (but i do have 3 manual cars (one is a 95).

all depends on how much space you hav to park them, i guess.

 
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I think you're all right... Si probably not for me. Maybe in a different time and place it would be, but not in the reality of my life. Thanks. That's kind of what I suspected, but wanted to make sure before I passed it up.

As for getting a manual... no luck. I haven't seen one (in my year range) for sale yet.

 
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