You gotta love Honda. There are very few brands that stay really true to their ethos, but Honda is one of them. And maybe the perfect example is the Civic Si. Starting out as the Civic S, and then later the fuel-injected Si, it’s always been about affordable fun, lightweight, quick responses, and oh yeah, a manual transmission.
So, the 2025 Civic Si gets a nice refresh inside and out – but the question is, did Honda stay true to course, or have they drifted off in the land crossovers and SUVs? Let’s find out.
Hello Fresh Face
It’s always a crapshoot when manufacturers do an exterior freshening. Sometimes, no one notices, or worse, they notice, and they don’t like it. Our Si was really interesting, it got a lot – and we mean a lot – of attention, especially for a very popular vehicle that people see every day. And yet, we got plenty of “what’s that?”
Up front, the fascia and grille are a bit more aggressive, with sharper edges (visually) around the sides, with a bit of a squarer aperture on the lower grille, and side gills that are more slender. These are all subtle changes to the all-new Civic that bowed in 2022, but the cumulative effect is handsome.
The profile remains its same refined self as before, but the black 18-inch wheel have a slight pinch at the center of the 5 dual spokes that’s subtle, but we like!
The rear end is even more light-handed – Honda says the taillights are darker, but we found it hard to see. All in all, that’s ok, this is one handsome and tasteful Civic, a real departure from the previous model that had a lot more Fast ‘n Furious about it. The final finishing touch was our tester’s Rallye Red paint – while there is an all-new Urban Gray Pearl, we love the red – the Si is a performance car, meant to stand out and be seen!
Sporty, Subtle and Serious
Inside, the changes are few on the Si, but that’s fine – it was already a great place for drivers to be. The focused cabin begins with unique, prominently bolstered sport seats. Supportive, yet easy to get in and out of – not always easy to design. One especially nice touch for the 2025 model, the seats are now heated, much appreciated!
Better news is behind the chunky leather-wrapped steering wheel with a new 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster that replaces the 7-inch screen with outlier displays on the previous model. Our favorite part is an LED shift light system from the Civic Type R that lights up first yellow, and then red as you approach the redline. Very cool.
The handsome looking infotainment display remains a 9-inch color touchscreen, featuring Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a volume knob –yay!
Another big upgrade for 2025 comes in the form of new Google built-in (a Civic first), which includes apps like Google Assistant, Google Maps and more on Google Play.
Google Assistant lets you call or text a friend, or even change the temperature in the car. You can even set your destination in Google Maps using your voice, and the route map will then be displayed in the instrument cluster.
But there’s more! You can ask Google to skip to the next track or rewind a podcast by voice, while Google Play enables users to download various 3rd-party apps for music, podcasts and audiobooks. Letting you enjoy all this goodness is 12-speaker Bose Premium Sound system with Subwoofer. People in Civic Nation like their music!
We appreciated all this stuff but were consistently having troubles getting our Apple CarPlay to work with the system. Hopefully it was just a one-off problem, but technology can be a two-edged sword.
There won’t be any pain points for those sitting in back – the rear seats are adult friendly, and the trunk is nicely sized. Like other sedans we’ve tested recently like the Kia Forte, the rear seats fold down and a generous pass-through gives you loads of usable space.
Great Bang for the Buck
Most of this stuff is available on other Civics. It’s the drive that separates the Si and makes it one of our favorites for enthusiasts. Note – there’s a new Civic Hybrid that actually makes more power than the Si and may be the ticket for enthusiasts who can’t drive stick (Si is stick only), so stay tuned for our upcoming review.
On the Si, power is unchanged with a willing 1.5-liter, turbo four cylinder pumping out a healthy 200 horsepower and 192 lb.-ft of torque. This is a silky-smooth engine that spins up to the 6,500 rpm redline and sings a throaty tune doing it. It’s especially gratifying to lay into the throttle and hear a deep tone come from the exhaust.
As mentioned, the Si is only offered with a 6-speed manual which is a perfect partner to the engine, with a light, slick action, precise feel and combined with the light clutch is a joy to drive.
Some added tech makes it even better – the previous system’s rev-matching will now match rpm downshifts from 2nd to 1st gear (along with the others) so you can feel like a hero, even pulling up to stoplight, as well as having that perfect downshift every time you enter a corner. Lovely!
The transmission is also set up so that on a hill if you’re pulling away from a stop it will hold the brakes until you move forward – so no embarrassing rolling backwards, or over-revving the gas (and smoking the clutch) to pull away. This adds up to a vehicle that’s not only fun to drive, but a wonderful car to teach someone to drive stick.
And really, power is not what the Civic is about – competition like the VW GTI and Hyundai Elantra N make significantly more.
The Si really shines in the chassis department. Honda says the body has been stiffened for ’25, and the suspension retuned, but we couldn’t really notice a difference. That’s okay, because it’s great to begin with – great steering feel, a standard limited slip doles out the power to let you rocket out of the turns, and the suspension is tamped down and responsive with little body roll.
Brake feel is excellent as well, and it’s notable that Honda balances all the components – steering, braking, clutch to have a similar weight and feel – this is master craftsmanship in car making.
This is an exceptionally easy car to drive exceptionally quickly! Speaking of grip, our tester had the optional high performance summer tires, and we highly recommend them. So yes, the Si is a hoot to hoon, but we should note that it’s also an entirely livable day-to-day commuter, quiet and smooth, and with an EPA highway rating of 37 mpg, very thrifty as well.
Safety also comes along for the ride, with the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver assistance standard, including Collision Mitigation Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning; Road Departure Mitigation with Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist. Our Si also enjoyed Blind Spot with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Adaptive Cruise Control – the kind of tech that makes every drive easier and less frustrating.
Can I say Yes to the Si?
Si! The Civic sedan line up starts at $24,250 for the LX. If you want a hatchback, it starts at $27,450. The Si comes one way, a well-equipped manual transmission sedan, starting at $29,950. Options on our tester were limited to summer tires ($300). Add in $1,095 for Destination, and we rang the bell at $31,345.
Competition would include the Hyundai Elantra N, at $35,570 you’ll get more power, but if you want a sunroof, you’ll have to opt for the automatic transmission. We think the VW GTI is also a great sports compact, but at $38,710 it’s a big step up. Also, if you want a manual transmission GTI, you better hurry, it’s going away after the 2024 model year! Both great cars, but it’s hard to beat the Civic for value!
With a fresh look and enhanced tech, the 2025 Honda Civic Si remains our favorite affordable sport sedan.
Ben Lewis grew up in Chicago, and after spending his formative years driving sideways in the winter – often intentionally – moved to sunny Southern California. He now enjoys sunny weather year-round — whether it is autocross driving, aerobatics, and learning to surf.