rai

curious what people think.

I have driven the non--Si Civic as well as a GTi but over a year ago. Also the Civic was a AT (not MT).

C U AT 9K

Drove the Si, absolutely love the interior, especially the dash. Seats are nice, tranny is nice, decent pull, no comparison to an S though (obviously).

Bboy AJ

I have driven both and the GTi wins, no contest. With regards to the driving experience, it felt much faster and the instant torque of the 2.0T is excellent. The shifter in the Honda was nicer, of course, but I really enjoy boosted cars as it's very easy to make gains. That was my main reason for choosing the GTi.

The GTi is nicer inside, obviously, but the Si does feel sportier as its cabin felt smaller. Standard 6 CD changer, standard HIDs... It just felt like an overall better package.

pbm317

I owned an 07 Civic Si Sedan briefly, considered the GTI, now own an R32.

Civic Si was a great little runabout. Fun revvin engine, decent highway gas mileage, good handling, lightweight feel. Slick transmission, pretty cool gauge cluster (in my opinion).

I think the GTI has a much more solid, feel to it overall. Obviously it's a little pricier than the Si, and has some nicer available features. GTI has a Germanic feel to it, which I have come to appreciate. GTI has a GREAT steering wheel. I love the big chunky grip of it.

Jacques79

Drove both and prefer the steering response of the SI.

The tranny is also much better on the SI.

The only thing I hate about the SI is the Drive-By-Wire throttle. As much as I love the Civic SI, I hate the DBW so much that I could never buy it and would rather have a GTI just because of that.

RamVA

I've driven both and prefer the GTI. Handling, ride, space, and power are all better. I like free-revving engines, but the torque is just too thin in the Si. I'm also a big fan of the Rabbit. Just my opinion as a long-time Honda guy.

rai

I owned 3 Hondas and 2 VWs. Notable was that I owned the VWs longer than any other cars both 7+ years.

Last year I test drove the non-Si Civic (AT) and the GTi DSG on the same day. I liked them both, to me the GTi was hands down better in most ways. Again that's not saying anything about the Si since I know it's different than the regular Civic in many ways.

I was wondering about 200hp FWD cars (particurarly the GTi) if they have a lot of wheelspin. I didn't notice much when I test drove the GTi but I guess if it was wet it would be hard to put the power down, I don't know maybe it's TC or launch control takes care of some of that? I owned a 190hp Maxima with MT and really got tired of the wheelspin but that didn't have LSD or electronic stability control.

Also is there any word of the 230hp GTi turbo that I was reading about, when/if that will come to the US? It's just something how easy it is to get the power (+30hp is easy as pie).

Silverstreak HX

The Si is nice but seems to be lacking something . The GTI in comparison to the Si seems to be more fun with that Turbo (which can also be chipped another 50 hp) coming on very early in the rev band with great interior,solid Germanic feel ,and some excellent handling and very smooth shifting 6 speed.
After driving the GTI I realized that the Si needs more motor. The thing I remember most about my Si drive was how nice looking and feeling and comfy the seats were plus nice sounding sporty exhaust but was not to thrilled with the two tier dash .
The thing I remember about the GTI was how I could not stop thinking about it afterwards!
Another GTI review here that spells it out for me - 2006 VW GTI -- The Car We Love to Test Drive

Sr2oD3

The DSG MKV GTI marks very high on my list of daily drivers under $25k, I love that car!