That's right. Not an SI. No, I am not crazy. I saved $15,000 and got an LX, let me explain myself before you roast me.
As pictured above, it was this plain-Jane 2017 Civic LX 2.0 6 speed manual that gave me the "I've gotta have it's". Sitting at Richmond Acura, a dealership of at least, the Honda family, it had 1 previous owner and a full service history at the dealership. Local car, clean title, no accidents, no mods. The perfect base for a daily except for one thing, it was not (and never will be) and SI.
See, if you are from the car scene, or love cars, heck, even if you just like a sporty drive and like manual, you probably know:
1) The SI is the model to get for sporty fun (Sport Injection being the SI part).
2) A type R is better if you have the budget
3) The 10th gen Civic is the best looking civic ever made, especially in sedan form
So, with that established as gospel, why on earth did I buy an LX?
Simple really, the LX is as I said, about $15,000 less than a comparable SI, and about $30,000 less than a type R. See, the thing is that driving a civic is usually about being smart with your money, getting the most from it and having money for other things. THAT is the key. Money for other things.
I've owner more cars than I can count, somewhere north of 60 by now I believe, although I have genuinely lost count now. I have struggled through long nights trying to repair my daily, which is also my fun car. I needed a car I did not want to modify too much, at least, not to the point of unreliability so to speak.
I am the guy who breaks stuff you see. When working on my built EG6 hatch (which I spent a pretty penny on just the B18C5 I dropped in alone) I remember right before work on a Sunday night I snapped 2 brake caliper studs. 2. Same story with my Supra except it was an exhaust bolt, and I ran a dangling muffler for 2 days......
Again, same story on my XJ, Xterra (all 3 of them actually), and probably a dozen more. If something can break at the wrong time, it will.
So, reliability, yes. Got that with the 10th Gen FC2. Especially in NA form, no turbo to worry about here. Won't be breaking exhaust bolts because I won't be changing the exhaust. I do not want to advertise how slow I am. I lost a drag race to a GTI, and I am not sure he knew we were racing.
So, what is the point I am making here? I got a slow car? YES. That is the point, and that is why this car is absolutely awesome. See, I can mash my foot absolutely through the shag-pile carpet and into the floor, pressing the sheet metal out the bottom of the car with all my might and still, it would be hard to get a speeding ticket. OK, no, not that slow, but you get the point, yes?
With this car, you get fuel economy, reliability and enjoyment, without a rumbling V8 chugging all your gas, needing premium or getting speeding tickets. It is the perfect balance which leaves budget for a fun car.
Did you do the math? Yes, that $15,0000 saving (plus what you save on finance if you finance the car, and taxes) can go towards running something really fun as and when you want to. A secondary fun car and a daily is always a better combo than a do it all one trick pony.
Even if you do not want a sports car and a Civic, how about a Jimny, Xterra or Daihatsu Move Sports? All well under your spare change budget on an SI if you got the LX! With money to spare for mods on those, your "fun cars"
Thankfully for me my LX had an optional upgrade to the larger, and AndrioAuto equipped display. I do recommend this if shopping for an LX, the base head unit is absolutely ghastly and google maps is so nice.
So, what's the verdict? Well, there is more to come from us on the FC2, so stay tuned, but as for this, the choice is yours, although we know which option to go for, what would you do? Let us know in the comments section and as always, follow us on YouTube to see more on this 10th Gen Honda Civic and how we hopefully don't ruin it!
SushiCars Team
Comments