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2010 Honda Civic Si Sedan vs. 2010 GTI

43K views 224 replies 93 participants last post by  Fishstix 
#1 ·
I'm several months away from graduating from law school at which point I'm going to purchase a new vehicle. I thought there was only one car on my list - a 2010 GTI. However, that is before I went and test drove a 2010 Honda Civic Si Sedan yesterday. I have to admit that I was blown away. I couldn't believe how much fun I had driving the thing. Compared to the GTI (I've been on several test drives), the Honda felt sharper and far more engaging. I absolutely loved the dynamic engine - at lower RPMs it was willing to quitely scoot around town, and at higher RPMs it was a rocket.

That being said, I'm not sure which way I want to go. I guess my fear is that I purchase the Honda, and then a year from now I grow tired of the rev-happy engine and begin dwelling on the things that have kept the Si off of my list until now - a second-rate interior and aging exterior design. That being said, the Si does have a trunk to hold my golf clubs (a major downfall of the GTI), and it is $5,000 - $7,000 cheaper.

Thoughts? Advice?

Thanks in advance.
 
#5 ·
Hmm, the GTI definitely has a more "refined" interior, but you're definitely paying extra for it. And do you need a 4-door or a 2-door? I have a kid so the sedan was a must for me. Either way, I think you'll be happy. A VW was on the list when I was car shopping but the local dealership was full of pricks and had a crappy inventory
 
#6 ·
Well EyeDoc the GTI does come in 4 door and 2 door, so that really shouldn't be a discrepancy of the two heh, I can give my input though.
I just bought a 2010 Si today. I had narrowed it down to a Mazdaspeed3, GTI, and Si.
Decided that the MS3 was out due to the poor fuel economy.
GTI and Si were neck and neck in that department, and even though the GTI had a more "refined" interior (although I beg to differ on the Si being "low rent") I decided that VW's history of "electrical gremlins" coupled with the longevity of NA vs. Turbo engines, and the ridiculous price difference, I went with the Si.
I got my Si for 19.1, the lowest I could get the GTI was down to 23.5
 
#12 ·
Holy cow, $19.1k... Is that your OTD price or just the negotiated vehicle price? If that's OTD, I'm going to need you to come negotiate for me this weekend!

To the OP, I was also narrowed down to the MS3, GTI and Si so I know what boat you're in. No matter how I stacked things up, I couldn't find a better value for the money than the Si so I'll be searching for mine in a few days.
 
#9 ·
Both are great cars.

I chose the Si because I love the sound of the engine over 6k rpm, I love the fuel efficiency under 6k rpm, and I've yet to have and of the 3 Civics I've owned fail me.

On the other hand, I might get my wife a GTi this year because it (a) comes in automatic and (b) then I'd have the best of both worlds :)

In sum - both are great cars, fun to drive and solid value. Go with whichever you like best!
 
#10 ·
I also considered a GTI. I didn't really like the hatch and the extra cost. I like the Si interior way better than the plaid in the VW. Maybe that's just an option (?) but it looks horrid IMO. I guess I'm really talking about an '08 GTI. Have they changed much? Maybe this isn't all that relevant then....

Having had my Si for about 2 years I haven't grown tired of the v-tech dual personality thing. It's a nice way to get both performance and decent mpg. The only thing I really liked about the GTI was the extra torque
 
#14 ·
Well I guess I will throw out my experience between choosing the Si and GTI. Loved the sound of the Si in vtec, sharper handling, and under the radar look. Next came the test drive of the GTI. Took forever just to get the car out on a test drive and when we finally did get out, it died at a light. (Later found out it was a faulty ecu) Those electrical demons nearly sealed the GTIs fate but the final nail in the coffin was when another salesman came to pick us up in a pink bug. If ever I have taken the drive of shame, that was it.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I haven't had my Si for a year yet and I'm already looking at GTIs again. The need for high revs to get any pull is getting annoying(try it with 4 people in the car.. ugh) and the VW dash is niiiice. There really isn't any down side for me except price. For the same sticker you'd still end up paying $2,000 more for the GTI because they aren't nearly as willing to deal.

The Si definitely has sharper handling but I think you'll be happier with the extra torque in the long run.. plus for $600 you will have 250hp. Hard to beat.

I feel like that is going to be an unpopular response.
 
#19 ·
You're going to get a biased response on here as well as on any VW forum. My advice to you is to look through the forums for each car and see which car has what problems. The nice thing about the MkVI is that it's almost identical to the MkV(they even kept the ugly wheels) so, VW should(SHOULD) have the kinks worked out. If you do get the GTi, don't get it equipped with DSG. I'm told that maintenance on that thing is a little pricey.
 
#22 · (Edited)
That being said, I'm not sure which way I want to go. I guess my fear is that I purchase the Honda, and then a year from now I grow tired of the rev-happy engine and begin dwelling on the things that have kept the Si off of my list until now
This car is a blast to drive at first. However, I've had mine for a year and I realize I made a horrible decision. I had relatively the same mindset as you. You may be blinded by the low price tag, as I was. It won't take long for your car to feel slow and sluggish. Driving a car with very little torque can be tiresome when just trying to keep up with traffic. Sometimes I catch myself at well over half throttle just to keep up with mini vans after a stop light, and trying not to piss off the school bus behind me, who is trying to pass...

After a year I still love the look of my interior, but I have more rattles than I can count. If i had known the interior was going to have this many rattles, I would have bought a cobalt SS and had a car with balls. Also, as someone else pointed out, driving with 4 people in the car is painful. You can even feel the added difference of one extra person, let alone 3.


I suggest the 2010 WRX. This car has everything to meet the needs of a mature person looking for a fun car to drive. The exterior is very subtle yet agressive. The quality of the trim inside the car looks and feels fantastic. I have looked at these cars several times and have test driven two of them. I can tell you that they are in an entire different class from the civic si and the VW gti. A subaru sales rep I know told me that people trade in GTI's all day long for the added power of the WRX. Both the sedan and the hatch are great options. I often think about trading my car for one.

At least consider the option. You can pick up a WRX for around the same cost as a GTI. Here is a website with many 3GWRX owners:
3GWRX.com
 
#27 ·
...Driving a car with very little torque takes real skills when just trying to keep up with traffic. Sometimes I catch myself at well over half throttle just to keep up with mini vans after a stop light, and trying not to piss off the school bus behind me, who is trying to pass...
*fixed

Sorry, but mini vans and buses?! That's waaaaaay over exaggerating, ...or you really don't know how to drive and/or you're always in the wrong gear. Just saying.
 
#23 ·
Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si
 
#26 ·
VW no doubt will have more problems than the honda

Me and the wife owned many new VW's including a 07 Rabbit (auto tranny crapped out at 5k miles) and a 08 Passat (door opening problems: 2 times to dealership, broken siemens part for engine, check engine light for misfire all within 10k miles) on both these cars my wife had, we encountered major problems ended up getting the wife a Fit and its been problem free almost 2 years now, which made me get the SI which has been problem free, rattles don't bother me and even go check the vortex and those guys ***** about rattles even more...
 
#28 ·
yea i dunno what he's talkin about. because i scare the **** out of my passengers because i know i can fit into small spots and accelerate fast enough to not make the car i pull in front of have to slow down.. whats the need for that extra torque anyway? so you can break the tires loose when trying to accelerate quickly and just burning out in the middle of the road?
 
#31 · (Edited)
I came out of an '08 R32 for an '10 Si. Drove an '10 GTI before buying the Honda. The GTI was basically the same car as the R32 IMO.

Let me vent the issues we had on our $33,000 brand new R32......

Three recalls in 2 years. One, not fixed-just given a 'extended warranty' (third brake light). If it looked like the steamed up window of a U-boat within 2 years, they'd replace it- but not before. Thanks. Something to look forward to.

Fuel tank recall mentioned a possible explosion event. Nice. One trip to see if we "qualify" WTF?, one trip to fix it wrong-losing all our gas in the process, one to fix it right-same result with losing about 6 gallons of premium. They (the #@&^%# dealer) was suppose to replace the fuel, but they never did-crooks.

DSG recall we never did, I just got rid of it.

Did I mention the s***y carpet that had 'bald spots', or the constant snap, crackle, pop from the miles of plastic interior panels? How about the Dunlop OEM tires that had sidewalls with the strength of chocolate donuts- 3 replacements in 16K for serious sidewall bubbles.

On the engine oil. Must use a special VW spec oil which the dealer imports from Jupiter, or your engine will sludge up. Sixty dollar oil changes at the Stealer. Tried to DIY. There was a 4' x 4' piece of underbody cladding that had to be removed to access the filter and drain plug. The bastards used 2 different sized fasteners to hold it up...Why??? I needed about 7 tools to change the oil and filter. German 'engineers'???? I could hear their laughter when I was underneath the car, 'So, he vould like to change his own oil, ve'll fix him heh Hans'.

And speaking of DIY. The manual was compiled by a....no I couldn't place the blame on any specific group of humans, it was that stupid. About 8 'booklets' all cobbed together with their own index-no master index. Every 'troubleshoot' ended the same: "See your VW dealer." If you had to replace a light bulb, and a phillips screw driver was heavy equipment to you, you were going to the dealer.

Finally the paint chipped like cheap hard candy. After 2 months, I was compelled to buy, and seriously use, touch up paint. By the time I got rid of it, it looked like I tailgated a sander for a month.

Yes, it had AWD, and more power than the Si, but any attempt to dive into the go pedal was rewarded by 14miles per premium gallon courtesy of its pavement mashing weight. In a Volkswagen, car.

Happy Honda days, thanks for letting me vent.

BD
 
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