Honda Civic Si vs. Volkswagen GTI

Both wonderful 'pocket rockets', but represent rather different approaches to affordable fun.

The GTI strikes me as a more mature/refined overall package, like a starter vehicle for future 3-Series/A4 drivers, whereas the Civic is the more obvious choice for those who were smitten by the late 1990's 2Fast/2Furious frenzy.

Personally, I Love Em' Both!

I have a buddy who leased a Civic Si. I was a bit biased towards it at first, being that I can't stand FWD; but after driving it, I'd definitely consider buying one. A lot of fun to drive.

LOL! Before scrolling down I knew that he would have already started the copying and pasting process.

I am curious to know what Honda could do to the Civic for the same price as the GTI.

C&D recent review:

Fifth Place: Subaru Impreza WRX TR
Fourth Place: Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V
Third Place: Mini Cooper S
Second Place: Volkswagen GTI
First Place: Mazdaspeed 3 GT

looks like car and driver is pretty biased

And the GTI looks sooo much better? To me it's weird looking box on wheels.

I wonder why Inside Line doesn't test GTI and Mazdaspeed3 together. They are all turbo, hatch, and priced within $1,000.

Perhaps they know GTI absolutely stands no chance. Eventually it lost to a competitor w/ only 2/3 of torque.

GTI all the Way!!!

Civic SI no #1 ! Although I like the GTI hatch body configuration better though. Impressive braking on both!

This article is so 2006... it should be in the archives.

Build quality for VW is superior, the dependebility thing seems to be an american thing.

I guess that you did not read the article:

Overall Build Quality
Vehicle Score Rank
2006 Honda Civic Si 9.0 1
2006 Volkswagen GTI 8.0 2

UK reliability: http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/
(higer number means less reliable)

Civic 32.14
Golf 85.35

JD power:
Buick 145
Lexus 145
Cadillac 162
Mercury 168
Honda 169
Toyota 178
BMW 182
Lincoln 182
Subaru 192
Oldsmobile 196
Jaguar 197
Acura 207
Mercedes-Benz 212
Infiniti 215
Jeep 219
Pontiac 220
Scion 220
Ford 221
GMC 222
Chevrolet 226
Hyundai 228
Mitsubishi 228
Volvo 230
Audi 234
Dodge 236
HUMMER 242
MINI 247
Chrysler 249
Porsche 252
Nissan 274
Saturn 274
Kia 288
Mazda 289
Volkswagen 298
Saab 319
Isuzu 322
Suzuki 324
Land Rover 398

And also the fact that I have had tons of friends with horrible VW problems, Honda...rarely a problem

Consumer Reports??The publication that you love to hate? You use it to your advantage when you agree with it but you say it's crap when a Japanese car gets a good review, what a hypocrite!

By the way, and how many Hondas are on that list? Quite a few more than there are VWs.

In Europe VW is the lowest perceved quality of most the auto manufacturers according to a friend of mine that is a former editor of a major car magizine. I was thinking about buying a VW and was put off by all the horror stories I heard of the poor quality and $$ parts.

The GTI rocks....

I love the Honda Civic Si Sedan. It is a very nice car.

Take the civic save 3g's buy a turbo or sc and get a quality car. Or wait for the 135i bimmer and spend 15g's more....

The Civic was MT's car of the year in 2006

Through the slalom, however, we began to notice a trend that would haunt the GTI through the rest of the test. It's heavy and it's tall. Its turbocharged engine did a good job of masking the weight when accelerating, but there's no hiding its 400-or-so-pound deficit when it came time to turn. It's also nearly 5 inches taller than the Civic (58.4 inches vs. 53.5 inches), which didn't help. It snaked its way between our carefully spaced cones at 66.1 mph, 2.6 mph slower than the shorter, slimmer Civic.

It's the details that begin to pile up against the GTI which hurt its performance score. At the top of the list is slower steering than the Civic (15.6:1 vs. 13.6:1), which requires more monkey motion behind the wheel to accomplish the same amount of work at the tires. In addition, it simply doesn't tell its driver as much about what's going on at the tire's contact patches as the Civic. The limit is always a bit ambiguous, which stifles confidence.

More annoying are the GTI's abundance of electronic controls. Many GTI fans will no doubt see the GTI's numerous electronic aids as added value, but we found them unnecessary and often annoying. Plus, the alphabet soup VW uses to name them (ABS, EBD, HBA, ASR, EDL, EBA, ESP) is ridiculous.

The GTI's Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), for example, is not a substitute for a real mechanical limited-slip differential like the helical device used in the Civic. In fact, EDL does nothing to bias drive torque. The GTI's transaxle uses an open differential which, using the ABS sensors to detect slip, applies brakeforce on the wheel that's slipping. This has the exact opposite effect of a real limited-slip differential, lowering cornering speed instead of increasing it. Plus, during hard driving, EDL waits until the inside tire is spinning to apply the brake. It's an ineffective annoyance that simply doesn't cut it in an enthusiast car. And it can't be disabled.

Then there's VW's Anti-Slip Regulation, which retards timing and reduces fuel delivery when the going gets fun. VW tells us it's disabled when the stability control (ESP) is switched off with the console-mounted switch, but we had other problems that prevented our verification of this claim.

The GTI refuses to tolerate any driving style that uses left-foot braking. Overlap the throttle and brake even slightly and the GTI cuts power for a few seconds. This is no doubt a product of VW's attorneys who surely have "don't sue us" tattooed on their foreheads. It's infuriating to be forced to change your driving style to accommodate the least-common-denominator driver who occasionally steps on the wrong pedal. The power cut left us shaking our heads as the Civic's taillights disappeared into the hills.

As if to add insult to injury, it was this instant that the GTI's already-too-soft brake pedal began to sink even closer to the floor. Drive the GTI hard for very long and there's noticeable brake fade that ruins whatever confidence is left. And i

In all honestly, I would probably buy the GTI over the civic, I was trying to show your overt bias towards anything European and your arrogance towards anything else. Looks like it worked. Until next time.

I wonder how the GTI would fair now that it's suspension has been lowered to Euro specs.

I like the GTI more than the Civic Type R (the hatch we get in Britain), as it's more usable everyday, you have more torque and it looks more mature and less ricey. The Type-R also has less sophisticated torsion bar suspension and isn't all that cheap.

The GTI comes in 4 doors also and it humiliates the Civic at every level. Honda needs to return to the drawing board.

I wish VW would bring in a real coupe competitor.It's called the Sirocco.

Everybody who test drove these cars knows that the GTI is a fabulous car for the money while the Civic is a cheaply built, tin can that looks and drives like is worth half the price of the GTI. Who buys Civics anyway??? The GTI is just in another league compared with the torque free, cheap looking Civic. There is no doubt about that.

Its amazing the list of comments on these to wonderful cars. Let it be known that I am partial to VAG and all VAG products. But there are duds in VAGS arsenal...and in Honda's as well. Taste is relative..if you wish to have a beater..then the Honda is for you. For someone who has a few dollars to burn and doesnt want to hear road noise on the 3 hour Palm Springs to LA commute.... you decide. My mechanic cursed VW and raced Mazda's but now owns a 2007 gti. They are all brilliant cars...but which one passes the "Close the door" test. CLUNK..or CLINK

The Si is just another overrated vehicle that rides its family name to popularity. That interior is simply unforgiveable; if nissan is going to be dissed for plain interiors like the original g35 and the 350z, then honda should be shamed for something as hideous as the civic's. Then throw in that screaming engine that has to be abused just to generate normal acceleration, then the GTI looks that much more brilliant.

I prefer the Si any day but I will agree that the Honda is way too low on torque at lower rpm, actually the torque is bad at all rpm's. But the rest of the car makes up for it. The SI has the same torque as the Civic and I don't even bother to try to jump into traffic because nothing happens when I hit the gas pedal, not only is there a delay but when it kicks in I have to wait for it to wind up, ok my car is an auto,they are better for traffic. A spade is a spade! Si all the way, under powered (torque) and all. (I really do love it)