2024 Sport Compact Sedan Shootout – 2024 Subaru WRX vs Honda Civic SI

The average price of a new vehicle hits record-high numbers in North America. It gets even worse for car enthusiasts, as manufacturers deliberately limit production numbers to make them more exclusive and less accessible. This week, we have two of the most affordable and yet popular sport compact sedans exclusively designed and built for enthusiasts with a limited budget. The Subaru WRX and the Honda Civic SI are two of the few sport compact sedans available with manual transmission and a memorable driving experience in different ways.

The Looks – Exterior & Interior

Even though both contenders are sedans, they have completely different design languages for different audiences. The Subaru WRX takes the risky way with much more unpainted cladding around the vehicle, underlining the brand’s rich rally history while offering more rugged looks. It’s a very controversial design choice, but more suitable for the younger demographics. The front fascia looks quite modern with sleek headlights, and the traditional Subaru hood scoop gives that unique look in general.

Honda listened to its customers and designed the 11th generation Civic in a much more conservative way with no fake vents, aggressive lines, or design gimmicks, unlike the previous generation. Unlike the FL5 Type-R, the Civic SI looks much more subtle, which would be a great option for people who want to keep things under the radar. For an untrained eye, the differences between the SI and a regular Civic are quite minimal. The SI badges, rear spoiler, dual exhaust tips and SI-specific wheels are the only indicators that it is the sportier Civic.

Even though the design languages are on the opposite end of the spectrum, including the interior. The Subaru WRX offers a very similar dashboard design that you would find in all other Subarus and it makes it feel less special. New to 2024, the WRX comes with the large vertical screen standard in all trims, unlike the outgoing base model which had two separate screens. Even though it is not the best screen in the market, the menus are very easy to navigate around, and it is a simple layout to get used to. The build quality and material choice are acceptable for the price range.

The Civic SI also has an identical dashboard design to the other Civic models, with a small difference with the red trim piece that goes across the air vent throughout the dashboard, which gives it a slightly sportier feeling. It comes with the same 7-inch screen that you would find in other Honda models, which is small by modern standards. Despite having a smaller touchscreen, it comes with a fully digital gauge cluster with customizable layouts, and the screen quality is great. It also offers slightly better interior quality than the WRX, and more usable interior space in general, with more storage areas, and cubbies, it is slightly better utilized than its competitor.

Both entries come with sportier seats compared to their base trim variants, and they are great in different ways. The Subaru WRX comes with Recaro seats in the front, with the track-oriented RS trim. The front seats are aggressively bolstered and firmly padded for spirited driving, yet it is surprisingly comfortable on longer trips. Unlike the other WRX trims, the RS trim does not come with a sunroof, which is the right choice for a better center of gravity and less overall weight.

Let’s get the facts straight – Honda knows how to design sporty seats. The Civic SI offers a great balance of side bolstering and overall seat comfort. The seats are slightly less aggressively bolstered compared to the WRX, but it is a better match with the character of the vehicle. The seats look sportier as it has integrated headrests, and they are cloth seats which is a better fit for colder climates. It has softer padding and is slightly more comfortable for everyday commuting while still offering sufficient side bolstering for spirited driving.

Both the SI and WRX offer plenty of space both for the front and rear seat occupants. The SI sits lower in general, therefore it is slightly harder to get in and out, but it offers a sportier driving position due to its lower stance. WRX on the other hand, offers much better visibility and a commanding driving position, in typical Subaru fashion.

Both entries do not offer tons of creature comforts for the rear seat occupants, as they are built for the price. They still offer decent features like USB outputs to charge electronic devices and heated seats for the rear seat passengers. The headroom and legroom aren’t an issue, especially for small families, but if I have to pick one, that would be the WRX due to its slightly better headroom space and better visibility in general. The SI wins the trunk space battle, as it offers slightly bigger overall cargo space with more depth, making it the more usable choice if you need the maximum storage space

The Drive – Specs & Experience

This is where it gets fun, even though both entries have turbocharged 4-cylinder engines paired with 6-speed manual transmission, the similarities end here. The WRX has been the only sporty entry available in Subaru’s model lineup for the last few years, as we no longer have the STI. On the other hand, Honda has been offering the sportier entry – the Civic Type-R. The SI nameplate is no longer the top performance option, therefore it feels a little bit more kneecapped especially when it comes to the drivetrain choice.

The Civic SI gets the downsized 1.5-litre engine also available in many other Honda models, including the base trim Honda Civics. It pushes around 200 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque. Even though the torque numbers look higher than the previous generations, it has similar horsepower figures compared to the previous generation SI from almost 20 years ago. The engine feels generic, but the 6-speed manual transmission carries the whole driving experience. It is shortly geared to compensate for the lack of power, but the shifter feels quite sharp and fun to operate.

The Subaru WRX comes with a 2.4L boxer engine and standard Symmetrical all-wheel-drive system generating around 271 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Even though it looks much better on paper, the WRX weighs a lot more, and it has more drivetrain loss due to having an all-wheel drive system. This engine is also used in some other Subaru models, like the Ascent. It offers a decent amount of mid-range punch, but it only revs barely above 6000 rpm which means it is also not as fun as you would expect.

Even though the tiny 1.5-litre engine is not a right fit for the sporty Civic SI, things are not great for the WRX as well. Unlike the older boxer engines, it does not have unequal-length exhaust headers, so it does not have the traditional boxer engine character. The 6-speed manual transmission is easy to use, and the clutch is predictable, but it has longer gearing that makes it feel less exciting than other entries in this segment. Most people expect more performance when it is marketed as the track-oriented trim, it deserves more horsepower, move revs, and more character.

Even though both entries have uninspiring engine choices, the WRX is the sportier entry here, especially with the RS trim. It has Brembo brakes for all four wheels, and the 6-piston calipers in the front offer excellent stopping capability. The RS trim also comes with an STI-tuned suspension setup, which is quite firm for a daily driver. It is fine for the most part, but it is not as good when you drive over small road imperfections, cracks, and potholes, it upsets the chassis – but that is okay. It’s a compromise that many enthusiasts are willing to live with, as the WRX RS handles surprisingly well.

The changes are not just the basic suspension and brake mods. the WRX RS has extra chassis rigidity along with a re-tuned steering rack, it provides very sharp steering inputs. There is almost no body roll, and the car can rotate with more throttle input when the road conditions are not perfect. There is minimal to no understeering, which is the most surprising part about the whole driving experience of the new WRX. The grip levels are very high for a car in this price range, thanks to its standard summer tire setup. Subaru listened to its audience and made small tweaks to get the WRX one step closer to being an STI with the RS trim.

The Honda Civic SI offers a better well-rounded driving experience, it is the better daily driver in this comparison. The firm suspension tune is the biggest difference compared to the regular Civics, but its mechanical limited-slip front differential works very well in the mid-corner. The steering is not as sharp as the WRX but still offers a decent amount of feedback for sporty driving. The body roll is just a little bit more than the WRX RS, but still very minimal and it happens in a controllable fashion. The biggest downfall is the all-season tires as it does not have a lot of grip on dry and wet pavement.

The Verdict

Even though both entries are similarly priced, they are meant for different types of enthusiasts. The Subaru WRX has been the value champion in its segment, mainly due to its price & performance ratio. Subaru hit the nail with the newest RS trim for car enthusiasts who want to do everything with one car, including track days and autocross events. It is the right trim to get if you are looking for one. It is the only sports sedan with a standard all-wheel drive and a manual transmission, which is why it is still appealing to its audience.

The 11th generation Honda Civic SI is a fun daily driver, and it is easier to live every day compared to the WRX. However, it feels much more comfortable as a daily driver rather than performance applications, mainly due to its underwhelming 1.5-litre engine. From a pure performance perspective, Honda had to leave a lot on the table due to the existence of the Civic Type-R, and that’s the main reason why the SI does not get the better 2.0-litre turbo engine.

If the Civic SI had the de-tuned version of a 2.0-litre turbo engine, it would have been a completely different story. It still doesn’t change the fact that it offers a great mix of fun and everyday usability while still offering the fundamental features of a sporty sedan, including a firm suspension tune, a stick shift and a limited-slip front differential.