Fire and Ice: Honda Civic SiR vs. Subaru Impreza Turbo

Blame it on our economy, or more, accurately, on the man with a wristband: a million pesos will not get you very far these days. For those seeking a luxury car, a million bucks cannot even buy an entry-level Honda Accord (and that effectively crosses out all the yummy European cuts—sans the dull Opel Astra). The selection is so few that if I may be so bold, summarizing the choices under this category is an cinch: cutesy runabouts (Toyota Echo); overly sedate sedans (Honda City or any of the 1.6’s); people carriers (Hyundai Starex) and AUVs (Adventures/Revos).

Fortunately, there are some fine cars hidden under a million pesos waiting to be discovered. Even after removing all the Ferraris, Porsches or even the BMWs and the Mercedes, the Philippines is still home to sub-one million pesos performance cars. It takes a lot of careful thought to eliminate the field one by one, but as the field gets thinner, the choices start to become clear—and the final showdown is between two cars that embody their manufacturer’s technological know how and wizardry: the Honda Civic SiR and the Subaru Impreza Turbo.

Grand Turismo and Sega GT fans should have their mouths gaping by now—how in heaven’s name will a front-wheel drive, normally aspirated 1.6-liter sedan be able to match a four-wheel drive turbocharged 2.0-liter super car? Well, the match up is not really a head to head square off per se—this is not a case of having Mike Tyson going against Onyok Velasco. This battle is more like a battle on the car’s respective fields: the SiR as a high-revving front driver and the Impreza as a four-wheel drive turbo road rocket.

In terms of front drivers, nothing comes close to Honda’s Type-Rs. In fact, the Type-R is the weapon of choice whether in the drag racing scene or even the touring car championship battle. This specialty division of Honda delivers the company’s wild and wacky cars that just want to be pushed to the absolute limit. Unfortunately, since no Type-R is available at your local Honda dealer, the closest thing we will get is the Civic SiR. The ultra-reliable DOHC VTEC engine is nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ because it absolutely will not stop revving. Although the Type-R and the SiR share the same engine, the SiR has a lower horsepower rating at 160 compared to the Type-R’s 185 mainly because of non-modified cylinder headers and pistons and more restricted airflow.

On the other hand is a car that needs no introduction—the Subaru Impreza. This car showcases the company’s dedication to win the FiA World Rally Championship. The Impreza is voted by global journalists as one of the best things to hit the pavement; being on the same level as the Porsche 911. Moreover, owners simply could not be dissatisfied, making this car consistently one of the highest performers in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Iceman Civic SiR

A 730,000 peso Civic SiR does not usually makes an automotive enthusiast smile. In fact, in its stock form the Honda Civic SiR lacks the proper lateral stiffness and low-end torque to give a sports car-like umph. Not to mention it lacks dual airbags, ABS or even proper interior racing trim to call itself a sporty car. It is often referred to as a sedate sedan with a high-performance engine—a shame, really. For more decent pace and performance, the Civic will have to be tuned and massaged to put out more power and more pace—enter the performance tuners.

For a tuning job close to 250,000 pesos, the Honda Civic SiR can be converted to the Iceman Civic SiR. This conversion kit includes: integrated front fog lamps, a lip spoiler, side skirts, red Honda badges, white faced racing gauges, drilled racing pedals, a ‘cool air flow’ system, new engine headers, lowered suspension, stiffer shocks, a new exhaust system plus a new engine wiring to allow installation of a high performance engine control unit. Huff, huff…in short what this upgrade kit wishes to do is to make the sissy-at-low-revs SiR and turn it into a mean, ground eating machine.

From afar, the Iceman is obviously no ordinary Civic. The aerodynamic kit and its lowered stance give the Civic a proper racing appearance, with a squat and aggressive stance. Although the car is still a bit bland to look at, at least this time the car is oozing with testosterone, giving out a message: I’m the Arnold Schwarzenegger of Honda Civics. The standard pearl white body color fools the uneducated to think that this is a Civic Type-R, but above all it gives the car a no nonsense look. The removal of the DOHC VTEC side stickers reduces the toy-ish factor of the car some more.

Author’s note: for those who want to know, there is no such thing as a Honda Civic Type-R sedan…that’s why when you see a so-called Type-R sedan, then you can laugh at the owner all you want for being a faker.

Perhaps the only compromise in the exterior has got to be the wheels. Sticking to the stock Yokohama B305 195 / 55 VR 15 tires means a bit of performance was traded for ride comfort, but hey…if you are going to use it everyday, might as well make it easy on your butt, right?

Apart from the racing gauges and drilled pedals, the interior is still from the stock Honda Civic SiR. This means that the car has a dull and dated look to it. In fact, most if not all of the materials and switchgears in the Civic SiR look as if it did not belong there. The seats and interior trim for instance boasts of a thunder and lightning look fabric, making it border between the awful and the cheesy. The plastics look dated and dreary, especially the center console with its wide array of look alike ventilation controls and sliding fan settings. Even the orange-hued clock looks out of place and is very hard to read especially from the back seat. The BMW-like single dashtop vent is quite useless in everyday life unless one considers cooling the front windscreen instead of the passengers. Some interior bits look as if it were simply snapped on from another car such as the chromed power door lock button or worse yet some parts like the map lights look like it was grabbed from a street vendor in Banawe.

On a better note, the stalks are quite good, responding with a solid feel and are very easy to reach. The window switches and side mirror adjusters are excellently placed as not to give the driver a torn muscle in adjusting them. The seats whether the driver’s, the front passenger’s or the rear passengers’ are quite comfortable even with the absence of a lumbar support adjuster. In fact, I have to rate that the SiR seats give much better lateral and back support than the much bigger Honda Accord. The most important tool—the steering wheel is great to hold and very comfortable, but the red leather stitching seems to be a bit out of place in this bland interior. On the other hand, the parking brake gives a good feel that is usually lacking in the other cars in its class, but it interferes with the center console making engaging and disengaging quite difficult, especially in stop-and-go traffic situations.

Starting the Iceman up, it breathes life to the tuned 1.6-liter DOHC VTEC inline-4 engine that could be considered as one of Honda’s best performing engines. In fact, the 160 bhp rating of the stock Civic SiR is boosted to a rough estimate of around 180-190 bhp giving the Iceman Civic SiR a performance that puts it at par with a stock Japanese Civic Type-R hatchback. The DOHC configuration coupled with the 2-stage VTEC technology endows the SiR with a redline close to 8000 rpm (maximum power is reached at 7600 rpm). Formula One aficionados who own stock Civic SiRs should try to listen to their car’s engine when the engine kicks in the second stage VTEC—the sound really changes from the mechanical sewing machine buzzing of typical Hondas to a symphony of sounds that rival that of a high-revving Formula One engine. Unfortunately, for Iceman that has a 1½ exhaust pipe, the only thing audible is the expulsion of unleaded gasoline fumes from the engine. Still, when the changeover does occur at 5500 rpm, the engine note sounds sweeter and the needle rushes clockwise visibly quicker.

Iceman has a unique ‘cool air system’ that enables the engine to suck up intake gases from bumper level instead of engine level making the air that enters the engine cooler and thus makes the it more responsive in high-speed driving. The system also insulates the air inflow pipe to the engine as not to allow heat the air before entering. This enlarged and improved air intake coupled with a better exhaust boosts the SiR’s low end torque enabling the car to be pushed and accelerated without having to suffer from a lag of power common with the stage one of VTEC engines.

The transmission, although from the same company that makes the arguably the best transmission in any car found today (from the Honda S2000), does not really operate at the same fluid level as the Honda Accord. In fact, despite the fact that the Iceman is just an odd tick above 12,000-kilometers old, the gearshift feels a bit rubbery and loose, although the clutch pedal is easy to modulate and control.

The combination of the engine and the transmission means that the SiR, whether stock or Iceman is eager to push beyond the usual 3,000-rpm regular shift point. In fact, the engine is more at home at the range between 3,500 to 4,000-rpm. Of course, we couldn’t be happier.

Lowering the car by around an inch and giving it a stiffer suspension also lowers the center of gravity of the car, giving it more predicable handling and reduction of body roll during tight cornering. In fact, during our short Edsa stint, the car showed no fuss in the tight and twisty flyover from Kalayaan to Buendia Avenue. In fact, the Iceman could easily maintain a speed of around 90 km/h without making its tires squeal. Surprisingly, lowering the car by more than an inch did not result in a harsh ride. In fact, the car exhibited a better ride than a stock Ford Lynx or even the Toyota Echo. To this end, I have to conclude that the reason why people like tuning Civics is that they still exhibit a good and comfortable ride even if the suspension is lowered and the tires are 15-inchers. This is truly amazing, a testament to Honda’s double wishbone suspension.

Having a full aerodynamic kit, massaged engine and tuned suspension means that the best way to show the Iceman’s full potential is high-speed testing and what a better way to do this than through the Skyway: a stretch of straight road eight kilometers long. The lower center of gravity, and lower co-efficient of drag plus the powerful engine should result in a higher top speed than the stock Honda Civic SiR. Other magazines claim that the stock Honda Civic SiR could do a top speed of 160 km/h. In our case, the needle reached a top speed of 210 km/h in a span of around 4-5 kilometers. Although the acceleration isn’t as blistering and quick as the Subaru Impreza, the engine was eager to be pushed all the way to its 8,000-rpm limit. The car is remarkably stable even at speeds close to 160-180 km/h

Braking is another thing altogether. The lack of ABS means that the Civic SiR, though boasting disc brakes all around is very jittery and nervous upon application of the brake pedal. Even a light tap on the brakes will produce an effect that wiggles the steering wheel so violently that you’d think twice on application of full force.

The Yokohama tires also pose a problem in terms of grip. Though the tires are quite adequate on the dry setting, its behavior changes when the weather becomes bad. In fact, the tires exhibited poor grip in the wet weather despite the fact that the rubber is close to brand new. For those serious about letting out the SiR’s full potential, it is best to change the boots first.

So, with all these improvements that have entered the Honda Civic SiR, what prevents most people from converting their cars into something like Iceman? Well, aside from a high price tag, the most common reason would be practicality. Let’s face it, having 160-bhp on tap is more than enough for any person to handle, but the point of tuning the engine and suspension to realize that potential does entail some inconveniences in practicality.

The reduced ride height makes the chin spoiler and front bumper more prone to scratches due to humps and driveways. In fact, Iceman usually has to go sideways to properly go through speed bumps. People who have to rush to work will find this a big hassle: you may get ahead of everyone else thanks to that storming engine, but you’ll have to crawl over humps and potholes. On the other hand, the increased exhaust pipe diameter makes the car more like a paging device—announcing your presence even before you get to call or even ring the doorbell. Not to mention, the bass-filed exhaust annoys the neighbor’s dog. The cool air system is not recommended for flood-prone areas either since the car’s ‘nose’ is buried at bumper level. The moment water covers the whole of the air intake pipe, the engine will not able to breathe and consequently the car will stall.

If this wasn’t enough, at the end of the week, the Iceman gave us a pleasant surprise: an impressive 9.11 km/liter mileage. This mileage included our 210 km/h top-speed stint plus traffic traveling. Moreover, the car was a joy to drive and ride in. Overall, the Iceman Civic SiR is a good value for money.

Maybe a bit of suspension raising would give the car a bit more practicality. If I had my way, I’d put stiffened shocks but at the same ride height plus high-performance 16-inch tires to compliment the car’s new found speed. Overall, I’d like to own a SiR, but Honda should first put in at least ABS into the package. Maybe the new Civic would have a 170-bhp SiR version coming out? Until then, this is all we can get that’s close to the Type-Rs.

When the Subaru Impreza was sold here in 1997 for about P1.1 million, all 12 units were snapped up in no time. Those few buyers recognized it as a genuine bargain. I certainly didn’t. At the time, I thought: why pay more than a million bucks for a Corolla-sized car with few electronic features? Sure, I knew that this was no ordinary Impreza—it was the 2000 Turbo—and I knew all about the campaign to win the World Rally Championship. Still, why go for the Subaru when much larger and more luxurious cars like the Cefiro could be had for 800 thousand or less? Now, three years later, I know that that P1.1 million (if I had such money) would have been a piddling sum to pay for a car that could mix it up with Porsches and Ferraris.

Take one glance at the Impreza’s exterior and you’d think that it couldn’t win a stop-light Grand Prix, much less the World Rally Championship. If Corollas were vanilla ice cream in terms of looks, this would be soda water. It’s even more invisible than the Corolla. You’d probably even ignore that imposing air scoop on its hood, and the towering spoiler—no, WING—on the trunklid; you’d mistake it for any of a thousand souped-up Corollas and Civics.

Sitting inside still gives you no clue as to what’s in store. The plastics and interior styling blare “Japanese econobox.” For a 1997 car, stalks and switches are bordering on the awful, feeling hollow and disconnected, like they’d come off when you signal for a turn. The power windows are mounted vertically, forcing you to contort your arm to open one of the frameless windows. Ironically, some of the switches came from the same source as the Nissan Cefiro’s. If only Nissan, which routinely trounces its Japanese rivals when it comes to interior materials and fittings, was allowed to give this car the full luxurious treatment. The tapered red needles on the 7000-rpm-redlined tach and speedo give the tiniest hint of what’s in store.

Even under the engine bay, the car hides its true performance potential. There’s no DOHC or 16 valve badge prominently displayed on the cam cover—heck, you won’t even see a cam cover. All you’ll see is a spaghetti-like mass of wiring and tubing. Ah, but this is another instance of Subarus’ unique cleverness. The engine is a horizontally opposed four-cylinder: a flat-four. Think of it as a V4 opened up to 180 degrees. Ferrari used to employ flat-12s in its topline GT cars, and of course at the back of every new Porsche you’ll find a flat-six engine. Because the pistons and the engine block are low, this contributes to a low center of gravity and sharper handling.

My first experience with the car was in the front passenger seat, while the car’s owner gave us a proper introduction. The engine fired up with a soft burble, growling more menacingly than the Iceman Civic’s. We drove at a sedate pace while the engine warmed up. “Oh, so you’ve never ridden in an Impreza before…”

With a mischievous smile, he turned the rally-blue car onto a deserted road. When the front wheels were pointed straight, he unleashed the car’s 250 bhp. It was as if the solid rocket booster of the Space Shuttle Columbia decided to join in. I tried to stay upright and simply couldn’t : not just my head snapped back but my whole body was pushed back firmly into the seat. Each upshift was punctuated by a hiss, then a snap, then we were pushed back again, gear after gear. Zero to triple digits in less than 6 seconds. We ate up the section of road in just a few seconds and had to lift off and decelerate.

After this appetizer, we couldn’t wait to sample the car for ourselves. We settled in the surprisingly soft driver’s seat, shifted to first gear, held our breath and slowly let out the clutch. With a normal low-speed launch, the Impreza starts off smoothly; none of that rocketship acceleration. Pace is similar to what you’d expect from a bigger-displacement non-turbo engine, say a 2.5 liter.

It’s a different story once the tach spins just past the halfway mark. When the engine winds up to 4000 rpm, Starship Impreza goes to warp speed. Cars, buildings and the road itself begin to blur as the car shoots forward in a surge of acceleration. You know the feeling of passing other cars like they were standing still; with the Suby, the car moves forward so quickly that everything else seems to move backwards. You have to be ready to shift quickly as the tach obeys the rules of quantum physics and jumps from 4000 to 7000 rpm seemingly instantaneously. Gears are well spaced, as shifting near redline keeps the engine in the meaty part of the rev band, and the turbo punches the car forward again and again.

And the noise! The 3-inch exhaust bellows a deep growl that would be right at home in the muddy rally trails of Kenya. The best sound is during upshifts: there’s a sharp hiss from the turbo wastegate. The only time I’ve heard this sound is in the Tokyo Xtreme video game (Sega Dreamcast), from a fully-tuned virtual Impreza and I thought all the while that it was exaggerated. If this doesn’t fulfill your fantasies of driving the World Rally Championship, then your name must be McRae or Makinen.

The secret to all that acceleration is indeed that mass of wires and metal inside the engine room; there’s no Batman-type afterburner behind the car. The engine displaces just 1994 cc, but maximum power is 250 bhp. Now Honda was able to generate 250 bhp from the 2.0 S2000 engine, and without turbos at that. However, the Honda needs to revved hard to extract its performance. Not so with the Impreza. The torque is quite healthy even just off idle, which means it’s easy to keep up and even overtake traffic when staying below 3500 rpm.

The acceleration is only half of the story. Controlling all that torque is a full-time all-wheel drive system. You won’t hear or feel any chirp from the tires even during quick launches and max-rev shifting, as the system efficiently puts down all 300 Nm through those 16-inch tires. The car scrabbles around corners faster than you’d dare go if you’re not on a racetrack.

Even with the confidence from the awd system, piloting the Subaru at full boost is like piloting a Tomahawk cruise missile through downtown skyscrapers. Here one of the weaknesses of this particular car begins to surface: given the massive acceleration, the brakes are pathetic! You’ll find your life will flash before your eyes several times in one afternoon if you’re not careful.

There’s a reason for this inadequacy: our test car is actually the “13th Impreza Turbo.” Like the 5th Beatle or the 13th Apostle (see Dogma), you won’t see it in the history books, but it does exist. That’s because life for this car began as a lowly 1.6 Impreza. Yes, 1.6 Imprezas do exist, and they are sold in droves in other countries. However, this car was elevated to supercar status with the addition of the 2.0 Turbo engine plus numerous tuning tweaks that raised its output beyond the standard Turbo’s.

Other parts of the car, though, remain stock 1.6, and this has its disadvantages. The main one being the inadequate brakes mentioned earlier. The car’s owner will soon solve that problem by upgrading those as well. The suspension is also much softer than the usual Turbo’s, but this doesn’t seem to cause any problems at all. Cornering capabilities are still at the insane level, and quite beyond what you’d be able to use on a public road. The springs/shock settings may be on the soft side, but the full-time all-wheel drive makes up for it.

The awd system makes the car foolproof, and you’d have to do something very stupid at a very fast speed to upset its handling. In a straight line, it can surely keep up with a Porsche Boxster, but on a winding road, with bumps and uneven surfaces thrown into the mix, it can probably even overtake the German.

This Impreza was not lowered, so it could be driven normally over humps and up driveways; none of that slow diagonal technique needed. In fact, its ride is comfortable and compliant, losing no composure with bumps and small potholes that pockmark Manila’s streets.

Time for the final test: a top-speed run. In less than 2 km, the car blasted its way to 180 km/h. The car was still composed at that speed and felt utterly stable. We wanted to go beyond, but alas, we could go not go faster because the original speed limiter was still in place. We were thwarted by the speed limiter, but were still amazed at how quickly the car reached 180. This car is surely capable of a comfortable 250 km/h. The loud roar from the engine would probably be the only reason why you won’t be able to maintain that speed for hours on end.

At the pump, we found out the price of performance: 4.5 km/liter. That’s one aspect of owning a sports car that we would rather not experience on a daily basis, but it’s quite acceptable given this car’s capabilities.

While cooling the engine for a couple of minutes before shutting if off—one of the idiosyncracies of driving a Turbo—we stood and admired its…well, from the outside, there’s not much to admire, really. It still looked like a Corolla. This is a supercar?! Yet we did experience it for one afternoon. The proof is in the driving, and believe it or not, this is every inch a supercar. We can’t wait till we drive it again.

So there you have them: one near-supercar and one true supercar, both for less than a million bucks. They’re dependable and practical, too, with seating for five and large trunks. Be warned, though: if you ever experience driving either of these cars, going back to a regular 1.6 or even 2.0 liter car, you will feel, like Mika Hakkinen, soo sad! Because a stock 2.0 will feel soo slow all of a sudden! Like the Finn, you can be sad and still smile, knowing that you’ve sampled two of the finest tuned-to-the-max compact sedans on the planet. The only thing better would be to own one. Got a million bucks to spare?

By Jason Ang and Ulysses Ang | Photos By Jason Ang and Ulysses Ang
Originally Published in the November 2000 Issue