Nice ride

I love my 2019 Si! Plenty of power to have fun getting around town. Enjoy it!

Congrats dude love the color

I guess I am now shopping with similar criteria as OP, I have 3 cars for myself but now with a second teen driver that would be 6 cars in our garage/driveway/street and that's too many.

Sold my 2020 Accord 2.0T touring. Sold my 2002 C5 Corvette manual convertible. Driving my Sequoia around but looking for a manual, sporty, easy to live with daily, sedan.

Was looking at the older BMW 340i's that were manual, and you can tune, but not really interested in BMW maintenance. The B58 engine is supposedly reliable compared to others but still many other components needing expensive upkeep on BMW's at perhaps earlier intervals than for some other brands. And those manual 340i's are expensive even with 60K miles on them since the M340 is not offered in a manual.

I think I decided I really want an Acura Integra Type S (ITS) but those are $50K and I just can't make myself spend that much on a car. I've run through 30 cars, but nearly all used and I like to have multiple cars and spend money on other dumb things as well. I can swing a payment like that, but it's a mental block thing and would reduce spending elsewhere since all 3 cars I had combined were barely worth that ITS price.

Started getting really interested in the Elantra N. Not a huge fan of the styling, and I am shallow and care a lot about the car's aesthetics. I don't hate it, just doesn't quite do it for me like a 340 or ITS. I'm 51 and it put's out more of a late 20's bro vibe as well. I don't care so much about that, it's more just the look of the car by itself. But great price for what you get and great warranty.

WRX - I don't need AWD, not a huge fan of the styling, but I've never owned a Subaru and I like trying new things. I would go WRX TR and that is right between an Elantra N and ITS pricewise. I guess the other 2 excite me more.

Golf R, Corolla GR - just don't do it for me as overall packages.

OP, how do you like the Civic SI? By all accounts, it's a great daily that you can drive sporty and I like the look. I have to admit I get a bit too obsessed with the slower 0-60 time as I have a lead foot. Bother you at all? My auto Accord 2.0T was a great car and I'm regretting selling it a bit, I did so thinking if I couldn't have a manual fun car on weekend then I will make my daily manual and a bit more sporty. That 2.0T was funny in that big sedate sedan, but what I really like about Honda's and the ITS is the light curb weight - I really like that tossable feel. N has that as well.

I had to have my nephew pick up my Boxster from the shop 2 years ago. He liked it so much he bought a BMW 3 series 6spd.

I don't think he spent a fortune. It wasn't an M3. 325i or 335i 6spd.

Congratulations! Civic Si would have been my pick. Nice color choice too!

paging vansprinkle

Thanks for the page. After a year I still love the car. It does everything great, looks nice, family fits just fine. I'd honestly consider trading up for a Type R if I could get one near MSRP, but as long as they're $50k I'll keep my $30k Si.

My neighbor had a TLS-X and has traded it out and getting either a Si or Integra. He too loves the ride and how they drive.

Definitely low on power but more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I definitely enjoy this more than I did my SS Sedan. With that said Im about ready to start adding parts and a tune to this thing to open it up a bit.

vansprinkle said:

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Thanks for the page. After a year I still love the car. It does everything great, looks nice, family fits just fine. I'd honestly consider trading up for a Type R if I could get one near MSRP, but as long as they're $50k I'll keep my $30k Si.

My neighbor had a TLS-X and has traded it out and getting either a Si or Integra. He too loves the ride and how they drive.

Definitely low on power but more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I definitely enjoy this more than I did my SS Sedan. With that said Im about ready to start adding parts and a tune to this thing to open it up a bit.

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Hey, *I* had a Chevy SS sedan, manual, for 3 years - it was great and I sometimes am baffled I sold it. But that's what I do, buy and sell too many cars trying everything out.

To say you enjoy a FWD 200 hp Civic SI more than the SS is a bit surprising to me, and I am a Honda fan and just sold my 2.0T Accord touring. What I do like is that the Hondas are way lighter than that SS, and many American and European sedans, and it just feels more nimble and tossable and you can sense your speed.

Since the Acura is same brand as Honda, basically, I am betting your neighbor also found the TLS just too heavy and bloated feeling compared to the Civic/Integra?

Really great to hear you are enjoying it. Currently, I'm fixated on the Elantra N but I'm not going to buy for a while so I need to go out and drive all these. I also debate whether I truly want a manual in my daily or if it's just a old habit from my youth I won't let die. I text, I eat, I sip on coffee while driving the Accord auto with adaptive cruise. Do I want to be more engaged in driving or don't I? I am not confident.

You hit the nail on the head with the weight remark. It feels very light and playful at all times. The SS is an amazing car, and I too sometimes regret selling it. I think I had mine for 2-3 years and only put 11k miles on it, most of which were just sitting in traffic, not enjoying the beast.

My neighbor sold the TLS because the back seat was too small for his growing son. If you sit in one and sit in an Integra, you'll notice the Integra feels like an F150 in comparison. I really have no idea how they made the TLS so big with a back seat that's so small. He also took a trip back home to India for 2 weeks and had a manual rental car. He realized how much he missed rowing his own gears and decided to move to the Si or Integra. I've been out of town all week, so I'm not sure if he's picked one up yet, but I know it's in the works because Carvana picked up his TLS last week and hauled it away (which is when he told me the details above).

I'll add that when buying mine, I compared to the WRX and really like the WRX. I just felt the Si was better put together, even if down on power and drive wheels. I too am a Honda fan boy as I've had a caged Prelude track car, a turboed motor swapped Civic hatch in college in the early 00's, a 00 Civic Si, a S2000 for about 10 years (traded it for the SS), and a Fit for 17 years.

I've always eyed the WRX and just never pulled the trigger. I had AWD in some fast Audis and while perfect for launch and grip, it's almost TOO controlled. Breaking rear, or even front, tires loose is fun and it let's you feel like you're up against some limit and being dangerous. That feeling is something separate from raw 0-60 or quarter mile times that people chase. There are 6000 pound EV's with wild acceleration stats and there just isn't a sense of fun. Interesting, and no doubt stop light winning fast, but not fun.

Well, I bought a manual Elantra N - hopefully I keep this car more than 3 years. I haven't kept a daily for 3 years in a long time. Also haven't daily driven a manual since 2019, but I do still have a Sequoia if I don't want to shift for myself for a day here or there.

The Elantra N is light and snappy, handling is excellent.

My new history is 2001 Tahoe and 2016 4Runner Limited.

Definitely recommend the Toyota.

I've greatly enjoyed the Elantra N, going back to a manual after being away (at least as a daily driver) for 5 years hasn't bothered me at all. The enjoyment comes from the driving feel, there are some niceties that I've given up (cooled seats, adaptive cruise) but it's been worth it. Integra Type S would have been a great driver, with all the plush features and possibly better reliability, but it was another $15K new.

I still get things flagged to me in youtube because I was researching options heavily a month ago and more, this popped up today: