2000 Honda Civic Si review from North America

Mechanically, NOTHING went wrong with the car while I owned it.

Really the only problem I had with the way it was put together was the Bosch windshield wipers. They were TERRIBLE and just sort of spread the water around instead of clearing it.

There were also a couple of rattles in the interior.

I DID NOT take very good care of this car, but it never bit me in the ass for it. Impeccable reliability.

My dad bought this car very lightly used, drove it for a couple of years, and gave it to me a few months after I got my license. It was basically my first car.

The car was electric blue (choices of electric blue, black, or red). The car got TONS of looks (and it's a Civic). The color, wheels, and slightly more muscular looking bodywork make a lot of difference.

The Si has performance to match the looks. The stock exhaust sounds really good, and in the cockpit the sound of vtec is wonderful. Sure, torque is lacking, but in my opinion this is a driver's car just like any other vtec.

The car would be wonderful if it had a six speed. Highway engine noise is a little annoying, but not unbearable. Just turn the music up. The shifter is pretty clunky and the throw is kind of long. Shifting is not very pleasurable, but I've driven worse.

The pedals are not so great. I fit wider racing pedals so I could double-clutch and heel-toe downshift.

Overall, wonderful car for the money and bulletproof reliability. However, my friend has a 2007 Si and this car is naturally way ahead of the '00 cars. The new Si's have fixed everything that was wrong with the previous Si's (except the new ones are uglier).

Sadly, security wasn't a strong suit of my car and my Si was stolen from a spot in front of my house this summer. The engine, gearbox, trunk, hood, seats, and radio were all stripped (and the thieves thankfully arrested). So, with my Si totalled, I'm on the market for another fun car to thrash around in. My budget is $16,000 so if anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it!