Trading the 2SS for a Focus?

[2010reddevil]

The only Si I'd ever consider is a decent mileage 07 to 11. They have the real K20 engine. CR-V block with a little bit of other work will have you putting down well over 200whp. I'm not a fan of the new K24 engine as it has the single port cylinder head. I know you didn't buy yours for modding, but for those who may be in the market for a modable tuner car, these new Si from 12 and up, don't cut the mustard. Nice car though and I hope you enjoy it!

[14Black1LESS]

Originally Posted by redcoats1976

it almost sounds like youre starting to see why i drive an RS instead of an SS.on my beach trips and long hauls i get around 28 mpg and my beach stuff fits in the trunk.

I got 27-28 mpg in my '02 Vette that was making 460rwhp. You don't need a V6 to get that kind of mpg, and you would be surprised at what all you can fit in the back of a Vette. The weight of the Camaro is probably the biggest killer on mpg for the V8, of course on mine it's also the gears being a 1LE with 3.91's. If the OP is only looking for that kind of mpg, then I'd suggest looking into getting a C5 Vette, that is if you don't need a back seat. You can find some well maintained ones in the high teens or low twenties.

[69 SS 350 5 Speed]

My 13 Grand Sport Corvette convertible gets 25 - 28 MPG on the highway. It is a 6 speed manual. Our DD is a 14 Malibu Eco that gets 29 - 35 on the highway. The 15 2SS RS L99 convertible gets anywhere from 22 - 24 depending on your right foot and the DOD.

[Rusty35]

Originally Posted by Emig5m

Rented one last weekend to go to the shore with some friends and I was blown away by how cheap it was to get there. With the gas savings it was literally cheaper to rent a car than take my own, lol. For instance, in my truck one way is about $60 in gas and the Focus only cost $15....LOL. My main complaint with the Focus was lack of trunk room (had to leave my beach chair behind which actually fits no problem in the Camaro). Number two complaint, you lose a lot of comfort going from a full size vehicle but it was OK to drive I guess.

But man the gas savings. I have a two hour daily commute (round trip) and the gas savings would be so huge that it would be like getting the car for free compared to what I'm paying now in my V8s, lol!

Yea, I've never owned or driven a economy car before and never knew the gas mileage and savings was so dramatic! But the number 1 thing I like about my Camaro is the seats are like the most comfortable ever! (well, at least the front seats that it, heh.)

Can someone talk some cent$ into me before I go ahead and do something crazy like trading in my 2SS on a Ford Focus? Or I can give you guys my Paypal and maybe we can get like $5000 in donations so that I don't have to worry about gas prices for a while, what do you guys think, hehe.

The Focus gets better mileage than your truck so you want to get rid of your Camaro?

[Royal Tiger]

It'd look better in black with all that plastic, but if you're happy then congrats.

[christianchevell]

Buy a econo turd at any lot for the 2 hr tour...... just remember though its fun level is only at the gas station...... try truedelta for car reliability reports....not a focus fan...LOL

[kingz]

Originally Posted by Emig5m

When did I ever say that I bought a V8 for fuel economy? I thought the 2SS was a nice jump in fuel economy compared to my other older V8 which is a supercharged Ford Lightning with 3.73's/four speed. I actually thought the Camaro was great on gas for what it is - no complaints at all. What I'm saying is that driving a economy car was really an eye opener with how much cheaper you can drive gas-wise if you do a lot of driving like me. I had no idea that the difference was so dramatic since I've mainly only owned V8s with the exception of a couple V6's. That's not the only reason, I wanted more usable rear seating as well. I had to rent a Ford Focus because the Camaro couldn't fit people in the rear seats without me being so damned uncomfortable to where I'd rather walk so I didn't jump ship just because of gas mileage - it was a combination of a bunch of things including I was just ready for a completely different experience. Go test drive one of these new SI's....you might be in for a surprise with how nice it is to drive! I had no second thought letting go of the SS I enjoyed driving the Civic SI so much... I only used to drive Ford pickups but wanted a change and the Camaro gave me that change I was looking for and now it was time to change it up again...

I won't care for the Honda or the gas saving if it doesn't look good and sound good . Alot of cars these days save gas but those cars are boring in sound and looks. The only way I would care about saving gas is if I was worried about it at the gas tank. I wouldn't enjoy driving a gas saver. But Thanks and enjoy your car.

[Dmpsix]

It's your money, get whatever you want.

I think those new Civic's and that paint look sweet!

What are the differences with that and your Camaro?

[crosbycool]

you are what you drive

[St!ng]

I rented a Focus last spring and it was the biggest turd I have ever driven (and I have owned some turds in the past). The tranny is jerky and causes the motor to whine excessively while on teh free way. I also have a co-worker when has a 3 year old one just over 50K miles and his tranny is even worse. If you like spending $$ replacing transmissions, go for it.

[Emig5m]

Originally Posted by Dmpsix

What are the differences with that and your Camaro?

I hate to really compare so early into owning it but...

This Civic is so much more hi-tech and has so many more creature comforts than the 2010 2SS had. Blind spot camera on the side mirror, dual zone climate control, the bluetooth audio is so dramatically better than the Camaro which sounded so horrible that I would never use it and only sounded fit for speech/phone. Actually the 10 speaker sound system in the Civic is much better than the Boston premium audio in the Camaro. I've never even touched the bass/trebble, or EQ yet and the sound by default sounds dramatically better than the Boston in the Camaro tweaked. Basically I feel like I upgraded in most ways.

The funny thing is with regards to losing my man card by swapping a 2SS for a Civic is that it was the test drive that actually sold me and I wasn't dead set on actually making a swap to a more econo car and I was just 'looking into it' at this point. I was very surprised by the amount of leg room in this thing while still being able to sit in the back seat without readjusting the front seat which is awesome because I like the look of a coupe over a sedan. I'm so used to paying the big bucks for the full size V8s to where sometimes I have to skimp on certain tech options that I wasn't expecting so many creature comforts and tech for the price - that was the second thing that stood out to me.

Next, it's actually very nice to drive, lol. This thing corners and handles like a arcade game. Actually the shifting and pedal resistance is so easy that it does feel like driving an arcade game. With regards to power and performance, I found myself well over the speed limit more than once without even realizing it or putting my foot into the gas. So I feel like driving normally that there's no lack of power (for it's weight) and the enjoyment I get from all the tech and do-dads in this car for the price makes me happy with my swap. When I brought it home the other night opening up the sun roof with the stars in view above my head with the summer breeze gently blowing above (it's not nowhere near as loud as having a side window open which is what I hate most about having side windows open is the wind noise) was very pleasant while cruising over the mountain taking the country back roads.

So between the sound system, all the tech and creature comforts, the more sophisticated interior style, and the totally different driving experience (after two 5 Gens I was basically looking for a totally different and fresh experience) I'm really enjoying the Honda Civic SI Coupe. Totally wasn't expecting to have all the leg room and comfort in a compact or mid size. Is a Civic really a compact car anymore? Because while I was swapping all my stuff from the Camaro to the Civic it didn't look dramatically smaller. So I guess with cars like the FIT and SMART cars that are actually compact, I guess you could consider the Civic more a mid-size these days? It's totally better than the Focus in every way IMO.

Anyway, the bad:

I feel like the seat bolsters in the Civic SI are a tad too aggressive. They hold onto you much more snug than the Camaro and you tend to notice that the seat is holding onto your sides firmly. The Gen 5 Camaro Leather seats is still my personal favorite car seats out of any car I've personally been in so it's some rough competition for the Civic in this regard. But the 2017 Civic SI seats are still much more comfortable than I expected them to be (much better than the Focus) so I'm pretty sure I could live with them once I get used to them and they would be much better if the bolsters weren't so aggressive and straight and more angled like the Camaro's bolsters - they'll hold you perfectly tight no matter how many G's you're taking around a corner where the leather in the Camaro you'll slide a bit, lol. The seat bottoms feels totally neutral and comfortable - nothing stands out there.

I loved the brute bottom end torque of the manual SS to where I didn't even have to touch the gas pedal to back out of my parking spot with the manual. The little turbo 4-banger does have a nice little thrust of torque once the turbo starts to build boost but I have to press the gas ever so lightly to move (gently backing out of a parking space) or I feel like I might stall it but admittedly the clutch feel is so dramatically different from the Camaro that this could because I don't even have 100 miles on the car yet and I'm not used to the clutch. Is this even something to complain about? Having to gently touch the gas pedal to back out of a parking space? LOL.

Lastly, my ego might hurt a little on my commute to work knowing that I'm not better than everyone else driving their little commuter cars while I rumble past them in a American Muscle LS3, lol. Honestly, we did this job for a guy in a million dollar mansion (with multiple homes in different states) and his daily driver in his driveway was a Honda Civic believe it or not, seen him leave and come back in the Civic multiple times while working at his house, and his garage queen was get this, a Dodge Stealth (in mint condition). And this guy was a millionaire, lol. He did have another house in Florida so maybe he had a Ferrari down there, who knows. But point being you would be surprised that some people with a lot of wealth do actually own and drive cars like a Civic - seen it more than once in my line of work where I sometimes work at a lot of different wealthy peoples homes and they'll have Camrys and Civics parked in their driveways (but I've also seen Ferraris and Lambo's in their garages too, but daily a more econo car, heh. Not all, but some wealthy peoples home I've worked at and I worked at a home that Will Smith was considering buying - 22 rooms in this house, lol.)

EDIT: I forgot that I also miss the auto dimming mirrors in the SS which the SI doesn't seem to have....

[Emig5m]

Originally Posted by crosbycool

you are what you drive

What if you drive multiple vehicles? How would I combine a SVT Ford Lightning that has even more ft/lbs torque stock than a stock SS combined with a Honda Civic? Hehe. And does my supercharged Seadoo watercraft and fuel injected Husqvarna 500cc dual sport road legal dirtbike get factored in as well? So what does that make me? lol.

[Emig5m]

Originally Posted by St!ng

I rented a Focus last spring and it was the biggest turd I have ever driven (and I have owned some turds in the past). The tranny is jerky and causes the motor to whine excessively while on teh free way. I also have a co-worker when has a 3 year old one just over 50K miles and his tranny is even worse. If you like spending $$ replacing transmissions, go for it.

Yea I would agree, the Focus is crap. I immediately noticed the jerky tranny right away as did the girl I rented it with and she's by no means a car person or techy and the brakes where overly touchy. Everything about the Civic SI alleviates the complaints I had with the Focus from a perfectly smooth performing tranny (but the SI only come in manual), to more room and comfort, not to mention much better looks. I feel like I bought the best car in its class for what I was looking for - economy, usable rear seats, with a little sportiness too it and I feel like all the tech and sound system was an added bonus making letting go the SS much less painful to where I traded on the spot without double thinking it. I was also looking into a KIA Optima and the Hyundai Elantra Sport (But it's like 10 less MPG than the Civic so....) but didn't get as far as a test drive in those after test driving the Honda I knew it was 'the one' right away.... I've actually got a lot of good compliments on the looks of the Honda Civic SI from friends and neighbors. I didn't want to get a totally boring looking stripped down economy car so the SI gave me exactly what I was looking for and then some... So far I'm totally happy with it other than the overly aggressive bolsters.... I wish it could of been configured with slightly less aggressive leather seats.

[Dmpsix]

Originally Posted by crosbycool

you are what you drive

Not true.