2012 Honda Civic HFP Review

by Graeme Fletcer of the National Post

For years, the Honda Civic has been the import tuner’s car of choice. You name it and there is a highly modified part. It runs to the point where there is a modification for just about every meaningful component along with myriad performance add-ons. Not to be left out of this highly lucrative market, Honda has added the Honda Factory Performance (HFP) package to the Civic Coupe. In all, there will be 400 units offered.
The starting point is the Civic Si. The HFP package, which is offered in either black or white livery, then adds deeper front and rear air dams, bolder side sills and a tasteful deck lid spoiler. It also brings attractive 18-inch wheels wearing P215/40 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. That’s pretty much the extent of the exterior changes, badging aside.

Beneath the sheetmetal, however, the HFP’s suspension has been heavily massaged. The new springs, which drop the ride height by 10 millimetres, complement the new high-performance dampers. These mods and the better tires bring a car that really does hunker down and eat fast on-ramps. The Si is no slouch in this department. The HFP is so much more focused — the poise and pointability as the ragged edge nears is appreciably sharper. The unspoken benefit is it accomplishes this without trashing the ride quality.

The HFP arrives with the same 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine that powers the Si. This means 201 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque. This engine pulls strongly at first, then gives the driver a swift kick in the pants at 5,000 rpm when the i-VTEC (intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) system begins to do its thing. When this happens, the engine seems to take a deep breath and sprint toward redline with ever growing purpose. This is an engine that must be revved to get the very best out of it. When pushed toward its 7,000-rpm redline, it really does sing a sweet siren. There is none of the grating thrashiness that defines so many high-revving engines — this one produces a deep bassy note whenever i-VTEC begins to weave its magic.

The power is put down through a six-speed manual gearbox, a helical limited-slip differential and the front wheels. The transmission is the model of civility, pun intended. The short throws, defined gate and progressive clutch mean it’s a cinch to run through the gears at the speed required. As the ratio spacing from first to fourth gear is tight and the engine revs so freely, the shifter has to be worked with alacrity to keep things at a roaring boil. The Si HFP snicks through its gears so seamlessly it is a very easy drive regardless of whether inching along in stop and go traffic or wailing around a race track.

The helical limited-slip differential makes a big difference, especially when the speeds are low and the engine’s output is nearing its peak. First, it eliminates the unbridled wheelspin that is the norm with an open-centre differential. Here, the instant one wheel begins to spin, all the power is directed to that wheel, which forces the traction control system to kick in and kill the launch performance. The limited-slip differential helps to keep both front wheels engaged in the business of providing traction, which cuts said wheelspin, minimizes traction control intervention and, as a bonus, helps to control torque steer. As a result,  launching the Si HFP is both fast and entertaining. It also helps through a fast corner — typically, the inside wheel tends to spin because of its unloaded condition. The Si HFP keeps both wheels in the game.

All of this gives the Si HFP the ability to scamper to 100 kilometres an hour in 6.6 seconds and, more importantly, it accomplishes the 80-to-120-km/h passing move in 4.4 seconds.

Remarkably, it does this in third gear, and it does so just before hitting redline.

The HFP also managed to return surprising fuel economy. Even though the car was driven with enthusiasm during the test, it still attained an average of 8.9 litres per 100 kilometres.

Inside, the HFP’s only outward signs are the brilliant red floor mats and red ambient interior lighting. The rest of the Si HFP will be familiar to any Civic Si coupe owner — delightfully bolstered front bucket seats and tight access to the rear seat. The materials are very good, the fit and finish is exemplary and, in spite of the two-tier dashboard, the information is relayed to the driver in a clean and uncluttered fashion. True, I don’t care for the digital speedometer, but the rest of it comes together nicely with the exception of the Sequential Rev-Limit indicator. As the revs rise and i-VTEC kicks in, a number of amber dots illuminate until the last red dot comes on and tells the driver the engine is producing maximum output and about to crash into the rev limiter. Given the exaggerated tachometer in the lower tier, it is fairly described as overkill.

While the outward changes to the Civic Si HFP are fairly subtle in nature, the improvements in the handling characteristics are anything but. The Si is sharp; the HFP is significantly more so. As such, it is that much more fun to drive, and without costing an arm and a leg in the process.

Source;
http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/06/20/preview-2012-honda-civic-si-hfp-boosts-fun-factor/