Sole Definition? That category is a blowout. Fuel efficiency is the same, and price tag is the same. Unless the Si has amazingly better handling (it doesn't) the pony cars shit all over it.

Tell you what- put two drivers who know what they're doing on the same track. One in a Civic Si, the other in a 2012 Ford Mustang, and I'll bet that the Mustang driver not only destroys, but eventually laps the Civic driver.

I'll say it again: the Civic is not, never has been, and never will be a performance car. It's an economy car- and an economy car that gets 30 mpg is an utter failure.

I don't know about you, but I don't drive on a track. I drive on roads. And I don't enjoy trying to hustle a big heavy car around a tight mountain road.

And your statement about what is and isn't a performance car is just your opinion, as there is no accepted definition of such.

I guess the Focus SVT you mentioned isn't a performance car either. Nope, a manufacturer can never take an economy car and turn it into a performance car.

Economy platforms do not translate well to performance. FWD+soft suspension+anemic 4-cyl engines != performance.

Nobody sets out to build a performance car and uses a 4cyl FWD softly-suspended platform as their starting point.

There is no such thing as a FWD, 4cyl performance car, no matter what Honda tells you. The Civic Si is not a sports car; it's an economy car that gets shitty mileage.

The exterior of the Civic SI looks pretty decent, but nowhere near the coolness of a Camaro. However, the interior of the Civic is still subpar SI or not. And the Camaro took the top 2010 interior ward by some mag I can't think of now.

Nobody is saying Civics are sports cars. A sports car is built from scratch, and doesn't share its platform with any other model. Examples: Corvette, Miata, Elise, etc.

But "performance car" simply means any car that is marketed to people who desire high performance attributes. Period. Nobody "sets out" to build a performance car, rather they take an existing car (typically a family sedan) and modify it to give it more performance. That includes WRX's, Taurus SHO's, Focus SVT's, and yes the Civic Si. There is no textbook definition saying a performance car must have RWD or a certain 0-60 figure.

Can you explain that to the idiots with the plastic picnic table bolted to their trunks?

See that is the only reason I think people hate Civics.......not because it sucks but because of all the ricers. In reality a Focus isn't any better than a Civic, but it doesn't get hated on because not very many Focus owners rice it out.

I am really glad I don't have to deal with every douchebag wanting to race my old piece of shit civic I used for commuting anymore. I will never own another one just because of that reason.

I couldn't drive over 75 on the interstate without some idiot wanting to be ricky racer cut me off and block me from passing them or playing speed up/slow down. Fuck I hated that, sooooo much.

It's probably because you had a coffee can exhaust on it :lol