2003 Honda Civic SI or 2003 VW GTI 20th

[pint]

Which would you choose and why if you had to chose between the following:

2003 Honda Civic SI - 5spd, 2.0L normally aspired 160 hp

2003 VW GTI 20th Anniv - 6 spd, 1.8L turbo 180 hp

I'm looking for a fun, reliable, sporty and practical daily driver and have pretty much narrowed it down to these 2. Both are 2 door hatchbacks with a lot of similarities. Lets here your thoughts.

 

[VT Fj-40 Owner]

Civic will be boring to drive....

the VW will be fun to drive when its working..... and boring to look at when its broken

 

[hoser]

GTI all the way. Don't forget the Civic is only rated at 132 lb-ft of torque. The GTI 1.8T chipped ($500) has roughly 209 hp and 242 lb-ft torque. A lot more fun to scoot around town.

 

[pint]

GTI all the way. Don't forget the Civic is only rated at 132 lb-ft of torque. The GTI 1.8T chipped ($500) has roughly 209 hp and 242 lb-ft torque. A lot more fun to scoot around town.

What about reliability? Kinda spoiled with the Cruiser. If I'm gonna need to work on it, I'll go with something older and more "fun."

 

[Gumby]

Honda all the way if you're concerned about build quality and reliability.

IH8VWs.


There is no damn reason why one make, model and year of car needs 8 different parts numbers for the brake pads.

 

[hoser]

I agree, if you want reliability, then go Honda. I would also say the steering and brakes have better feedback on the Civic Si. But if you are willing to wrench and troubleshoot a bit, the VW is the choice. The interior is much nicer and the 1.8T engine is great for hills, passing power and fuel economy (considering the performance).

If you think it matters (I do), the '00 GTI was made in Germany and most of the subsequent years were made in Brazil except for the wagons which were all made in Germany. All believe all 99-04 Jettas and Beetles were made in Mexico. Personally speaking, my '00 GTI was very reliable in the 108k miles that I knew of its ownership. But I know my experience is not representative of the majority.

I think you just need to do a little research on both the Honda and VW (Vortex) forums, take a test drive and make a decision from there.

 

[5280Hawk]

I used to take My 03 Si up I-70 to Summit County all the time from Denver. It will get after it up hills. It had a Governor that stops it at about 119mph (only did it once), but you could tell it would go much faster than that.

I drove that Car from off the lot to 56000 miles and it had ZERO problems. Not a single thing was wrong with it when i traded it in except a small crack in the windsheild. My good friend had a GTI he bought about the same time. he had Electrical problems and the windows stopped rolling down. but I won't Lie, that GTI could smoke that Si.

I'd still take the Civic.