Test Drove an Ep!!

[CaTiRo]

well today i finally got to test drive a 04 ep. the salesman drove first and as soon as i buckle up he takes off fast. i was thinking he was going to drive nice and slow but boy was i wrong. i was under the impression that the ep didn't "feel" fast but i was impress with the take off. i definately like the way the power came on fast, not like my high revving b16. anyway this guys drives and drives then gets on the interstate and goes up and down various on/off ramps. on the ramps he was flying. and these weren't your straight ramps but the ones that almost do a circle. anyway, after the guy gets back on the interstate he takes an exit and there was a car in front of us stopped at the stop sign. i thought for sure we was going to hit him. the saleman hit the brakes like at the last minute, i could feel the belts tighten as we stopped about a foot away from the car's bumper. yeah ... i was like this is crazy. finally he lets me drive and i was glad seeing how he was a psycho driver. the car felt so very different from my 00 si. i thought i wouldn't like the location of the stick but it felt very natural to shift there. wonder why you don't see more cars with the shifter located on the dash. anyway it took me a while to get use to the way the car drove and i really like it. it feels totally different from my si but overall i thought it was a fun car to drive. i had already looks at the 03s and 04s before but never had a chance to test drive one. i'm plan on getting rid of my si and hopefully i can find a good deal on a new 04. they wanted $19,999 for it. he said that he just sold one a couple days ago. i like the car, but i didn't like it enough to pay $19,999 for it. i guess i'll wait until i can find one for $15,999.

[Dunrick]

makes me want to drive an 00 si - i never have.

ep3 is pretty refined for a civic.

[AzN Si GuY]

Originally posted by Dunrick
makes me want to drive an 00 si - i never have.

ep3 is pretty refined for a civic.

I've driven 00 si before it was my friends, but I didn't give it for a good run because there were so many heads in the car. My mindstate is that I don't want to endanger anyone but me when I'm doing that kind of spirited driving.

But from what I did feel the 00 si has some sucky low end torque and this was on one with quite a number of mods done to it. But it still has the high end torque that our Ep's are missing. But I still love my car.

[CaTiRo]

the ep3 was way more refine than my car. the only thing i didn't like was it didn't feel like it had vtec. i know yall have ivtec and i was thinking it was going to have a somewhat vtec feel, but it didn't. the tranny felt nice, but mine feels good too seeing how i just had a new one installed. :( low end was definately better than my car, but up top did suck. i was expecting that "extra" pull in the higher rpm range. but there was none.

[DavidT]

Catiro just incase you didn't know. Our EPs don't have a performance oriented version of VTEC. We have the economy VTEC version that debuted in 1992 on the D15Z1 VTEC-E Civic HX motor. Our VTEC operates exactly like the VTEC-E motor except we have a continuously adjustable intake cam gear (Hence the "i" part of i-VTEC) and of course our motor is DOHC instead of SOHC like the D15Z1. So in short, we're basically running on 12-valves until 2200 RPMs then the other 4-intake valves comes on and we run on 16-valves to redline. That's it. No high duration big lift cam. I'm not going to steer you away from the EP, but I'm not going to recommend the K20A3 for performance either :o Don't get me wrong, it's a nice motor, makes good power all around for it's size but if you're looking for a high end pull like your B16...the A3 won't do it :(

[bgsteve523]

all i have to say is that you can bring that guy down a lot of $$$$
I got mine 03 brand new in 03 for 17200 out the door

[CaTiRo]

Originally posted by bgsteve523
all i have to say is that you can bring that guy down a lot of $$$$
I got mine 03 brand new in 03 for 17200 out the door

yeah ... in december 2003 i got my wife an 04 ex and the dealership was selling two 03 ep3 for $15,999. i should have got one then. maybe the price will drop that low for the 04s.

[Siman]

[i] i guess i'll wait until i can find one for $15,999. [/B]

well they quite making them this month, so the number left will deplete. I would get it while i still could, then just refinance it through the bank....thats what my dad did LOL;)

[PeteSan3]

I'm glad you liked the test drive. I've always wanted to drive a 99-00 SI so I could feel the "real" vtec that our motors lack.

[BarracksSi]

Originally posted by CaTiRo
.... i thought i wouldn't like the location of the stick but it felt very natural to shift there. wonder why you don't see more cars with the shifter located on the dash.

No kidding! People ask me if it took a while to get used to it, and I tell them that it just makes all the sense in the world. No reason to put a shifter on the floor if the transmission isn't right underneath.

Whether you can "feel the VTEC" or not, I'd say, doesn't matter. The nice flat torque curve is the part I like. I don't have to downshift to 3rd very often to pass, if at all -- even 5th does well enough in many situations.

I'd like to try driving a 99-00 Si just to see what everyone talks about, but I'll still be happy owning my EP.