The previous-generation Civic with the 1.5-liter turbo isn’t exactly a no-nonsense sports car. 174 horsepower and 162 pound-feet (220 Nm) of torque is plenty enough for driving on the highway, but some customers prefer a bigger punch from the four-cylinder lump with a DOHC layout.
Rev It Up Brasil is the company that spruced up the Civic in the featured video with a KTuner software remap, which unlocks 300 force-fed ponies and 240 pound-feet (325 Nm) on full song. These output figures are pretty damn high for a displacement of 1.5 liters, translating to more reliability problems than the oil dilution that affects 2016 through 2018 U.S. models.
On the other lane of the drag strip, we have a peach of a mid-size family car in the guise of the Accord Sport with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Closely related to what’s hiding under the hood of the Civic Type R, this motor belts out 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet (370 Nm) of torque from 1,500 through 4,000 revolutions per minute. Stock in terms of software and oily bits, the Accord Sport also flexes a 10-speed automatic known for its crisp shifting action under hard acceleration and smoothness.
Over the quarter-mile, the larger vehicle appears to have the upper hand in many respects. But lest we forget, the curb weight of 3,356 pounds or 1,522 kilograms renders it heftier than the Civic’s 3,104 pounds or 1,407 kilograms. On the first run, Sam CarLegion and his Accord-driving buddy are duking it out in full sport mode with traction control off in order to eliminate any nannies that may hinder the way the cars accelerate. The Civic hooks pretty well and keeps gaining value yards on the Accord until the quarter-mile mark at just over 105 miles per hour (169 kilometers per hour).
According to the Dragy GPS Performance Box, the Civic in this configuration finishes the quarter-mile in 13.65 seconds at 106.59 miles per hour (171.53 kilometers per hour) whereas the bone-stock Accord needs exactly 14.64 seconds at 98.33 miles per hour (158.28 kilometers per hour).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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