We recently got to hot lap the 2020 Honda Civic Si around a racetrackand not just any track, but the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, home of the U.S. Grand Prix . Here are five things we learned from hot lapping the new 2020 Honda Civic Si. BRAKE says the car Think of the Honda Sensing safety suite as a burrito filled with advanced driver safety systems, all rolled into one name and served hot and fresh across Hondas product range. In the 2020 Civic Si, this Honda Sensing burrito includes an array of acronyms, including CMBS with FCW (collision mitigation braking system with forward collision warning), ACC with LSF (adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow), LKAS (lane keeping assist system), and RDM (road departure mitigation). On a racetrack, CBMS with FCW is a hilariously annoying distraction. The systems forward-facing camera monitors your following distance to the car in front, and should you get too close, a warning to BRAKE flashes in the instrument cluster. This warning comes with amplified braking response if/when you to the brakes, meaning that it helps apply maximum brake pressure. This is super helpful on the street, when maybe youve looked down to catch the latest Instagram post or text message, but when you first see it on the track, when youre hot on the tail of the car in front, its surprising and distracting. The amplified braking response also results in jerky, nonlinear driving. But hey, at least you dont crash. The good news, the system is 100 percent defeatable by pushing a button to the left of the steering wheel. Remember that for track days. BEEP to upshift Honda engines love to rev, even the turbo ones, and when youre charging up COTAs steep hill toward Turn 1, ripping off upshifts via the Civic Sis six-speed manual, the new rev-limit audio warning is extremely helpful. In the instrument cluster, there are visual cues that redline is approaching, but the beep that cuts in 200-rpms before the 6,500 rpm redline (and fuel cutoff), means you dont have to take your eyes off the road when shifting. And you can upshift before the fuel cut slows you down. Like the brake warning, you can also shut off this audio alert by diving into the settings. Shorter Final Drive One of the biggest upgrades for the 2020 Civic Si is a shorter final drive ratio. This is supposed to quicken acceleration in every gear, but in truth, it was difficult to determine while ripping around a track. All we know is that even when we short-shifted to ride revs, the Si never felt out of breath. Once we get a 2020 Civic Si in for testing, well be sure to let you know how its acceleration compares to the previous generation. Super-Handling Front-Wheel Drive The Civic Si is fundamentally a great-driving compact car. Although its not super fast, its 1.5-liter turbocharged direct-injection inline-four makes 205 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque against a curb weight of about 2,900 pounds. Thats a weight-to-power ratio of 14.1 pounds per horsepower, which is enough to surprise you and other drivers on the track. What it lacks in straight line speed, it makes up for in the corners. Experienced pro drivers will tell you to brake in a straight line, smooth out your pedal and steering inputs, and get on the gas as soon as you can. Thats how you carry the most momentum, which is the key to great front-drivers like the Si. This is a bargain sports car The Honda Civic Si comes as both a coupe and sedan with a starting price of $25,930 for either. Thats a great deal for a great-handling daily driver, one that you could easily take out autocrossing or to a track day. If you need more, you can always step up 10 grand to the Civic Type R, or if youre really feeling racy, Honda Performance Development will sell you a turnkey, ready-to-race Civic Si TCA race car for $52,500. --> The post Racing a 2020 Honda Civic Si: Five Fun Revelations From the Track appeared first on MotorTrend .