I currently own a VW Jetta with a VR6 engine, front wheel drive, 5 speed manual transmission. I am considering purchasing a Civic due to cost of ownership; however, I am really not wanting to sacrifice my 2.8 liter for a 2.0 or 1.8.
1) what kind of civic should I look into that will have comparable performance?
( I was thinking an Si)
2) what kinds of modifications would be necessary/ affordable for under ~ 3000
that would give me decent acceleration/top speed?

 

A Si would probably be closest to what you are looking for if you want a Civic, but the insurance is higher than any of the other models! Do you want to do major modifications? If so, turbo that biatch! lol.. otherwise, bolt ons (intake/header/exhaust) will not net a huge amount of extra power.

Just remember:

Fast. Cheap. Reliable.
Pick two

 

lol fast and cheap doesnt really work

 

Let me break it down for you.
You want your car fast and cheap, it wont be reliable. (Ex. Ebay turbo kits etc etc)
You want your car cheap and reliable, it wont be fast.
You want you car reliable and fast, it wont be cheap.

That better?

 

hmmm buy somthing else.

 

how much are you looking to spend? i personally like the 8th gen si and the 6th gen si

 

I would be willing to spend ~ 13,000-14,000 for the actual car plus about 3,000-4,000 for parts to improve performance. I'm looking for something with about 50,000 miles.

 

well for $14k you can get yourself a 03-05 S2000 for $14k. And that's with less than 60k miles, I've seen them around 40k miles for that price.

That's just me though.

but if you want a civic I'd go for a 6th gen civic(preferably Si) or a 8th gen Si(4dr version, I think 2DR looks too much like a jelly bean)

and it doesn't matter which of these you get, turbo it if you have $4k extra lying around.

 

If that's your price range, then don't get a civic, that's just silly. Go for something rwd to suite your fancy.

 

Get a ek9 and an engine swap.