You can short shift this car and have fun. He was in fifth around 2k rpms, gave it some gas and we were at 70 quickly.
Last night we were stuck behind a slow driver going 30 in a 35. It honestly wasn't that much slower rolling on in 6th compared to my old 2014 Mustang GT. You're in 6th at 70 mph with three people in the car? Just roll on the throttle and it will pass with ease. What the Si does have is loads of usable power. Short gearing combined with narrow power band makes it not very fun in a straight line. Launching the car is tricky, because the turbo doesn't come on strong until about 2k rpms. It reminded me of driving a diesel truck. The engine is what surprised me the most. The pedal is pretty far to the left and I could see how it would be hard to heel toe. You can't feel the engagement point, and it catches almost at the end of it's travel. I could drive this thing in stop and go traffic for an hour and not be fatigued at all. It has extremely short throws for a factory stick, but it's not hard to find the right gear. I'm sure it will get better as it breaks in. I drove the car with 80 miles on it and the shifter was one of the best I had ever felt. I can't believe Honda made it this quiet. Even an Ecoboost F150 has sweet turbo noises. I think I heard it faintly when under a bridge and shifting at 5k. My biggest gripe with this car is there is no turbo noise. Even when at high rpms you can barely hear it. It has a nice little snarl at start up but the exhaust is basically silent while driving. They look awesome with the grey inserts and red Si badge/stitching. They are pretty comfortable if a little firm for daily driving. We took some high speed sweepers and hairpin turns on the way home. Still really impressed me for this price point though. Granted I got a much larger discount that he did. My Sonata doesn't even have the upgraded stereo or adjustable suspension and the sticker prices were within a few hundred of each other. Heated seats, sunroof, 10 speaker stereo, adjustable suspension. That car is very well optioned for it's price point. He's 6'0, I'm 6'5 and I was comfortably sitting behind him on the test drive. Interior quality is almost Acura level besides a few cheap plastic panels. I had a 2015 Civic EX-L and the new car blows it away in terms of literally everything. Ended up driving a new Si sedan home that night.
He was planning to upgrade his Kia in 2-3 months. Went to the Honda dealer with my friend two days ago for him to look at an Si in person.