Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats, never teleprompter the page.
Scored as: 2009-2011 FA5 Sedan, K20Z3, 6MT · Total: 48/70 (PROPOSED, not ratified) · Target runtime: ~6:40, hard ceiling 7:00
Title (curiosity gap): "This $7,000 Honda Tied A Supra On Our Board"
Thumbnail word (emotion/verdict, zero overlap w/ title): "SENSIBLE?" + big 49 on the Board
Order: Deal -> Drive -> Upkeep -> Risk -> Daily -> Limit -> Mods -> Board -> Verdict

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Hook | One Sentence (~0:05)

1. "A seven-thousand-dollar Civic just finished level with a Supra on our Board, and we're going to show you exactly how."
2. "The cheap year of this car costs two grand less, and the repair it needs costs two grand. Let's do the maths."
3. "This car is slow, and buying it is still one of the smartest things you can do with eight grand."

Recommend #1: the result is genuinely surprising and it's the whole thesis of the Board. Cut straight to The Deal.

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1 · The Deal, reveal 8 (~0:50)

Beats

• $7,760 · KBB private party, Good, 120,000 mi · range $6,285 to $8,135
• $7,760, and it still buys a car in the top half of the Board
• $39.4/hp, better value than the NC Miata's $41.8 for $775 more. Both far behind the 350Z's $18.7
• The beat of the whole video: 2008 Si sedan $4,090-5,440 · 2009 $5,935-7,785
• Premium for the later car ~$1,845-2,345. The repair it avoids: $1,500-3,000
• The line: "You pay that money either way. Pay it to the seller and the car works."

B-roll: live cars.com search, 2009-11 under $12k · screen-record the grid at edit time
On screen: 2008-vs-2009 price bars with the repair cost overlaid at the same height · the $7,760 plate
Reveal line cue: "The good year costs exactly what the bad year's repair costs... The Deal scores an 8."

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2 · The Drive, reveal 6 (~0:40)

Beats

• 197 hp / 139 lb-ft · 2,954 lb · 15.0 lb/hp · 0-60 6.8 to 7.0s
• 15.0 lb/hp, a shade behind even the NC Miata's 14.9, and this one is front-drive
• Peak power at 7,800 rpm, and it wants to be worked all the way there
• A helical LSD as STANDARD. Not an option, not a trim. Every single Si had one
• Neither the NC Miata nor a base 350Z can say that at this money
• Do not state the redline. Sources disagree, 8,000 against 8,300. Say the sourced 7,800 rpm peak and move on

On screen: 15.0 lb/hp against the tier (it loses) · LSD cutaway with "STANDARD ON EVERY Si" · corner-exit b-roll
Reveal line cue: "Slow, and the one you'd take down a back road... The Drive, a 6."

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3 · The Upkeep, reveal 7 (~0:45)

Beats

• ~$4,502/yr: $2,000 fuel · $1,902 insurance · $200 tires · $400 service
• Cheap 215-section tires, cheap Honda service, every independent shop knows the car, no timing belt
• It wants premium, which surprises people about a Civic. Worth ~$250/yr against regular
• Insurance is 24.5% of the car's value per year. A plain Civic of the same years is $145-150/mo, so the low value is doing the damage, not the badge
• The correction: our draft had this at 28% and the wrong way round. Stale price. It's 24.5%, against the NC Miata's 21.6%
• MoneyGeek splits the Si by trim but not trim-and-year, so it's blended across the generation

On screen: running-cost stack vs the tier · "PREMIUM FUEL. IN A CIVIC." stamp · insurance-as-%-of-value
Reveal line cue: "Cheap tires, cheap service, and one line that isn't... The Upkeep, a 7."

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4 · The Risk, reveal 8 (~1:10)

Beats (this segment justifies the whole score)

• Scope out loud first: 2009 to 2011, and the scope IS the review
• The third-gear synchro: $1,500-3,000. Grinds on the 2-to-3 upshift, eventually pops out of gear
• Notorious on 2006-08 · Honda TSB 08-020, April 2008, mandated replacing the entire gear set
• 2009+ largely clear, which is why the scope starts there and why a 2008 is two grand cheaper
• And it's completely detectable in five minutes: cold engine, repeated 2-to-3 upshifts
• Everything else is short and dull: a clutch eventually, an A/C compressor. The K20Z3 has no documented catastrophic mode at all
• Myth-buster: you'll find the 2006-09 Civic "cracked block" and that Honda's warranty extension excludes the Si
• It's the opposite of concerning. That's an R18 defect, the 1.8 in ordinary Civics. The Si has the K20Z3 and was excluded because it doesn't have the bad block

PPI CHECKLIST - hold it on screen

1. Repeated 2-to-3 upshifts, engine COLD. Grind or pop-out means the gearbox
2. Confirm a 2009 or later build, not a 2008
3. Clutch engagement height
4. A/C to full cold
5. On an earlier car, service history proving the third-gear TSB was done

YEAR-ONE COST

• Maintained ~$750-1,000 · Typical ~$2,050-2,450 · Neglected ~$3,050-3,450
• A narrow spread, and narrow by construction: the scope excludes the only expensive failure
• Worst case is 44% of purchase price. The 350Z's is 94-135%, and no inspection helps there

On screen: cold-shift b-roll with the 2->3 gate highlighted · TSB 08-020 stamp · "R18 is NOT K20Z3" side by side · year-one bars against the 350Z's
Reveal line cue: "Buy the right year and there's nothing expensive left... The Risk, an 8."

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5 · The Daily, reveal 7 (~0:30)

Beats

• Five seats, four doors, a real trunk, Honda ergonomics. Against two-seat coupes this isn't a contest
• The second budget-tier car that works as an only car, and this one's a Honda, so running costs and parts match
• No CarPlay, aux and USB only late in the run. Head unit $300-500
• The G37 has the same seats and doors with a luxury interior, which is why it takes an 8 and this a 7
• Cargo reads Not captured. We didn't source it, so we're not guessing it
• The FG2 coupe is mechanically identical with two doors and drops a point here

On screen: rear seats and trunk against the Miata's and 350Z's · "NO CARPLAY" stamp
Reveal line cue: "The one down here you could actually own as your only car... The Daily, a 7."

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6 · The Limit, reveal 6 (~0:35)

Beats

• The headline is a part, not a number: a helical limited-slip diff, standard, on a $7,760 car
• That's the difference between spinning an inside wheel out of a corner and simply pulling
• Honda fitted it to every Si, so there's no trim to hunt for
• FWD, four doors, 2,954 lb · SCCA H Street
• H Street carries an asterisk. It's from the SCCA classification assistant, not a direct Appendix A read like the 350Z's and G37's F Street
• No instrumented grip or braking figure exists for the scored car

On screen: LSD cutaway · corner-exit comparison against an open-diff car · "H STREET *" with the asterisk explained
Reveal line cue: "A limited-slip diff as standard, at this money... The Limit, a 6."

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7 · The Mods, reveal 7 (~0:35)

Beats

• Elite aftermarket, twenty years deep. The K-series has had twenty years of development
• The K20 is already near its NA ceiling stock, so intake and exhaust give you very little back
• Real power means forced induction or a K24 swap, and the engine will take it
• The gearbox will not. The transmission is the car's one documented weak point, and power drives synchro wear
• Third distinct answer in three cars: NC Miata NO · 350Z YES · Civic Si PARTIAL
• Chassis, tires and brakes first. If you chase power, budget the transmission into the build

On screen: K-series parts wall · "ENGINE: YES / GEARBOX: NO" split · the three-car comparison
Reveal line cue: "Twenty years of K-series parts on the shelf, and a gearbox that limits it... The Mods, a 7."

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The Board + Verdict (~0:50)

Beats

• Total lands: 49 / 70, and it is a proposed score
• Level with a GR86 and a Supra. Say the price gap out loud and let it sit for a beat
• Then say how: it wins the four categories that cost you money every month and loses every one about going fast
• One point behind the Type R, at a fifth of the money. Best buy, not best car, in one line
• VERDICT: "Buy a 2009 or newer, and check the 2-to-3 shift cold."
• Skip case: you want pace, or you want rear-wheel drive

On screen: the 49 landing between the Supra and the Veloster N · $7,760 vs $42,000 side by side · Buy stamp with the cold-shift condition
Close cue: one line pointing at the Type R review · end

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Runtime + notes

• Sum ~ 6:40. The Risk carries the extra runtime, as on every car in this tier.
• All seven scores are proposals. The Risk (8) is the one most worth arguing about.
• Do not say on camera: a precise redline, or H Street as settled. Both are sourcing limits.
• B-roll warning: listings are asking prices, the $7,760 is KBB private-party. Name which is which.
• The 2008-vs-2009 price beat is the strongest thing in this script. If the edit runs long, protect it and pull from The Mods.
• Title and thumbnail share zero words per channel rule.