Eh, no. That's like saying "You like the really great Mustang GT350 but can only afford something less? Try the Mustang GT."Review: Honda Civic Type R Too Hardcore? Try the Mellower 2020 Honda Civic Si
It's not the same. If you came for the Type R, the Si is not going to satisfy. And the very same thing is true for my Mustang example.
$25k is pretty affordable I guess but I think this segment is basically dead and irrelevant, unless you bring something exceptional like the Type R. I do not think run of the mill Civics are running around with some miracle chassis. I think the Type R has had some very careful tuning. To use a 10 year old GM example, it's exactly like the Cobalt SS. The regular Cobalt wasn't very good. The SS was excellent. That's a thing.
On the other hand, if they begin to sell the Si in any kind of numbers, I may concede that the formula of bringing an excellent product to market like the Type R really does cause increased sales in the down market trims. I know this is basic stuff but I do not always see evidence of it when I look. Like the CTS-V3 impact on CTS or V-sport sales. I can probably come up with a number of other examples that are non-GM.