I'd say keep whichever car you like more... I'm sure either car could get 180whp pretty easily so just choose it on the other charecteristics. Whichever one you like the look better, ride better, etc. If you like a car, putting money into it to get to up to snuff shouldn't hold ya back.. God knows when I get more money than I know what to do with, I plan on buying me another Geo Tracker (my first car) and putting a Chevy 454 in it (there are actually swap guides all over the net for this). So putting a few more bucks in the Civic if you prefer it, shouldn't be a deciding factor = P