$17k for a civic, I'm assuming you're talking about the EX? Performance is no where near the SE-R or the SpecV. Refinement is very objective when the two are similar. Sure if on a scale of 10, one has refinement of 2 and the other of 8, then you can tell them apart right away. But what if one is a 7 and the other is an 8. What kind of criteria would bump one car from a 7 to an 8. When it's that close, I doubt you can tell unless you start to nit pick.
"ricer" doesn't have to buy old cars. I've seen a brand new 02 Civic all riced out. I've even seen a TL-S all riced out. Ricer are every where w/ all sorts of cars. hehe, there's the expensive rice and there's a cheap rice, but still rice none the less...