That's provided your engine is very small. Imagine you have an automatic 5 gears 1.6-1.8L civic... Are you sure you can have your VTEC kick-in on Singapore's road? Why automatic Citi can hit VTEC easier? Because it only has 4 speeds auto gear. Nowadays, I am guessing all automatic civic should have 5 speeds auto gear and thus harder to have VTEC kick-in.