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IF you asked a class of schoolkids to design a car it would be a disaster.

After each child had insisted on his or her own special features being included it would end up being a massively complicated piece of work with lots of the parts cancelling out each other while it would look nearer to a spaceship than a car.

That, it appears, is what had happened to the Honda Civic Type R when the fourth generation of the car appeared in 2015.

It was such a disaster that Honda only sold 2,500 of them before giving it the complete re-build that appeared in March, 2017. The result is absolutely amazing. The new Type R may still have looks that could only have come from a classroom but it’s a storming car to drive. That’s why it holds the lap record for front-wheel-drive cars at the Nurburgring.

It is purely and simply joy on wheels. Here’s what I said earlier in the year: “It’s so different to the car it replaces it’s like stepping over an earthquake instead of straight into it.”

That’s why the new Type R is my Car of the Year for 2017. It is unbelievably good. Runner-up, the Alfa Romeo Giulia, is an adorable beauty with the power to match its looks. It’s a joy just to be in it, never made driving it.

WINNER: Honda Civic Type R GT. 0-62mph 5.8s, top speed 169mph. £32,995.

RUNNER-UP: Alfa Romeo Giulia 200 Super. 6.6s, 146mph. £31,250.