HONDA CIVIC TYPE R
It has the most engaging powertrain in the class
‘Fun’ is an interesting and perhaps misleading descriptor for the Honda Civic Type R. Fun is, of course, what hot hatches have always been about. Shortcomings in ride quality, flimsy cockpits, poor economy – you’d forgive any and all of it as long as there was enough attitude, full-throttle potential and lift-off oversteer. Enough fun.
It was obvious with the previousgeneration R, the FK8, that Honda had altered the game, because the new car was so precise and dialledin, yet light on its feet and so rich in its feedback. With its long snout, two-and-a-half-box silhouette and ridiculous rear plumage, it looked like it had stepped beyond timehonoured hot hatch parameters – like the Escort Cosworth did.
This was mirrored in the driving. Fun wasn’t really something that concerned this car; its kicks were doled out by an almost addictive sense of precision engineering, both for chassis and powertrain, and a level of seriousness that hinted at the kind of raw driving satisfaction usually provided by pedigree sports cars. There’s a reason why the FK8 was referred to as a ‘front-wheel-drive 911 GT3’.
By Honda’s own admission, it could have simply reprised that car’s mechanicals in the more visually appealing body of the new Fl5-generation Civic, and gone for an early supper. The resulting Type R would have sold well because even today the old car doesn’t feel old. Were you to throw it into a group test with the best and newest alternatives
2023 has to offer, it would probably win. Yet the FL5 is riven with detail changes: lightweighting; geometry changes; different bushings; revised airflow for better resistance to brake fade; increased camber rigidity; a stiffer steering column; track-rod ends that flex less; a revised turbo; improved exhaust flow; an even sweeter gearshift action (somehow!); and a lighter flywheel. You get the sense that the team behind the development of the Civic Type R was in full ‘end of days’ mode for this very special car. And yes, it’s a car, quite clearly. But it’s also a statement.
The new Civic Type R is faster than its forebear and more capable; it’s more stable when you need it and more adjustable when you want it. With a plusher cabin and better rolling refinement, its everyday remit is also much stronger, and yet it lacks nothing of the old car’s sense of intent. It has, by some margin, the most engaging powertrain in the class. Its dynamic personality isn’t defined by superficial tricks or contrived excitement, although it will do all those things as well as any comparable car. It’s ‘fun’, but it’s also more than that: it’s brilliant, inimitable and a bit of an enigma.