Counterpoints

It’s called a spoiler because it spoils the look of the car—only, on the Type R, it looks great: a fun surprise, an embroidered tiger on the back of a jean jacket. I liked the previous model’s raucous design, but some people prefer to drive a car that doesn’t look like a 12-year-old doodled it on a math notebook. More important, while the sporty Civic has put on some work-appropriate attire, it’s still an absolute party animal underneath. —Elana Scherr

Speaking in Honda tongue feels like coughing up alphabet soup. Ya see, you’ve got your EP3s and your DC5s, but the B18C never came in those—they got the lowly K20A3 here in the U.S. Riding on an FL5 chassis, the newest CTR is far wilder than the sedan-only FE1 Civic Si. That said, it won’t take more than a spoonful of the improved 315-hp K20C1 to get your HR to spike. —Austin Irwin