Where has the time gone?
It’s been five years since we last drove the Civic Type-R.
It was incredible then and it’s still an amazing car to drive, engineered to deliver a thrilling driving experience and without doubt one of the best hot hatches in the world.
Even so the Type-R’s days are probably numbered as the world moves with increasing speed towards an electric future where all cars will be lightning quick.
Think about that for a moment.
STYLING
Type-R is priced from $72,600. That’s a national driveaway price and Honda says no negotiations will be entered into. It’s also $12,000 or so more than the previous Type-R by the time you add in on-road costs.
You can place your order now, but there’s just one hitch. Even at this price, you could find yourself at the end of a rather long waiting list that now stretches out to more than two years. As such we count ourselves lucky to be getting a drive now.
Remarkably, our test vehicle is finished in the same Sonic Grey colour as the previous Type-R that we drove. But if that sounds a bit drab there’s also Rally Red, Crystal Black and Championship White from which to choose.
A colleague prefers the black, but we reckon grey is the perfect foil for the red and black highlights, of which there are many.
At 4606mm new Type-R is 37mm longer, 15mm wider and 13mm lower than the car it replaces, while the wheelbase is 35mm longer.
And at a kerb weight of 1429kg weight-saving devices include an aluminium bonnet which is 43 per cent lighter, a resin boot lid is 20 per cent lighter and smaller wheels reduce unsprung mass by a significant 2.8kg at each corner.
At first sight the latest Type-R looks similar yet different to the model it replaces, with seating for four, a good-sized boot and tyre repair kit in lieu of a spare.
A couple of cupholders are built into the centre of the back seat and while it is quite roomy, rear seat passengers could find it a little claustrophobic, especially with no air vents.
The tail lights are first point of difference, in keeping with the styling of the latest Civic and while the triple signature exhausts remain, the rear spoiler is perhaps a trifle smaller.
Down the front the fascia is similar but different, while the air intake has moved further forward on the bonnet.
The black wheels look pretty much the same, but the pinstripe has gone and if you look closely, you’ll see they are now 19s instead of 20s, but wear wider tyres.
Michelin Pilot Sports, they are an impressive 265 x 30 in dimension, increasing the car’s footprint on the road (and presumably grip).
Last time around they were Continentals.
The brakes are from Brembo again, ventilated at front and solid at the rear.
The 350mm front discs are equipped with Brembo four-piston aluminium calipers.
The rears are 305mm in size.
Moving inside, the cabin is at once familiar but different too.
The deep sports buckets would do a Ferrari proud, finished in bright vermilion red, with red seatbelts and foot well trim and other red highlights to match, including red ambient lighting.
The chunky steering wheel has lost some of its red, but is now trimmed in suede leather.
Still not sure whether we like the feel and worry it might stick to some driving gloves.
A metal shifter and foot pedals complete the picture.
Technology has of course moved on and a touchscreen now perches atop the dash, with a digital display replacing the previous analogue instrument cluster.
Standard equipment includes ‘suede-style’ fabric (ie fake), two-zone climate air, manual seat adjustment, LED head and tail lights, auto lights and wipers, auto dimming mirror, front and rear parking sensors, radar cruise control, adaptive suspension and a limited slip front diff.
There’s also a comprehensive data logging system for tracking the car, with expanded capability that displays all sorts of info like cornering G-force.
Civic Type-R is covered by a five-year warranty, five-year roadside assistance and five-year capped price servicing, with free map updates for five years and a five-year subscription to on-line services.
Service is due every 12 months or 10,000km.
INFOTAINMENT
A 9.0-inch Advanced Display Audio touchscreen has been designed to minimise driver distraction, with hard buttons and customisable shortcuts to use functions and audio sources more often.
The system features Bluetooth, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, wireless phone charger, plus 12 volt and 2 x USB-A ports.
No mention of a brand or power output for the eight-speaker audio, suggesting it is not worth talking about.
The previous one put out 160 watts.
ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS
The previous model produced 228kW of power at 6500 rpm and 400Nm of torque from 2500 rpm, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds and using 8.8L/100km.
Changes to the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine up those figures to 235kW of power and 420Nm of torque, the latter from 2600 revs this time.
They’re not huge gains but combined with a long list of refinements, promise even higher levels of performance than before.
The dash from 0-100km/h has been trimmed to just 5.2 seconds and it uses 9.8L/100km, but seriously who cares?
The turbocharged engine is paired with a smooth, easy-to-use, quick-shifting six-speed manual transmission with automatic rev-matching.
Topped with a solid aluminium shift knob, it has been engineered to deliver a crisp change action with very low internal friction.
Drive is to the front wheels through a limited slip diff.
SAFETY
Although the car has not been tested for safety, the safety fit out is extensive, with 10 airbags, a 360-degree reverse camera, two child seat anchor points and a body structure that has been optimised for safety.
The Honda Sensing safety system includes Blind Spot Monitor, Drive Attention Monitor, Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), High Beam Support System (HBSS) and Traffic Sign Recognition System (TSR).
It’s difficult to award points for safety without a means of quantifying them.
DRIVING
You can see from the figures that the latest Civic Type-R offers a little more power and torque, but this is only a small part of the story.
The big improvement is in the body which is significantly more rigid, delivering improved dynamics and refinement.
A helical-type limited-slip diff minimises wheel spin, allowing the vehicle to accelerate harder on surfaces with uneven traction.
There are four drive modes as well as with adjustable suspension: Comfort, Sport, +R and a new Individual mode.
An active exhaust valve changes the pitch of the engine depending on mode, but is not loud enough.
The digital instrument cluster reflects the drive mode you chose, with a race style look in +R that prioritises revs and the current gear, with a string of LEDs allowing the driver to time the change up as you near the 7000 redline.
Talk about torque.
In most sports models you spend the time changing from second to third and back again in corner-to-corner twisties, but in the Type-R the zone moves up to third and fourth, even reaching fifth on longer straights.
An upgraded Electric Power Steering (EPS) system delivers pin-sharp steering, with a stiffer torsion bar and improved software control resolution to enhance steering feel and control.
Steering weight is adjustable too in settings.
The trick for getting the most comfortable, satisfying result is to put it in the new Individual mode, tick all the +R settings then switch the suspension to Comfort which stops the car from crashing through potholes.
And here’s the good bit, the car remembers and retains the drive mode settings between starts.
Grip is phenomenal and the car remains remarkably settled over undulations.
At one point we thought we’d blown a tyre after it crashed through a large pothole, but it survived unscathed.
On the downside tyre noise ramps up quickly when moving from smooth to coarse bitumen.
The Brembos are exceptional and will stand the car on its front wheels if asked to.
All in all, the Type-R is a fantastic car to drive.
Rated at 8.9L/100km, we were getting 9.3L/100km after close to 400km.
But this dropped to just 6.5L on an easy, sixth gear run down the motorway which suggests it will be economical over longer distances.
SUMMING UP
Sure, it’s expensive, but as they say – you get what you pay for.
The Civic Type-R has been refined in every possible way, a work of love that is a testament to Honda’s savvy engineers.
It’s a rip snorter of a car to drive, just as happy to go shopping as it is to blast around a race track, a genuinely thrilling car to drive that is well worth the wait.
The competitors could be faster on paper, but remember this is the car that holds the record for a front-wheel drive production vehicle at the famous Nurburgring race circuit. Enough said?
