Honda Civic Type-R long-term test review
By Nick Trott CAR road test team
Long Term Tests
25 September 2008 12:00
Long-term test goodbye, 20 October 2008.
Twelve months ago RO57 JJV turned up looking like it had arrived from another planet. Three-door Civics were (and still are) a rare sight, and matched to a lustrous ‘Milano’ red paint our Type-R attracted attention like no other hot-hatch. However, judging from the comments below, not all have fallen for the Civic’s styling like us…
After a tortuous running-in period limited to 4000rpm we began to ride the 198 horses found mostly in the i-VTEC zone. Initially the Type-R felt slow – Golf GTIs and Mini Cooper Ss provide much greater shove in the mid-range – however, once the needle whips past 6000rpm the Type-R flies. But you know that, right?
In the real world we discovered that the peaky engine demands a different driving style to its turbocharged rivals. You plan your overtaking manoeuvres further in advance and you ensure that you are always in the right gear on the exit of a corner. Simply put, you can’t rely on torque to pull you out of a tricky scenario because the Type-R has none. Well, not a lot.
The Type-R’s engine demands a disciplined, confident and precise technique from the driver. And we liked that characteristic especially on trackdays where the Type-R’s surefootedness and unglueable (is that a word?) front-end put it among much faster cars. Chasing a 911 at Brands Hatch in the wet, and eventually overtaking it, was a particular highlight. There were times when some of us (well, me) would’ve preferred a little more adjustability from the rear – but this wasn’t one of them…
Our Honda came with the £1000 GT pack (dual-zone climate control, foglights, cruise control, folding mirrors and a refrigerated glovebox). We could’ve done without the sat-nav and phone – a TomTom does it so much better these days – and saved £1400, but overall the Civic was nicely spec'd for its price.
Grumbles? The seats! Arghh! Honda can engineer a walking robot but can’t give us front seats that return to position after entering the rear. The ride is harsh at low speeds, but our car improved with age – especially at higher speeds. What else? Oh, the rear visibility is dire and you can’t dial out from a Bluetooth enabled phone or transfer phone contacts.
Still, none of these were enough to spoil our year with the Type-R. Truly unique among its (mostly turbocharged) competitors; the Civic is fast, fun, reliable, roomy and utterly reliable modern hot- hatchery. Running costs were low too - £133.83 per month on fuel and a splash of oil and that’s it.
We can’t recommend anything else in its price range, and we’d go as far as saying that even if you’ve got the extra £2000 for a Golf GTI, try a Type-R before you buy.
Logbook
Total Mileage 11861 miles
Overall MPG 30.0 mpg
Highs Unique character, engine, handling, gearbox
Lows It's gone!
