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First drive review: Honda Civic Type R

Wednesday, 2 November 2022

The latest and greatest Honda Civic Type R has arrived, and we were among the first to sample it.
There’s no question the new Civic Type R looks better than the old one.
There’s no question the new Civic Type R looks better than the old one.
There’s still a big rear wing, one which produces 900 Newtons of downforce at 200kph.
There’s still a big rear wing, one which produces 900 Newtons of downforce at 200kph.

Alright, I’ll admit it, the new Honda Civic Type R looks far better than the old one, and I am an unapologetic fan of the tenth-gen’s Transformer looks. But where it mattered, that being any road with a series of corners, the outgoing Type R was an absolute standout, regardless of how many wings it had. So while the new one pulls an early lead in the looks department, how does it stack up in the driving? We went to Pukekohe Park Raceway to find out.

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

Starting with the exterior, it’s clear Honda has made a few changes. The overall styling is pulled from the standard Civic, with slim LED headlights connected with a mesh grille and a red Honda badge in the centre.

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The Civic Type R doing what it does best – tearing around a racetrack.
The Civic Type R doing what it does best – tearing around a racetrack.

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Honda’s manual transmission is one of the greats. Maybe even the greatest.
Honda’s manual transmission is one of the greats. Maybe even the greatest.

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The triple exhaust set-up carries over, but it’s louder now thanks to an active valve.
The triple exhaust set-up carries over, but it’s louder now thanks to an active valve.

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The corner foglights of the Civic have been replaced by corner intakes, molding into flared wheel arches filled by 19-inch wheels, designed to look like 20s. There’s a large vent in the bonnet, which helps feed the turbocharged engine beneath and enable better airflow through the nose and is about the only vent you’ll spot. The wheelbase has been lengthened by 35mm for better stability as well.

The seats, which were already great, are even better. Something that kind of goes for the whole car, really...
The seats, which were already great, are even better. Something that kind of goes for the whole car, really...

Around the back is a tasty new rear wing, which was tested at speeds of 270kph to make sure it didn’t flex weirdly, taillights from the standard Civic, and a triple exhaust set-up like the one on the outgoing Type R.

Under the bonnet is the same K20C1 turbocharged four-cylinder that has powered Honda’s hot hatch since 2015. Honda has given the engine some attention, with a more refined turbocharger, tweaked ECU and a lighter flywheel coming amidst other small tweaks.

As a result, the mid-range is improved, along with throttle response and power has risen to 235kW, with torque sitting at 420Nm (up 7kW and 20Nm). These are the same as the US Civic Type R, unfortunately New Zealand doesn’t get the more powerful 243kW engine reserved for Japan.

Considering this is likely the last hot Honda to come with a pure-combustion powertrain, the most power bump makes sense. Don’t need to spend money developing an engine if you’re just going to phase it out, right?

Where did you drive it?

Pukekohe, for what could well end up being the last time as the circuit gets decommissioned for vehicular use next April. It’s a bumpy, challenging circuit, which is quite good for this sort of thing as it represents Kiwi roads a bit better than a buttery smooth racetrack.

We had three generations Type R to sample, the 2015, 2017 and 2022 models, driving oldest to newest. The 2015 FK2 Type R was the first to get the turbo engine, and it felt about as good as you might expect a seven-year old hot hatch to feel. There was a beautifully loud wastegate, a hint of turbo lag before the boost yanked the front wheels to and fro, and delightfully talkative steering.

Next was the lower, wider, faster FK8 (the one that looks like a ten-year-old designed), and in the two years between Honda had tamed the turbo engine and figured out how to best get that power to the road. The FK8 offered a meatier mid-range than the 2015 car, torque vectoring to keep the front wheels in check, an autoblipper for easy downshifts, and retuned suspension.

Finally, it was into the FL5, and it was more evolution rather than revolution. But that’s hardly a bad thing, because evolving the ridiculously good recipe of the FK8 is like evolving a steak with a red wine jus. It’s still a steak, but it’s improved in basically every way.

Somehow, Honda has figured out how to make that transmission even better, allowing ultra-positive shifts between the cogs with minimal effort. While manuals are indeed a dying breed, this one remains a benchmark for pleasure of use.

The engine has even better mid-range than the FK, thanks in part to a smaller, lower inertia turbo, and the freer-flowing exhaust is louder thanks to that active valve.

Stronger brakes keep things in check while wider 265/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber, further adjusted suspension and better torque vectoring maintain healthy amounts of corner speed. While we couldn’t really push the limits on the day, it’s clear this new car will run rings around just about anything else in its bracket.

The real trick of the new Type R is its Individual mode. This lets you customise various parameters of the car, something people were crying for last gen. It means you can have the suspension in Comfort mode and the rest of the package in +R for maximum attack without feeling like you’re inside a pinball machine, a godsend for Pukekohe.

Cabin upgrades include better seats, the vastly improved eleventh-gen Civic infotainment system, red carpets which apparently call back to the FK2 Type R, and rear-seat cupholders (a feature that came from North American demands, believe it or not. All are welcome and appreciated.

The last think I should mention is the price. Honda is asking $69,000, which is almost nice, but there are on-road costs and a Clean Car fee to consider.

What stands out the most?

The styling. No more “All of those wings and vents are functional! It's the fastest front-wheel drive car around the Nurburgring, don’t you know?” It’s such an improvement over the old one that even the most feverish haters will admit it looks good. Or they’ll turn face and say that now it’s too mature, in which case there’s no pleasing them. But the rest of us cultured folk can agree that the new Civic Type R looks brilliant, and its performance is just a cherry on top.

Why would I buy it?

You want the best Civic Type R Honda has ever built and (probably) the final combustion-only Civic Type R. It’s also one of the fastest front-wheel drive cars yet, and a last holdout of the manual transmission.

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

The price is a bit steep, at a $6k jump from the previous model. You might prefer the sheer grip of all-wheel drive, which isn’t a big jump away with the more powerful VW Golf R ($79,990 (Golf, plus $517.70 Clean Car fee) not to mention the longstanding Subaru WRX. Or you might want the accessibility of an automatic transmission, available in the cheaper but less powerful Hyundai i30 N.