Autocar Long term report Type R

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/our-cars/honda-civic-type-r-long-term-test-review

More advanced long term report from Autoexpress :http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/honda/civic/94150/long-term-test-review-honda-civic-type-r

 

Mixed with a bit of track fun!

Edited 1 February, 201610 yr by vrskeith

Topgear drag race Type R v Golfhttp://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-drag-races-5-honda-civic-type-r-vs-vw-golf-r R

Top Gear long term test very mixed. Reviewer would be quite happy for it to go back

Type R against the big boys,on dry track.

Edited 15 February, 201610 yr by vrskeith

Type R is excellent on track. Just seems it's not that great on the road where you actually drive it.

Could be an interesting development if Honda go down this route.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/synchro-motorsport-reveals-one-honda-civic-tourer-type-r

May be a not so in your face version. Who knows?

Edited 4 March, 201610 yr by vrskeith

Had a go of one for about an hour. Loved it, loads of grip, power wise only a bit more than what I have but is longer geared than the vRS. Even in R mode it's fine. The suspension and diff is fantastic when you push them.

The suspension and diff is fantastic when you push them.

 

That's what all the reviews say. But then they also say when you are just commuting to work or taking the family out the ride and compliance is very poor compared to the Golf R / S3 / Focus RS etc.

 

An hours test drive pushing it would be great but did you get chance to take it easy. Could could you live with it as a daily drive?

 

Top Gear's long term test reviewer actually said he'd be happy when it went back to Honda as the ride is that bad.

 

Lee

That's what all the reviews say. But then they also say when you are just commuting to work or taking the family out the ride and compliance is very poor compared to the Golf R / S3 / Focus RS etc.

An hours test drive pushing it would be great but did you get chance to take it easy. Could could you live with it as a daily drive?

Top Gear's long term test reviewer actually said he'd be happy when it went back to Honda as the ride is that bad.

Lee

Some journos testing on European roads in the Focus RS , have questioned how good it will ride on UK roads,I recall from video reviews.

Honda Type R are noticeable by their absence around me in Wiltshire. (Hondas manufacturing/ design UK base) Honda must be taking a financial hit, as not really competitive on their financial packages on New. They also seem to be holding demo an or used at an artifically high level.

Are they selling more of their production outside of UK?

There's quite a few round by me, more so than the golf R

Spent the whole of last week working at a place next to a Crispy Crème (went into one for the first time last week too.....OMG! how did I miss out on this) and I saw lots and lots of Golf Rs and Imprezas, one A45 but no RS3s or Honda Rs. Obviously the place was rammed with Barryboy hatchbacks.

Only seen 1 new Type R on the road and I do 25k miles a year.

 

Lee

Must admit not seen a single Type R in the flesh on a UK road, except the one I sat in at my local Honda dealer.

They are rare.

Spent the whole of last week working at a place next to a Crispy Crème (went into one for the first time last week too.....OMG! how did I miss out on this) and I saw lots and lots of Golf Rs and Imprezas, one A45 but no RS3s or Honda Rs. Obviously the place was rammed with Barryboy hatchbacks.

And one M135i?

And one M135i?

Nope   As I said, I was working next door and I'm not quite that old that I can't walk :p That's why I went into one too, as they won't let me walk around the drive through bit making "brum brum" noises.....spoilsports :(

That's what all the reviews say. But then they also say when you are just commuting to work or taking the family out the ride and compliance is very poor compared to the Golf R / S3 / Focus RS etc.

 

An hours test drive pushing it would be great but did you get chance to take it easy. Could could you live with it as a daily drive?

 

Top Gear's long term test reviewer actually said he'd be happy when it went back to Honda as the ride is that bad.

 

Lee

 

I had it an hour and wasn't a solid hour of pushing hard. Lots of it was in traffic on normal roads. The switch between R and normal is a button press. I found it perfectly acceptable in either mode and could easily live with it. The road I was on had it's fair share of rough sections and potholes. Seen a lot saying R mode is "too extreme" of UK roads but I didn't think so. I'm running Bilsteins and Eibachs and was similar, albeit a bit harder than mine. To say it's very poor is a bit much tbh. It's been designed to be more hardcore and more niche which is why it appeals more to me. It's a car I'd enjoy trying to learn how to get the most out of it and it would reward you for it. Easy enough to take it to 8 tenths but that last bit is the fun part to get to. One of the quickest cars I've driven at corner exit. Just buckets of grip. Top Gear's review says Honda said 0-62mph takes 5.7 seconds and they were doing 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds and 100mph in 11.2 seconds. I know it's not all about that but it's impressive for a FWD car. The fact not many are about also appeals but this is partly Honda's fault as they could push it more. They do run the Type-R as such in BTCC and with Halfords livery again it may get noticed more.

 

One thing I noticed is a few journo's mentioning it being hard on the road, although quite a few say in normal mode it's good, very few said the same for the Megane RS which in many ways is the same as this. Built to go fast round that road in Germany. Driven one of those and that really is hard. Plus being 3dr isn't practical and has a reliability question mark on it.

 

It's not a Golf R or an S3 and I'm glad it isn't. It's a hardcore hatchback. The other two are designed to be more forgiving but this is in no way unacceptable. My brothers Swift Sport is harder and less refined than this. I quite like the idea for R mode to be used for special occasions when the road is good and out for a Sunday morning blast. It's only downsides are such could possibly be ultimate tuning potential as we all know how tunable the Golf R engine is and with 4wd should take it. The tyres it runs, Continental Contact Sport 6's are expensive and don't last long, but then Conti's never do. Some went onto the Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 3's which I run on the vRS and are great. Also think the exhaust could be a bit louder given how loud the rest of the car is.

Edited 28 March, 201610 yr by MartynVRS

Latest Long-term report from Autoexpress:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/honda/civic/94150/long-term-test-review-honda-civic-type-r

Saw one in Edinburgh in the flesh, sounded good and looks more detailed than in pictures

If you want to try one more than you can with a Dealership Demonstrator maybe try a Knockhill Experience.

http://experiences.knockhill.com/new-honda-civic-type-r

http://experiences.knockhill.com/honda-civic-type-r-preformance-driving-course

Edited 7 April, 201610 yr by GoneOffSKi

Honda are definitely doing an Audi by jacking up sale price of demo /used on the Type R similar to the RS3.

Visibly , remembering you can't avoid seeing one, I haven't seen one in the last month and similarly can say that of the RS3

Edited 9 April, 201610 yr by vrskeith

Someone down the road from me changed a Focus RS in Lime Green for a new Type in Blue, very smartly turned out and easily spotted.

There are a few i see around Tayside in white and red and much less obvious.

 

As to RS3's i see a fair few around Scotland in various colours other than Grey which i have only seen a couple.

The most Hot Hatches i see around  are are Audi S3's.

The GT ones are a little more but the ones to have as they have all the options. You could also get a red kit or a carbon kit. If you find an ex demo with the carbon bits it could be a bit of a bargain.

Also a few have tried to tune and with a generic map and a down pipe brings these up to 375bhp with lots more to come. The one thing I'd like to hold onto is hot hatches staying front wheel drive. Anything with 4wd is hyper hatch territory. The Type-R is probably as far as they'll go with FWD I just hope some manufacturers remember light is good too. A Honda S660 with 150bhp would be nice. Completely the opposite to modern hot hatches with power but I miss working a car hard too. It's great fun getting every last drop of performance out of a "slower" hot hatch. I never liked 306 GTi-6's until I run one for 3 months. Loved it by the end.

Edited 26 April, 201610 yr by MartynVRS

Future development for the Type R 2017, less in your face styling  :http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/honda/civic/96563/new-2017-honda-civic-type-r-is-taking-shape

Edited 3 August, 20169 yr by vrskeith

^^^ If it goes out looking like that, it'll be an improvement and could attract an older driver IMO.