With the latest Civic Type R, Honda ups the hot hatch ante yet again

Don’t flip ahead. We know you really just want to jump to the lap time on the newest Honda Civic Type R, but trust us: Take the ride first.

Yeah, lap times are important and, in the case of the most recent iteration of the hottest Civic, impressive, but they don’t tell the whole story. So before you peek at …

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Glad to hear Honda has, somehow, managed to make the Civic Type R even better than the last one.

I did not drive the Type R on the track but on the road it was a really good daily driver. If I had to go out and buy a new car today it would be hard for me not to buy one. 

honda fanboii forever 

GR is much more raw and better imho

1. Lap times aside, can you comment on how this car compares to the Elantra N? What are the big differences in performance driving and daily driving?

2. Do we have a sense of what it actually costs to buy one of these? Is Honda working on ramping up production to meet demand? 

Saw my first example in person last week. It looks much classier than the previous generation. I really wish the hood extended all the way to the grille - that horizontal hood shut line across the front is extremely noticeable on that white car and it really stood out in person. Some kind of gold/bronze wheels on the one I saw, that was a massive improvement over the stock black ones. 

I was in my 924, which is a very small car. I parked between the Civic and a Charger. The Civic looked almost as big as the Charger, which surprised me more than it probably should have. 

In reply to CrashDummy :

I test drove the new Type R and went with an Elantra N. I am very happy with my decision. I'll share some thoughts.

What I liked more about the type R: the shifter, the engine produced power more effortlessly, the hatch (for dog transport). 
 

What I didn't like about the type R: the red color seats are painfully loud, I think it looks like a 15 year old picked them, especially since the back don't match. I think they would age poorly. The suspension is too hard on its softest setting, making it unlivable. I don't like the thought of buying a car knowing that I have to replace a suspension controller to get livable ride. The car did not seem as customizable for drive settings. I did not think it was worth anywhere near the 56k that the dealer negotiated down to - at that price point I can get a much nicer car. 
 

What I liked about the Elantra N: The rear end felt more playful, it has tons of rear seat room. More compliant suspension, but still get very hard in hardest setting (maybe too hard for optimum lap times). Seems overall like a better daily driver. The warranty, and that the owner's manual discusses track setup. I can't think of a better value car. It's not nearly as flashy. More customizable drive settings. 
 

What I don't like about the Elantra N: It has some weird issue that makes it extremely difficult to drive off smoothly in 1st gear. I, and multiple experienced manual transmission drivers, have been unable to do it. You pretty much need to keep the revs up or it will stall. It doesn't have a garage door opener. The exhaust is too loud even on the quietest setting. Octane learning, not a hatch. Less aftermarket support (difficulty finding aftermarket wheels with the correct offset), smaller community tracking it. 

Seems like a fantastic hot hatch.......but in my area one dealer wanted ~78K and the cheapest dealer had two, both priced around $62K. For me, once we start talking about that amount of money I'll spend that much plus whatever I need to get into the next class sports car. I do want a real test drive though!

Squozen ?

The styling is much less JDM boy-racer than the previous versions, so I really like the more curvy-subtle approach in this go around.  Prices? Well....if the dealers are wanting way over sticker, I would be looking at alternatives too.  Even higher end used cars as well, especially between $60K-$70K.  Hmmm, what else could I buy for that much money? 

300zxfreak said:

Squozen ?

Perfectly cromulent word.

Per internet, 3188 pounds.  Not bad actually.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Cromulent ? Are we watching too many episodes of The Simpsons ??

I'll see how well I can pilot mine in my first autocross outing in it at the challenge on Saturday. 

I'm almost 62 years old and I should be looking at Town Cars or De Villes but those little Civics and Integras get me all squirmy in my seat. 

I like the newer CTR.  Wish you could choose black for the front seats and they were heated.  With ADM added, price is a big issue, as at that point I'd much rather buy an Audi RS3.

I almost bought a white one earlier this week. I'm going to look at the Acura version when I can find one. I seriously love these cars.

Knowing that a type r is almost as fast as a 997 around The Firm isn't useful information, but it certainly feels interesting.

Finally found the picture of the Type R and the Charger, along with my dainty 924.

I have no clue if I speak for anyone else in this crowd here or not, but for my own part, I refuse to associate with predatory dealers. At the top of the list are every single Honda and Toyota dealer I have ever encountered. Without exception, smarmy business practices, bait and switch, outright lies and BS, and an overtly presented total lack of common decency in business practices are the rules of the day in these places. They go out of their way to find ways to screw their customers. In an industry that lives or dies on repeat purchases it seems to me they would go down a different path with their customers and treat them well in the expectation that will bring them back for their next car. sadly this is not the case.

My personal experience was early last year and I was cross shopping a brz against a Honda Civic SI, cars similar in performance on paper with similar insurance cost and total cost of ownership much the same. What drove me towards the BRZ and not the honda, was the way the dealer network behaved....all of this sticker plus BS that the Honda and toyota dealers were putting forth was not happening at the Subaru dealers for the most part. So it did not take too long to figure out the Honda dealers were just gonna jerk me around, and I received no such poor treatment via Subaru's dealers. So that made the choice of what to buy much simpler. Less BS, honest pricing, and ultimately the lower priced car in real life. THe Honda was cheaper sticker wise but with the dealer add ons the BRZ was the better buy and the cheaper option and arguably the better one.

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

You are a young fella compared to me. I've been driving a GR Corolla for the past year.

In reply to Mezus :

One thing tho,  they've been doing the red seats for 20 plus years, so I don't think it aged poorly, people love it

I missed this article months ago... I'm not going to lie- I'm not terribly happy about GRM staffers telling me about all the new ergonomic changes Honda has made to the Type R. I previously owned an FK8 Type R- I loved that car, but sold it because no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to stop hurting my right knee while driving. I had written off the FL5, thinking it to be just a warmed over variation of the FK8, so I didn't bother, assuming the same ergonomics that hurt my knee before would still be present... life has been relatively financially stable. I haven't really been tempted to buy most new cars for a while now... and you spring THIS on me! I now have an urge to seek one of these unobtainium cars out when I was living a perfectly content life of ignorance. 

While my wallet surely isn't happy with this information, thank you for being one of the only publications that sheds light on specific mechanical changes, including ergonomic changes and how they play out in the real world. 

gearheadE30 said:

Finally found the picture of the Type R and the Charger, along with my dainty 924.

The Civic is as big as the Charger?