Honda’s hardcore hatch is a new high-water mark
Overview
IT IS difficult to write about cars like the Civic Type R because you know that before the first words even land on the page, the end result is going to look like an overexcited teenager wrote it. I’ll do my best to be objective, but when cars are this outstanding it’s difficult to sound neutral.
In recent years, few cars have arrived with more hype or expectation heaped upon them than the Civic Type R. Nissan’s Z and the Toyota GR Corolla probably come close, but Honda’s top-tier hatchback has a mystique behind its badge that gets an enthusiast’s adrenal glands pumped up to bursting point – particularly those who were raised on a diet of Gran Turismo and Best Motoring videos.
Does it deliver? Spoiler alert: absolutely.
But what’s there to get excited about? After all, the new FL5 Civic Type R doesn’t appear to represent a massive step-change over its predecessor, the FK8.
Stylistic differences appear to the be the most substantial, with the FL5 wrapped in smoother sheetmetal, swapping out the stuck-on wheelarch extensions, sharp-edged bodykit and bonnet-mounted NACA duct of the FK8 in favour of a widebody treatment that’s far more subtle (and is formed from stamped steel, not plastic and clip-on fasteners).
Don’t let these photos fool you either – on the street, the Civic Type R’s extra 88mm of width is plainly obvious. There’s no mistaking it for a cooking-grade VTi-LX or Civic Hybrid, in case the prominent rear wing (now on alloy stanchions) and red H badge on the snout didn’t already clue you in.
Under the bonnet, though, some might get the sense that Honda has engaged in some overzealous recycling. The K20C 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder of the FK8 (and also its predecessor the FK2, which never made it to Australia) still sits under a vented aluminium bonnet, hooked up to a six-speed manual and driving the front wheels.
The automatic option and AWD hybrid powertrain that was rumoured in the lead-up to the FL5’s launch is nowhere to be found – even the engine’s plastic engine cover appears to be identical to that of the FK8. The platform might have a tasteful new top hat, but the architecture is the same, too.
And then there’s the price. At $72,600 drive-away, the new Civic Type R is nearly $6000 more than the ultra-exclusive FK8 Civic Type R Limited Edition, and nearly $18,000 more than the ‘vanilla’ 2021 FK8 Type R. Given the mechanical similarities, what are you actually getting for the extra outlay beyond a slick new wrapper?
The format might be familiar, but it’s the details that differ. Though it’s still a front-drive turbo 2.0-litre, the new Type R’s mechanicals have been thoroughly fiddled with to extract an even higher level of performance than before. If you drove the FK8 and thought it was quick, the FL8 will recalibrate your expectations of what “quick” feels like.
For one, that engine. The cosmetic engine cover may be the same but the inlet tract is significantly different, with a new plenum chamber and reshaped plumbing to help the revised turbocharger (new blades help improve boost response) jam more air into the K20C’s cylinders, while new air/fuel computations in the ECU provide more efficient combustion and, thus, power and torque production.
The net result is 7kW more power and 20Nm more torque, but also a fatter curve to both of those charts that improves driveability and overall performance.
The shifter mechanism has also undergone changes to provide a better feel, with more defined gates for greater shift precision and tactility, and a lighter flywheel for faster rev response. Automatic rev-matching is a trick that’s trickled down from the old FK8, but in the FL5 it now works in first gear as well as the other five.
Steering hardware has also been stiffened up, both in the steering column and the tie rod ends, to deliver a profoundly direct connection between the driver’s hands and the front wheels.
Which takes us to probably one of the most transformative aspects of the new Type R: its wheel and tyre package. Wheel size has been trimmed down by an inch to settle at a more sensible 19-inches, while the contact patch is 20mm wider to take tyre sizing to an ultra-fat 265/30R18 at all four corners. More sidewall, more road contact, and shod with grippy Micheln Pilot Sport 4s – these are all good ingredients for a hot hatch.
On the inside, besides the presence of a third pedal and a gear stick, much of the furniture is the same as what you’ll find in a regular Civic. Key exceptions are the seats – up front a pair of thickly-bolstered reclinable buckets, with a unique two-seat bench at the back with integrated centre cupholders – bright red carpets and seatbelts, a strip of sequential LED shift lights above the electronic instrument panel, a Type R build plate in the dash fascia, and a set of performance datalogging pages in the infotainment screen.
Of those, the seats and datalogging pages represent a big step up on what the preceding FK8 provided, with the former giving more lateral support across the shoulders and the latter allowing drivers to analyse key performance metrics without having to interface the car with a smartphone app first.
The changes and upgrades are many and varied, but how do all of these enhancements mesh when the starter button is thumbed and that Red H badge is facing a set of apexes?
Drive impressions
The first advantage becomes apparent before you even reach a fun set of roads. The old FK8 – as enjoyable as it was – was a little too brittle, a little too rabid for true daily driver suitability, but the new FL5 Civic Type R has a rounder and softer edge that suits it surprisingly well to the daily grind.
Credit much of that to the new suspension settings and taller sidewalls. The ride is still firm but there’s now a bit of squish, a smidge of elasticity that goes a long way towards making the Civic Type R a friendlier device on urban streets – when the dampers are set to Comfort, at least. Couple that with the newfound ability to rev-match into first, and this car is actually rather easy to wheel around town for a manual-only hotbox. That’s something that was never really a forte of the old Type R.
Is the tradeoff a reduction in talent when the roads get curvier? Has Honda neutered the Type R in pursuit of pleasing urbanites? Hardly. Not only does the new Type R feel every bit as animalistic as its predecessor, but it’s actually an even greater apex predator.
Drop the clutch and the turbo 2.0-litre doesn’t struggle to break traction on those fat front tyres, with some light axle tramp when all 235kW is called up. Once rolling, traction becomes incredibly hard to compromise when the road is dry – such is the level of grip on offer.
But it still feels remarkably tactile. Some performance cars are somewhat spoiled by an overabundance of mechanical grip, but the Type R provides loads of driver engagement via its ultra-direct steering, precise gearshift and talkative suspension.
Front-drive hot hatches can also suffer from suspension geometry that filters out too much feedback in the pursuit of taming torque steer, but the Type R – which also has plenty of torque-steer-mitigation in its clever semi-strut front suspension – doesn’t fall under that description. There is some torque steer, mind you, but considering this is a car with 420Nm going to just the front axle it’s remarkably easy to deal with.
For the new-generation Type R, Honda has also equipped it with a driver-customisable ‘individual’ drive mode. Like cars from BMW M, AMG and Audi Sport, you can play with settings that suit you and the road ahead best, which is good considering the full-noise Sport+ setting is probably best reserved for a racetrack.
On a deserted alpine road, dialing in the sharpest settings for the powertrain and marrying them with the softest settings for steering weight and suspension provides the best combo, with the Type R’s supple suspension taking care of lumps and bumps while the lighter steering makes it less fatiguing to saw the wheel left and right.
The automatic rev matching has multiple settings as well, though those that prefer to do their own heel-toeing will find deactivating it entirely to be a chore, requiring a deeper dive into settings menus to do so. The good news is the system is so good that few should prefer to drive without it.
When you find the right recipe that suits your driving style, you can revel in what is one of the best fast hatches of our time.
Cornering grip is astonishing, the limits of which are hard to discover unless you foolishly stomp the accelerator with too much steering wound on and summon some power-understeer. The Type R is able to carry so much speed into a corner, its amazingly talented front axle maintaining a hold on the tarmac and its adept multi-link rear suspension tracking behind with impressive stability.
Is that corner’s radius a little tighter than you were expecting? Just turn the wheel even further, for there’s going to be more grip at the front wheels than you were expecting too. From mid-corner start feeding on the power again – by the time the small amount of turbo lag is done and full boost arrives, your front wheels will be straight enough to fully harness the engine’s thrust. If not, the helical limited-slip differential will apportion torque appropriately.
Its rapidity is undeniable, and it would be interesting to match the Type R against AWD machines like the VW Golf R, GR Corolla and Audi RS3 – from the seat of the pants, the Honda feels like it shouldn’t have issues with keeping up if the road isn’t too slick. It definitely feels like it outclasses every other front-drive rival on the market.
Is it perfect? No. The exhaust note lacks drama and decibels, and the engine’s 7000rpm redline feels too low for a Type R (though its mega-fat midrange means revs aren’t really necessary to go fast). In the context of its performance its $72,600 on-the-road cost actually seems fair, however the two-year-plus waiting list is anything but equitable.
As with other scarce metal like the Nissan Z, scalpers are sure to taint the Type R with their greasy fingers.
The Type R delivers massively on the hype though. More than a mere re-hash of familiar mechanicals, the new Type R is a masterclass on how a fast front-driver should be done.
Keyword: 2023 Honda Civic Type R Review