2027 Civic Type R Adds Downforce, Heated SeatsHondaThere wasn't much wrong with the Honda Civic Type R that a little more horsepower was going to fix. So, for 2027, Honda has taken the already highly polished hot hatch and fine-tuned it a little further. There's no extra power, no dramatic mechanical overhaul, and certainly no switch away from front-wheel drive. Instead, Honda has fiddled with the suspension, brakes, rev matching, cooling and aerodynamics, while throwing in a few creature comforts for good measure.Perhaps most notably, the price is now $49,990 including destination. For a little perspective, when the mid-engine C8 Corvette arrived for 2020, Chevrolet made a very big deal about its $59,995 starting price. Seven years later, we're now within 10 grand of that figure for a Civic. Still, that remains below the $50,089 average new car price here in America.HondaOf course, there's considerably more to the Type R than that. The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder continues to make 315 hp, sent exclusively to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential. Honda hasn't messed with that recipe, but it has changed quite a bit around it.The most obvious difference is up front, where Honda has redesigned the fascia with a larger grille opening. The company says reducing turbulence increases airflow velocity and improves engine cooling, particularly during sustained track driving. There's also a deeper front splitter that Honda says produces additional downforce, although it hasn't actually told us how much.HondaUnderneath, Honda has retuned the adaptive dampers in +R mode to improve road-following performance while reducing bouncing and impact harshness. In theory, that should keep the body better controlled without simply making the stiffest suspension setting even stiffer.The automatic rev-matching system has also been revised for quicker engine response on downshifts. Honda even went after the brake pedal, adding a yoke spring to the linkage to reduce play and provide what it describes as a more direct feel.HondaNone of these changes are particularly dramatic on their own. Taken together, however, they're indicative of where the Type R is at this point in its development. Honda isn't chasing a big new headline number; it's polishing the little interactions between the driver and a chassis that was already pretty comprehensively engineered. It's almost identical to how Toyota has approached GR Corolla development since its launch.That same philosophy carries into the cabin, although one change probably should have happened a while ago: The Type R's red front buckets are finally heated, complete with three temperature settings. The aluminum shift knob, console trim and door handles now have darker finishes, while there's a new diamond-pattern dash insert, black climate-control knobs and silver door trim. An auto-dimming rearview mirror is also finally standard.HondaTechnology gets a bigger update, with Google built-in, including Maps, Play and Gemini, now coming alongside Alexa. Honda has also fitted two USB-C ports above the existing wireless charger. A new Meteorite Gray Metallic paint color joins Boost Blue Pearl, Sonic Gray Pearl and Championship White, while the engine cover has also been redesigned with styling inspired by earlier Japanese-market Type Rs. The changes arrive as Honda celebrates 30 years since the original Civic Type R appeared in Japan and a decade since Americans officially got their hands on one.HondaAt $48,695 before destination, however, the Type R has also traveled a ways from the relatively attainable performance Civic it once represented. Whether all of the improvements on top of the inherent delights make spending nearly $50,000 for a Civic (before considering dealer markups) easier to swallow is another question entirely.If You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State