Much to our excitement, we recently got our hands on a Honda Civic Type R for a six-month long term test.
Now you may be already aware that Honda has stopped production of Type R models like the one we’ve got and an all-new Type R, based on the latest 2017 Civic hatchback, is on its way. Despite this, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited and intrigued about the arrival of our latest long-termer.
This browser does not support the video element.
For one thing, well… it’s a hot hatch! And it’s a hot hatch with a proud history and iconic status. The Honda Civic Type R has a strong fanbase and this particular FK2 generation of the hot hatch has proven a hit. We were very impressed when we first drove the Type R a couple of years ago and it has gone down very well with plenty of other critics as well as hot hatch fans in general.
With plenty of giddy anticipation surrounding the next Type R coming later this year, interest in the outgoing Type R is bound to remain strong in years to come.
This incarnation of the Type R will likely be an in-demand and high-valued target in the UK’s used car market for a while. For anyone thinking of trying to get their hands on one of these in the future, there are still plenty of relevant questions that can be asked regarding owning one.
Quite a few performance-focused cars, whether they are bought new or used, are only used by their owners on certain occasions. But one of the main appeals behind hot hatches is that since they are based on more ‘mundane’ superminis and family hatchbacks, they usually have decent practicality too.
Anyone who buys a Type R is likely to have it as their only car so questions regarding how it handles more ‘everyday’ activities are just as relevant as assessing its pace and handling.
With that in mind, this particular long term report is going to focus on how the Honda Civic Type R performs when dealing with certain everyday scenarios millions of motorists undertake in their cars. Does the Type R feel easy to live with or do its sporty characteristics prove an irritant over time?
Driving in a city
When you think of driving a Type R then the first thing you’ll probably imagine is taking the Honda to your favourite countryside route for a fast, aggressive and fun experience. But if you’re going to own a Type R and use it as an everyday car, then those sorts of roads are only going to make up a portion of your driving experiences.
So what’s the Type R like to drive when you’re far away from the country roads and slap bang in the middle of a tight and twisty urban city instead?
Well aside from the low, well-planted ride, heavy steering and the distinctly deep grumble from the engine, driving a Type R in a city is pretty much what you’d expect if you drove a standard Civic or any other family hatchback through town.
It negotiates slow, tight corners with ease and visibility through the windscreen and side windows is absolutely fine. While the ride and sporty bumper are low, speed bumps are still simple enough to negotiate, if not particularly comfortable to go over.
Driving on the motorway
Whereas ‘ordinary’ family hatchbacks and luxury saloons excel at making long distance travel on motorway lanes an easy and relaxing experience, cars in other categories can prove somewhat irritating in this scenario, often because of a lack refinement.
The Type R is of course designed for enthusiastic driving on appropriate roads and track days so it’s set up is incredibly stiff, which creates concerns about both comfort and refinement – two of the things most desired on motorway trips.
But considering how stiff the suspension is, the ride is not as rough or as ungainly as you might fear and motorway roads are usually smooth anyway. The comfortable deep bucket seats in the thing no doubt help in this regard. We’ve driven hot hatches and other performance cars much rougher than the Type R.
Yes, the car lets in a lot more noise in the cabin than a ‘normal’ Civic, and this could get tiresome on lengthy journeys. But it is not exactly deafening either, you don’t have to set the radio’s volume that high to hear it clearly while travelling on the motorway.
Driving in stop-start traffic
If you use a car for travelling to work, shopping or visiting somewhere that’s far away, then having to deal with heavy, slow traffic is pretty much inevitable. It’s also an area where performance-focused cars can struggle with in terms of user-friendliness and the Type R does have some issues here to be considered.
On the plus side, the Type R does come with stop-start engine technology and the short and snappy gear change is handy at adapting to the constant speed changes one endures while negotiating heavy traffic.
However, some of the car’s controls feel very weighty, especially the steering and pedals, so the physical effort required to use them effectively is impossible to ignore. This is not a problem when driving along a clear, quick road and the feel of the controls is in fact part of the Type R’s driving appeal.
But when you’re negotiating slow stop-start traffic, a lot of work is done with the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals in a small space of time. The weighty nature of these pedals means your feet and legs can get tired or even sore while using them in the way you tend to in traffic jams.
Supermarket trips
Though it’s not exactly the most inconspicuous of choices, the Type R is well equipped for a trip to the shops even on a busy day.
Some may be concerned that the rear spoiler will prove a hindrance to visibility at the back, plus the view is further affected by the design of the Civic’s split tailgate screen.
The rear view is certainly limited but it’s not what we’d call hopeless either and any concerns about reverse parking are eased by the parking aids you get if, like ours, your Type R is in the GT specification.
With the GT model, you get front and rear parking sensors as well as a rear parking camera as standard features. These are certainly welcome inclusions when you’ve got a low-slung sporty bumper and a sizeable diffuser attached to your car.
With these and the sizeable mirrors onboard, reversing into somewhere should prove as straightforward as it would in any more everyday family hatchback, albeit with heavier controls.
If there’s a kerb or some kind of object low to the ground nearby, then you might get a bit nervous about scraping the low front bumper with it. But parking bays outside places like supermarkets should still prove straightforward enough in the Type R and the sizeable boot is just as practical as the regular Civic it’s based on.
Speaking of the boot though, it’s worth pointing out that the regular Civic of this generation had tip-up ‘Magic’ seats which can easily fold over, lift up and lock into place in one smooth action. These however are removed from the Type R to save weight and there’s no variable-height boot floor either.
But the rear bench still folds 60/40 to give you a satisfyingly flat boot and total boot capacity is unaffected compared to the regular Civic (at 487 litres).
Having kids in the back seats
Since its based on a popular family hatchback the Type R should in theory at least be similarly capable as family transport. While the cabin itself hasn’t shrunk in size, some of the changes of features in the car do alter the car’s overall practicality.
As mentioned earlier, the flexible Magic seats at the rear are gone and on top of that the middle seat has been removed too. You might think there’s enough space for a small child between the two seats but there’s no seatbelt or child seat anchor point to make use of here. The two proper rear seats at the back do come with ISOFIX mountings though.
The door pockets for rear passengers are unimpressively small and not as good as those you find at the front, but leg and head room is decent, especially for kids. Whereas bucket seats can have a severe impact on the rear legroom of other cars, this is happily not much of an issue in the Type R.