- Week-long test of the Honda Civic Type R
- FWD hot hatch is being killed off (as we know it…)
- Lives up to its billing as one of the finest driver’s cars ever created
- Lease a Honda Civic Type R now, while you still can
We spent a week living with the condemned Honda Civic Type R - and here’s everything you need to know about leasing one.
So, first thing’s first, the car you see before you is going the way of the dodo.
Back in June this year, Honda announced that sales of its legendary front-wheel drive hot hatchback would soon ‘conclude’, with the current ‘FL5’ model being the last of its breed.
In a bid to stem the tears of countless petrolheads, Honda announced a new ‘Ultimate Edition’ (below), which comes with bespoke decals as well as a carbon fibre detailing.
But this did little to mask the fact that one of the most iconic hot hatches of all time was being killed off due to increasingly stringent emissions regulations.
Honda hasn’t ruled out an electric Type R, but we’re (arguably) more likely to see a hybrid version in the future, as we’ve seen with the controversial BMW M5.
Either way, the demise of the Type R as we know it marks the end of an era and we weren’t going to let the Type R ride off into the distance without one last blast.
We pointed it at the sinuous roads of North Wales and reassessed what makes this car so compelling.
Here’s 5 essential things to know about the Honda Civic Type R:
Honda Civic Type R: Engine and power output
The latest version of the Honda Civic Type R has meant business since its launch in 2023.
It’s officially the quickest front-wheel drive car to lap Germany’s infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife race track, doing it in a time of 7:44.8 back in 2023 and ousting the Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R (also now discontinued) from its perch at the top.
The other cool thing to note here is that the car that blasted the ‘Ring was pretty much the same as the production car you can lease, right down to the Michelin Pilot Sport tyres that come as standard.
What gives the Type R its oomph is a turbocharged 2.0-litre VTEC petrol engine that develops 329 PS and 420 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes place in 5.4 seconds.
What does that engine actually feel like in real life driving scenarios?
In the world of quick, budget EVs (like the MG4 EV XPOWER, which bolts from 0-62 mph in 3.8 seconds), the Type R’s initial burst of speed doesn’t feel scarily rapid, but it’s more than quick enough. Once the Type R is on the move, however, acceleration up to motorway speeds go by in the absolute blink of an eye.
The standard-issue helical Limited-Slip Differential (LSD) also ensures the Type R never gets bent out of shape, proving adept at eliminating any threat of torque steer.
How does the power of the Honda Civic Type R compare to rivals? Here’s a quick overview:
- VW Golf GTI Clubsport: Power: 300 PS, 0-62 mph: 5.6 secs
- VW Golf R: Power: 333 PS, 0-62 mph: 4.6 secs
- BMW M135 x Drive: Power: 300 PS, 0-62 mph: 4.9 secs
- Toyota GR Yaris: Power: 280 PS, 0-62 mph: 5.2 secs
- CUPRA Leon VZ3: Power: 300 PS, 0-62 mph: 5.7 secs
Honda Civic Type R: The handling is sublime, as you’d expect
During our week-long sojourn with the Type R, we charted a course to the mountainous roads of North Wales.
At the top of the winding Horseshoe Pass near Llangollen sits the iconic Ponderosa Cafe, once a bustling hub for car and motorcycle enthusiasts (if you’re a petrolhead, you’ll be aware of it) but which has now shuttered its doors after almost five decades in business.
As we watched the sun dip below the mountain pass while parked outside the now empty eatery, it wasn’t hard to draw parallels with the Type R.
Times change, eras end.
And to ensure we put nostalgia in the rear view mirror, we pulled away and got stuck into the miles of twisting Tarmac that surrounds the Ponderosa.
We knew the Civic Type R was going to be good, but not this good. The driving experience is as close to perfect as you’ll get in a car of this ilk, with adaptive dampers working their magic and the massive Brembo brakes at the front throwing on the anchors whenever necessary.
Part of the Honda Civic Type R’s charm is in its simplicity.
Yes, there’s a ‘LogR’ button in the dash that’ll give you intricate details about performance, from the G force to the boost pressure. It’ll also rate your driving behaviour and give it a score (here’s hoping the good people in the Honda press office don’t check mine…).
Yet there are, essentially, just three drive modes to choose from; Comfort, Sport and +R, as well as the scope for an Individual setting.
Those modes adjust the firmness of the adaptive dampers and weight of the steering accordingly for a more engaging experience.
Each has its merits, but what we would say is that the +R is a tad firm for everyday driving (more on that below) and also makes the Active Sound Control (aka, the fake engine noise that’s piped into the cabin) much more noticeable.
It’s a controversial bit of tech, and one that you’ll need to assess yourself.
What you really need to know is that switching between drive modes has no appreciable effect on the actual, real noise coming out of the distinctive triple exhaust at the back - which is gorgeous (not too loud, not too quiet) whatever mode you happen to be in.
Honda Civic Type R: The interior (especially the gear stick) is a showstopper
Unlike scores of its rivals, the Honda Civic Type R is only available with a manual six-speed gearbox. And, as others have pointed out, it’s an absolute joy.
Your left hand will sit on a compact, machined aluminium gear stick that may well spark a new fetish for metal.
The gearbox itself is precise, slick and responsive, with a lovely clunk as you row through the gears.
Did that aluminium gear knob get red hot during the heatwave in which we tested the Type R? A bit, yeah, but we’ll quickly let it off for being so damned fine in the first place.
The other BIG Honda Civic Type R party piece is its rev matching, which blips the throttle during downshifts to match the engine speed with the lower gear you’re selecting.
No need to be a heel-and-toe expert, then, and another reason why the Honda Civic Type R is really good at suffering fools.
Again, the rev matching is most noticeable (and loud) in the Sport and +R modes.
Besides the gearstick, the rest of the Civic Type R’s interior is a showstopper. Bright red bucket seats, red carpets, and Alcantara upholstery make the cabin a place you’d genuinely want to live in.
The seats themselves are ridiculously comfy during long distance blats while also providing all the lateral support you’d ever need.
Continuing the general theme of the Civic Type R, the interior itself is also unashamedly old-skool.
A 9-touchscreen isn’t overly massive and is complemented by a 10.2-inch digital cockpit. There are tactile knobs and buttons everywhere you look, including the backlit metal rotary dials for the climate control.
And you also get wireless phone charging, too, along with the usual suite of driver assistance and safety tech, including adaptive cruise control.
We struggled to get our (admittedly decrepit) mobile phone to sync with the Android Auto, but it’s a minor gripe.
Honda Civic Type R: Surprisingly comfortable, if you want it to be, and also practical
As we’ve explained above, there are three drive modes to enjoy with the Honda Civic Type R.
And for when you’re not unleashing your inner hooligan, ‘Comfort’ mode is where you might find yourself for a good majority of the time.
As the name suggests, it really does offer a level of serenity that’s completely at odds with the car itself.
The adaptive dampers dial it down to offer a ride quality that’ll soak up potholes without rattling your fillings out and road noise is adequately subdued in the cabin, too.
As an everyday driver, the Civic Type R makes a compelling case for itself.
And then there’s the massive 410-litre boot - the same as you get with the bog standard Honda Civic.
It’s more than the 381 litres you get with the regular VW Golf - and a feature that you might use to convince yourself you’re leasing a sensible family car, and not something that’ll return around 28 mpg during normal driving.
Honda Civic Type R FL5: You might be torn between this and the more in-your-face Type R FK8 that preceded it
When you drive a Honda Civic Type R, people will want to talk to you. And that includes when you’re stopped at traffic lights.
And what a lot of folks told us during our week with the latest ‘FL5’ model is that they preferred the old version - the one known as the FK8 (below)
The Type R FK8 wasn’t faster or more powerful than the one we have now (it developed 316 hp and 400 Nm of torque) but what the FK8 did have was exterior styling that’d take your eye out, complete with an angular, dual-plane rear wing and aggressive body kit.
The FL5’s design, on the other hand, is much more subdued and grown up.
Is that a good thing when you’re leasing a car that eats racetracks for breakfast, or do you actually want something a bit shoutier?
That’s up to you to decide, but in our eyes the styling on the latest car is bang on; exciting enough without making you look like a hoodlum.
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