The Honda Civic Type R is a super quick hot hatch that’s designed to go as fast as possible on the road – one of the main reasons we decided to get it in for a long-term test. It’s a rival to the Volkswagen Golf R, Audi S3 and the SEAT Leon Cupra. F
The Type R’s turbocharged engine is at the heart of the driving experience – it has 306hp and Honda has billed it as a ‘race car for the road’. It’s designed to go around corners incredibly fast, with lots of grip.
On the inside the Type R is full of racy features, such as an alloy gear knob, metal pedals and lights that tell you when to change up a gear. There’s a ‘+R’ button too, to make the suspension firmer and give the car a more agile feel.
It’s available in two versions – the normal Type R or the Type R GT, which adds a Garmin sat-nav, as well as driver assistance systems such as lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking and traffic sign recognition.
Want to know what the new Type R does better than the old model? Then read our handy guide, and also remember to check out our colours and dimensions guides too.
Honda’s already been spotted testing an all-new model, expected to go on sale in 2017. See the prototype on-track in our dedicated Honda Civic Type R price, specs and release date article or see how the latest Type R Black Edition compares to the standard car.
The Civic Type R’s interior takes the normal Civic’s practicality and adds some nice sporty touches. The race-style seats hug you tightly for fast cornering, and are 20mm lower than in the normal Civic. Good news though – they’re comfortable on long, boring motorway journeys, too.
There are slivers of carbon fibre on the dash, and the steering wheel is trimmed partly in red leather. Tap the +R button to put the car into its sportiest mode and the rev counter glows red – it’s all designed to put you in a racy mood.