Honda Civic Type R 2.0 i-VTEC Review: Racing Redefined

So this car was confusing to begin with. Honda was caught in a game of tug-of-war between the purists and the daily drivers who wanted some of the action as well. But it has done a good job with this diluted, non-alcoholic beer of a car.

The noise levels allow regular conversations in the cabin, the ride won’t crack the eggs, or your spine, and most importantly, it handles and grips around the bends with an amazing amount of tenacity and instills in you a sense of strong attraction for any challenging corners.

Mind you, this car spent a lot of its time being set up for the British roads. And a lot of those roads which Honda expects this Civic to be driven on aren’t exactly straight.

On top of lots of extra stiffening done to its chassis, making it one of the stiffest structures in the C-segment of cars, its ride height has been lowered by 15mm and the rear track width is 20mm more than the five-door Civic.

All that basically means that it is more controllable on the limit while the tyres are about to squeal in protest.

So it does seem like Honda isn’t lying about having paid a tremendous amount of attention to the fans when they developed this car. It is less noisy, or, looking at it another way, less melodious and, strange to say, more comfortable.

But it is also not what many people, especially purists, would expect the Type-R to be made of.

The thing is, Honda seems to have nailed it spot on with this new Civic, hopefully satisfying those who treasure their back and ears, and catering to an even wider audience. But does that mean the hardcore, boy-racers-at-heart will be left behind?

Well, would you be much use behind an “R” if you cracked your spine?

Here we go. Type R, winding set of roads, wheels spinning, oh, whats that? 8000rpm?

It seems then, I emerged from the cockpit in the same manner and condition as when I stepped in, and not because I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to drive.

In that short timespan of 30 minutes, I was able to coax the car through many narrow roads and bends alike, each conquered with screeching tyres and an equally screechy writer in the passenger's seat.

Its almost mind numbingly smooth, this new "R". First through forth enables extremely rapid shifting action, while the last two gears take a little getting used to due to the reverse gear being on the right hand side and down

Three figure speeds are reached, and breached without one's knowledge, save from the huge speed readouts in your direct line of sight, while heel and toe downshifts are accomplished with mind boggling ease.

When everything comes to a stop, you can't help but think - "Jesus, what did they do to it?"

So there you have it - the new Honda Civic Type R. Not as raw as a DC2 Integra or an EG series Civic, but unbelievably refined, and unbelievably, still fast.

I like it.

Credits: Text by Andy Hum. Photos by Amery Reuben