Let’s start with power, where the mildly disappointing word is that American Civic Type R models will only make 315 horsepower at 6,500 rpm. I’m not even mad, 306 horsepower in the last car felt like plenty so 315 should be alright in the new one. Peak torque of 310 lb-ft appears as a very nice plateau from 2,600 to 4,000 rpm, so we’re looking at a fairly broad power band. As with before, Honda’s using the K20C1 engine, a two-liter four-cylinder lump fed an impressive 23.3 psi of boost in this state of tune. Also like the old car, power goes to the ground the proper way, through a six-speed manual gearbox and a helical limited-slip differential as the hot hatch gods intended. Cooling was a little bit of an issue with the old Civic Type R, so Honda’s gone back to the drawing board, increased frontal opening area, thrown in a bigger radiator and paired it with a bigger fan. Fingers crossed that these tweaks will allow for longer track sessions. Curiously, these K20C1 engines will have traveled thousands of miles before American Civic Type Rs make it onto dealer lots. While each odometer should show delivery miles, K20C1 engines are assembled in Ohio, shipped all the way to the Yorii Plant in Japan to be mated with bodies, then the finished cars will be shipped across the Pacific to American dealerships. It’s an unbelievable amount of effort and expense, but the K20C1 is an absolute gem so I’m not surprised Honda’s going to such lengths.
Right, that’s power covered, but what about handling? Well, the last Civic Type R had really quick steering, and the new car’s 11.6:1 steering ratio feels up to the task of continuing that genetic trait. However, the old car’s turning circle the size of Rhode Island hasn’t been exorcised. The new car requires curb-to-curb distance of 39.9 feet, almost five inches more than the last car needed and 2.4 inches more than a Cadillac Escalade requires. Woof. As expected, adaptive dampers are standard, while the new Civic Type R features a 29 mm hollow front anti-roll bar and a 20 mm solid rear anti-roll bar to help keep it flat through the corners. Any performance car is usually only as good as its brakes, and brakes are generally limited by tire performance. To beef up stopping power, Honda has equipped the new Civic Type R with two-piece 13.8-inch front discs , four-piston aluminum front brake calipers, a retuned brake booster, and improved brake cooling that represent a significant overhaul of the braking system. As for tires, Honda’s chosen to employ the benchmark max performance summer tire, the Michelin PS4S, in square 265/30R19 sizing. An extra 0.2 inches of sidewall sounds quite nice for daily driving, while a slightly shorter tire circumference should give some pep back given the new car’s shorter final drive ratio.
As the Civic Type R will be a daily driver for a lot of people, Honda’s amped up the feature content for the latest generation. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard, as does a 12-speaker Bose stereo and wireless charging. There still aren’t heated seats or a heated steering wheel for cold-weather driving, but the rear wiper is said to have a heated zone for cold weather performance. Of all things to heat, this has to be the weirdest. There’s also still no center seat in the back, so the Civic Type R is strictly a four-passenger affair. Other big developments include track telemetry that can be accessed through the infotainment system and confirmation of an actual color palette. Sure, Championship White is iconic, and both Crystal Black Pearl and Sonic Gray Pearl are agreeably neutral, but the Civic Type R is a hot hatch that should be had in good colors. Rallye Red isn’t just nice and bright, it’s a no-cost option, while boisterous Boost Blue Pearl is absolutely my pick of the bunch, Superman interior contrast be damned. [Ed note: I’m ok with the Superman contrast, but I think it’s worth pointing out that it no longer looks like, as I just heard, “a Transformer mid-transformation” in our Autopian Slack (I’ll let you guess who said it). I am looking forward to the CTR stans coming in and defending the way the current one looks. It’s unique! This is a little less so but, also, a little more handsome in my view. – MH]
Between solid specs and a reasonable list of amenities, the new Civic Type R looks properly wicked. While it’ll face stiff competition in the form of the Volkswagen Golf R and Toyota GR Corolla, Honda’s hot hatch has a certain legacy that lets it enjoy loyalty and reverence. Besides, the last one was the best hot hatch I’d driven in ages, so I have fairly high hopes for the new one. Expect pricing to be announced closer to the Civic Type R’s autumn launch. Should performance and pricing prove similar to the last Type R, my bank account would be in serious danger.
Give me a smaller wing that is painted body colour and I think it’s a grand slam.
I was not aware they had managed to make the Civic RWD.
I think the previous gen looked better. The new ones look bland by comparison.
This? I feel nothing. It’s gigantic. It is LARGER and HEAVIER than my accord or prelude. This is an accord imho. It’s not a civic. And 300hp might be impressive for TRACK TESTED BRO and internet bench racing, but it’s too much.
Give me a SMOL BOI with SMOL BOI power that has good haptics. I don’t WANT big power in my daily hot hatches, I want LESS MASS, tossability, and EXPERIENCE. Give me a crazy high redline, great shifter, and awesome suspension. 300hp is boring, you can’t even get into it for more than a few seconds without either going to jail, or potentially killing yourself.
I turned 40 a few months ago so I guess I’m old now but this car sucks. Slow car fast > fast car slow. This thing is a giant heavy turd that has nothing in common with what made Hondas a popular tuning platform to begin with.
I usually pick the S2k he picks something loud, fast… which turns out to be uncontrollable. Id been doing great with the S2k.. till I found the SPOON version of the S2k. They made the car much tighter, quicker and handle that much better…
Then I decided to have a little fun.. and give my SPOON S2k to my 7yr old and Im going to pick a Purple RUF Porsche. Not only was I laughing my ass off the whole time… but it was doing burnouts at the slight touch of the pedal. We still say.. He was comin in HOT and Im doing Burnouts.
Going back to the Spoon S2k… its fantastic, once you figure out its sweetspot. Stay in 2nd, not first and go as fast as you dare in 3rd.. not upshift to 4th (requires plenty of braking). 2nd / 3rd gear is the perfect spot for that car.
Ive also owned a 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th gen Accord in combinations of manuel and or stick. Ive had all kinds of fun… but I stopped with the 8th gen Accord. Too big, too lazy too damn much.
This is a big improvement, but I think it’s got a bit too much of a donk and I’d take the wing off immediately. Yes, I know it’s functional but what percentage of these will see track work? Maybe 10%? You don’t need that ridiculous thing for daily driving.
As I’ve lamented into the void several times, I wish the Japanese manufacturers had some kind of performance automatic for literally any of these cars. The take rate for DSG on the spicy Golfs is roughly half. They sell more automatic 86s than manual by a sizable margin. I know that it’s a HARDCORE car and whatever, but I think offering this, the GRC, and WRX variants with either no auto or a joke of one is a big miss.
I guess they just don’t want to throw R&D into it and they’ll sell all the ones they can make anyway. Oh well. To be fair, some of that is selfish on my part because I live in the middle of a big city and sit in bumper to bumper traffic all the time. I’m not going to daily a manual car through all that personally, although I respect those that do. I’d like to be able to consider Japanese sports cars but when the Koreans and Germans offer slick DCTs they’re just better options for me off the bat.
Honda is playing to its strength of having a rocking manual. A good manual isn’t awful to drive in traffic. That said I’d probably get a DSG in a sporty car for dealing with daily heavy traffic.
That being said what I really want is a new Manual Transmission Fit.
But a black err grey interior with red seats.. isnt exactly what I call a “thoughtful use of a color palate”. I call the interior a lump of shit. Id probably be madder than all hell.. to stare at a idiot ipad stuck in the dash.. and a set of digital guages…
I dont know if it has a throttle cable or hyd steering.. or hyd braking… Im still pissed it doesnt have Honda’s 4 link sus.
