Honda Civic Type-R

The Type R might just look way too distinctive when compared to the regular Honda Civic. However, on the inside, things become pretty close. The overall interior layout and cabin design of the Type R mirror that of the regular Civic. The overuse of red inserts on door panels, seats, steering wheel, dashboard, centre console, and even red backlit instrument console, make the interior ambience of the Civic Type R very sporty in overall feel.

The three-spoke steering wheel is integrated buttons for audio, Bluetooth, and cruise control. The three-partitioned full-colored TFT instrument console with centrally placed digital speedometer give the Civic Type R a feel sporty. However, we would have loved to see a flat-bottom steering wheel here. The characteristic asymmetric layout for the dashboard and driver-facing center console has been lifted off from the regular Civic as well. The 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system supports navigation and reverse camera, apart from the regular audio equipment including Bluetooth and a 12-speaker audio system.

Apart from the list of comfort and convenience features, the interior space purely tallies the regular Civic, considering the fact that the wheelbases of both the cars is same. This means that the Civic has got a fair amount of legroom, however, with the sloping coupe-like roofline, the headroom surely gets a bit restricted.

The Honda Civic has always been one fantastic looking car, with every generation possessing a timeless design. However, with the Civic Type R, Honda has just made the overall design even more aggressive.

At the front, the Honda Civic Type R comes with the same sleek and wide looking black grille as the regular Civic, which engulfs the headlamps as well. The headlamps here are full LED units, which do get the assistance of daytime running LEDs as well. The front bumper comes with revised styling, which does get large fake air dams around the fog lamps that enhance its sporty persona.

From the sides, the Type R is the same as the regular Civic till the B-pillar. Post which it comes with a more rakish rear stance, with the coupe-like roofline ending up in a hatchback like profile. The black colored alloy wheels with red striping job and red brake callipers behind the wheels look menacing and give it a flavour of supercars.

At the rear, the Honda Civic Type R has got a massive rear spoiler attached to the hatch below the windscreen, which might appear loud for some people. However, it does accentuate its sporty appeal by a huge margin. The sweptback LED tail lamps join each other by a thin and wide black spoiler. This rear setup along with the large bumper, underbody skirting, and centrally mounted three exhaust ports, make the Civic Type R look mind-boggling and very distinctive.

All the generations of Honda Civic have always been known for offering good driving dynamics. Considering the performance-oriented appeal of the Civic Type R, the overall dynamics has shot up to an all new level. The suspension setup of MacPherson struts with dual axis pattern at the front and multi-link type at the rear, both with adaptive damper system, has been lifted off from the regular  Civic. The overall suspension setup is set on a stiffer side to make the car feel agile that's planted around corners and stretches with equal composure. This does take a toll on the overall drive comfort over broken sections, but then again, the Civic Type R is not meant to be driven on bad roads, but on fast stretches where its performance can be fully unleashed. The Civic Type R comes with three drive modes – sports, comfort and +R modes – to make the use of available power as and when needed.

This is one aspect where Honda has totally gone bonkers. Under the hood, the Honda Civic Type R comes with the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, however, the mill gets a turbocharger, and as a result, it puts up a maximum power output of 310 PS and a peak torque of 400 Nm. These numbers, after taking in account the “lower as compared to sportscar” kerb weight, gives the Honda Civic Type R a tremendous power-to-weight ratio, thus making the overall driving experience far more thrilling and engaging as compared to the regular Civic.

The engine has been mated to a 6-speed manual transmission as that of the regular Honda Civic. However, the gearbox here comes with rev-matching function and shorter ratios to make the overall performance more involving and fun-filled.

Being a Honda product, the Civic Type R comes with all the essential safety features one would find in a car of this cadre. This flagship sports car from Honda comes fitted with front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, vehicle stability control, hill start assist, reverse camera, ISOFIX mounts, and speed sensing auto door controls. However, we would have liked to see more dynamic electronics that raised the appeal of the Civic Type R even more.

The Honda Civic Type R is not just any other mass-oriented Honda car to take you from point A to point B. It is one car which takes the overall thrill and pleasure of riding a sports car to an all new level. The original Honda traits of build quality, engine refinement, and interior comfort now get the assistance of bonkers performance and design with the new Civic Type R. It is that Honda car which can make the heads turn for both its looks as well as its crisp performance. Clearly, the most powerful Honda sports car, which the Civic Type R is, comes with all the right recipes a mass-oriented sportscar should have and gives you the thrills of riding a European thoroughbred at almost half of its price.