Honda Civic Type R long-term test: sensational handling meets overbearing safety

Verdict

The Civic Type R is our current Hot Hatch of the Year, mainly for the way it drives, which is utterly sensational. But what’s it like to live with every day – is it better, worse or just different from previous Civic Type Rs? We’ve got six months to find out, but already the signs are good, even if some of its technology and safety features are proving a touch confusing.

• Mileage: 999 miles
• Efficiency: 30.2mpg

There are no two ways about it, the latest Honda Civic Type R has become an expensive and indulgent kind of car. In this day and age, you could even call it a misfit, with its eye-watering £52k price tag, six-speed manual gearbox and four-seat configuration.

But where it counts – on the road, or better still on a track like Brands Hatch – there is no other hot hatch that can touch the latest Type R. It is, quite simply, the fastest and arguably most thrilling front-wheel-drive car there has ever been. So we were more than a little excited about the prospect of running one for six months, just to see how much more civilised (or otherwise) it might be beside its more raucous predecessors.

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There are precisely zero options fitted to our car, mainly because there are almost no options that can be specified anyway. Instead, pretty much all you can choose is a colour, in this case Championship White, which I reckon looks great when combined with the standard-issue matt black 19-inch alloy wheels and liquorice-thin 265/30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

Used - available now

2021 Honda

Civic

10,206 milesManualPetrol1.0L

Cash £14,100

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2013 Honda

Civic

73,000 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L

Cash £6,495

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2024 Honda

Civic

29,321 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L

Cash £23,435

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2024 Honda

Civic

30,524 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L

Cash £23,193

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Despite this, the latest Type R is nowhere near as lairy as its predecessors visually. Yes, it has a huge black wing on its tail and, yes, the wheels and tyres are enormous for a hot hatch. But despite these elements it manages to blend in far more successfully than its immediate siblings. At a glance it could almost be a regular Honda Civic. Almost…

I happen to think it looks stunning, and the more intimately you examine its details, the sexier it appears. From its massive Brembo brakes to its lower, wider stance, the Type R is rippling with energy, even though most folks might not notice it.

And beneath the surface it still has all the practicalities of a great daily driver. The question is, does this blend of exclusivity and value mix with its brief to remain a practical daily choice, or has the Type R become a different kind of car? Has it become too special, too valuable to be used every day?

We have six months to find out, and so far the messages are as clear as pure Fijian water in some respects, but have become curiously confusing in other ways.

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The dynamics we already knew about, but even after a few hundred miles, it’s obvious there are still a lot more secrets to unlock. I’ve already learned to steer well clear of Type R mode on the road, for instance, because it makes the ride too hard and the steering too heavy. But in my chosen ‘Individual’ settings (most aspects set to Comfort, exhaust on Type R) I’ve discovered how to make it more usable – and therefore likeable – as an everyday car.

On the other hand, the fact that you have to go through a seven-stage procedure to turn off the speed limit-warning beeper every time you start it is somewhat baffling, not to mention irritating. As is the pantomime that’s required to turn the lane-departure system off, which you can only do once you’re on the move – something that seems entirely counter-intuitive in terms of safety.

Maybe I’ll get used to these aspects and they’ll stop bothering me, but right now they are (slightly) spoiling an otherwise incredible car. One I’m already quite extraordinarily attached to, despite the intrusion of its so-called safety features.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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