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Honda Civic Type R - long-term review - Report No:3

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Honda Civic Type R - long-term review - Report No:3 | Top Gear

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After cruising to Le Mans and a Silverstone track day experience, the breath of capability the Civic Type R has is hard to argue against...

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Honda Civic Type R - long-term review - Report No:3

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After cruising to Le Mans and a Silverstone track day experience, the breath of capability the Civic Type R has is hard to argue against...

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After cruising to Le Mans and a Silverstone track day experience, the breath of capability the Civic Type R has is hard to argue against...

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Honda Civic Type R - long-term review - Report No:3

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I think the Type R could probably find its own way to the Eurotunnel these days (although it always forgets to pay the DART charge en route). A while back was a little weekend away at Spa-Francorchamps and last month the Honda took me to Le Mans for a full week. Considering the endless stream of Porsches and Ferraris - punctuated by all manner of M cars, a sprinkling of TVRs and all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff from pre-war Bentleys to brand new hypercars - the Type R got love and attention from every campsite it passed and at every service station on the way home. The Le Mans crowd are the right crowd, it seems.

Yet the real fun began when I got back to the UK and attended a Pirelli P Zero experience track day on the full Silverstone GP circuit. These are very posh track days where you can drive your own car, experience others from the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine with instruction and drink very nice coffee at your leisure. Being Italian, smoking is encouraged but not mandatory.

It’s hot. Extremely. And as I arrive fashionably late, it seems many of the attendees have decided their cars have been through enough. The track is blissfully empty. This is great news on the one hand, but it is a shame the density of supercars to hunt down is diminished. Even so, a sprinkling of GT3s and McLarens add sport to proceedings.

It’s probably the very first time I’ve used the R mode for an extended period. The Civic is pretty stiff on UK roads and usually I skip R or even Sport mode and drive in Comfort or a configured Individual mode where engine response and noise are dialled-up, but the suspension is backed-off to Comfort mode. But you must be in R if you want to fully disable the stability control and Silverstone GP is about as smooth as UK tracks get. So, it’s the mode of choice.

What a place! The sheer scale of Silverstone is always a surprise and the high-speed corners require big commitment. Especially in the Type R, which is ultimately a very fast car, but feels a bit junior on a track designed for F1 cars to stretch their legs. Let even a fraction of momentum bleed away and the Civic is fighting to claw it back for what feels like tens of seconds. However, as confidence builds the Civic just gets better and better. It eats kerbs with stunning composure, demonstrates superb balance and finds traction you just wouldn’t believe for a front-drive car.

The precision of the six-speed gearbox also quashes any notion that a paddle-shift would be miles faster. It will accept and encourage shifts as fast as your hand can move and the downshift blip works brilliantly. Considering the temperatures, the brakes perform without fault, too. A couple of passengers were gobsmacked at the Type R’s blend of aggression and composure. It really loves to change direction and even when the tyres are howling there always seems to be a bit more front-end bite should you need to tighten your line. There’s no other hot hatch on sale today that feels so at home on track, not even the excellent GR Yaris.

In other words, the Civic feels built to do this. I’d like even greater throttle adjustability (once the tyres are hot it’s tricky to tip the car into turns with the tail wagging to kill understeer), but overall the Type R feels absolutely hooked-up and gives real touring car vibes. I’ve had reservations about the Type R’s price before, but the sheer breath of capability is pretty hard to argue against. From an easy cruise to Le Mans to thumping over kerbs on a GP track, the Honda can do it all. Just ask those GT3 and McLaren drivers who had to submit as it howled past on three wheels…

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I think the Type R could probably find its own way to the Eurotunnel these days (although it always forgets to pay the DART charge en route). A while back was a little weekend away at Spa-Francorchamps and last month the Honda took me to Le Mans for a full week. Considering the endless stream of Porsches and Ferraris - punctuated by all manner of M cars, a sprinkling of TVRs and all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff from pre-war Bentleys to brand new hypercars - the Type R got love and attention from every campsite it passed and at every service station on the way home. The Le Mans crowd are the right crowd, it seems.

Yet the real fun began when I got back to the UK and attended a Pirelli P Zero experience track day on the full Silverstone GP circuit. These are very posh track days where you can drive your own car, experience others from the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine with instruction and drink very nice coffee at your leisure. Being Italian, smoking is encouraged but not mandatory.

It’s hot. Extremely. And as I arrive fashionably late, it seems many of the attendees have decided their cars have been through enough. The track is blissfully empty. This is great news on the one hand, but it is a shame the density of supercars to hunt down is diminished. Even so, a sprinkling of GT3s and McLarens add sport to proceedings.

It’s probably the very first time I’ve used the R mode for an extended period. The Civic is pretty stiff on UK roads and usually I skip R or even Sport mode and drive in Comfort or a configured Individual mode where engine response and noise are dialled-up, but the suspension is backed-off to Comfort mode. But you must be in R if you want to fully disable the stability control and Silverstone GP is about as smooth as UK tracks get. So, it’s the mode of choice.

What a place! The sheer scale of Silverstone is always a surprise and the high-speed corners require big commitment. Especially in the Type R, which is ultimately a very fast car, but feels a bit junior on a track designed for F1 cars to stretch their legs. Let even a fraction of momentum bleed away and the Civic is fighting to claw it back for what feels like tens of seconds. However, as confidence builds the Civic just gets better and better. It eats kerbs with stunning composure, demonstrates superb balance and finds traction you just wouldn’t believe for a front-drive car.

The precision of the six-speed gearbox also quashes any notion that a paddle-shift would be miles faster. It will accept and encourage shifts as fast as your hand can move and the downshift blip works brilliantly. Considering the temperatures, the brakes perform without fault, too. A couple of passengers were gobsmacked at the Type R’s blend of aggression and composure. It really loves to change direction and even when the tyres are howling there always seems to be a bit more front-end bite should you need to tighten your line. There’s no other hot hatch on sale today that feels so at home on track, not even the excellent GR Yaris.

In other words, the Civic feels built to do this. I’d like even greater throttle adjustability (once the tyres are hot it’s tricky to tip the car into turns with the tail wagging to kill understeer), but overall the Type R feels absolutely hooked-up and gives real touring car vibes. I’ve had reservations about the Type R’s price before, but the sheer breath of capability is pretty hard to argue against. From an easy cruise to Le Mans to thumping over kerbs on a GP track, the Honda can do it all. Just ask those GT3 and McLaren drivers who had to submit as it howled past on three wheels…

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Life with a Honda Civic Type R: on track, it gives off real touring car vibes

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After cruising to Le Mans and a Silverstone track day experience, the breath of capability the Civic Type R has is hard to argue against...

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Life with a Honda Civic Type R: on track, it gives off real touring car vibes

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Usage and meaning of the 'virtual' resource identifier.