Classified of the week: the classic Honda Civic Type R

Not sold on the... er, avant-garde styling of the upcoming Honda Civic Type R? Why not take a step back, and get behind the wheel of perhaps the most-popular Type R to ever leave the factory?

Best of all – it’s not going to cost an arm and a leg, either.

There’s no frippery, and no styling for styling’s sake – the second-generation, or ‘EP3’ Type Rs were a masterclass in delivering the essentials of a good hot hatch and none of the faff. And, while it’s not the last of the free-revving, naturally aspirated Type Rs, it is perhaps the best of the breed in terms of its purity. 

Now, we realise that a statement like that requires a good deal of qualifying, so let’s explain. 

The fact is that, by modern hot hatch standards, 197bhp is firmly back down in warm territory, and quickly sliding back to just cooking. But, as any devotee of the EP3 will gladly tell you, it’s how the power is delivered that makes all the difference. You don’t waft about on low-end, turbocharged torque in this Type R – you knock it back a couple of gears on the exquisitely precise, dashboard-mounted gearstick and take off in a maelstrom of induction noise and stratospheric engine speed.

Yes, we’re talking about VTEC. It’s the stuff of tired memes by now, but it remains one of the most joyful bits of engineering ever gifted to the naturally aspirated engine. And, if you’ve not experienced it, we should explain.

The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder ‘K20’ engine is perfectly capable at normal engine speeds, but it’s when you pass about 5500rpm that the entire character of the car changes. Case in point: the peak torque of 142lb ft doesn’t arrive until about 6000rpm, and peak power isn’t available until 7400rpm. This is an engine that wants to be revved.

VTEC is a short way to describe an exceptionally complex bit of engine trickery, but the practical upshot is that the ECU can change the way the engine breathes to optimise fuel efficiency at low revs and power at high revs. It is, for want of better words, genius. It’s also a wonderful introduction into the pathologically nerdish way that Honda went about building the Type R.

For instance, every EP3 that left Honda’s UK plant in Swindon was seam-welded, which increases the structural rigidity of the car’s body and helps the suspension keep the car under control. This is the kind of thing usually reserved for race cars.

Even so, the EP3 could be a wilful little thing at the limit, with a tendency to understeer if you carried too much speed into a corner and lift-off oversteer in extremis. But that was part of its charm, as well – if you wanted to get the most of the EP3, you had to work for it and hone your skills until you could. And that meant you had to take it to a council estate... er, track. We meant track.

Yes, the Type R makes for a wonderful track car – and many of them did – because it’s a wonderfully engineered car, with Honda reliability oozing from every millimetric shutline and an engine that begs you to headbutt the redline on every shift.

And now, this entirely enticing proposition is readily available for only a few thousand pounds. We’ve chosen a clean, unmolested example, with less than 60,000 miles, and it’s still only listed for £5250 over on AutoTrader. 

So, you’re tempted, right? Yeah. So are we...