2017 Honda Civic Type-R

The new car looks distinctive from its predecessors with all the cosmetic it carries, the wide body design, vortex generator on the roof, a big wing on the rear and wide-eyed white LED headlights, this is not just another Civic.

“The 2017 model is an entirely different car than what enthusiasts lusted for these many years. You wouldn’t know that from looking at it, though. On top of the already nutty Civic hatchback design, Honda adds all manner of wings and splitters and vortex generators and scoops until the exterior looks like a disheveled knife drawer” – Car and Driver

Honda has decided to give no options on this one, The Type R is just a Type R. The base price of the car is $33,900 which is almost a couple of grand cheaper than the competition. Rather than calling it cheap, we would call it an advantage as the Type R is more refined than the competition and better looking than other hot hatches (At least to some, and us).

The car comes packed with standard features that are offered as optional equipment in most cars. The new Honda Civic Type R offers much more than what others only wish for. With unmatched performance (Evident from the Nürburgring lap-timing) and class-leading mileage, competition such as the uncompromising Ford Focus RS (starting at $36,995) and the Subaru WRX STI ($36,015) only look like some expensive iterations. However, the Volkswagen Golf R is more of a daily driver and much better to look at, only it’s not as quick and also sports a base price of $40,195.

“There’s an unbridled honesty to the Civic Type R absent in the others, but it maintains its European roots, driving character, and composure at the same time. The precision of its steering and chassis, the tractable turbocharged power, and the ludicrous-speed stability and control afforded by the aero package and adaptive dampers set this Honda apart from its American and German competitors.” – Motor Trend

We think this is a good point to start the conversation, as soon as you say ‘engine’ to the Honda Civic Type R you will hear an obnoxious, roaring and screaming 2.0 L inline – 4 cylinder. The engine is an advancement over the VTEC offered over the years but this is turbocharged, feel the rumble yet? Well, the engine pumps out 306 hp and a massive 295 lb-ft of torque.

The engine is mated to a 6-Speed manual transmission that is smooth, effortless and almost interesting. Sad news for boys, no CVT on this one, old school car heads can send their thanksgiving presents to the Japanese engineers. What is more interesting is the rev-matching that engages whenever you shift a gear, overtaking just became easier.

Car	Engine, Transmission	Power	Torque
Honda Civic Type R	Turbocharged 2.0 L, Inline – 4 with 6 Speed Manual in FWD	306 hp	295 lb-ft
Ford Focus RS	Turbocharged 2.3 L, inline – 4 with 6 – Speed Manual in AWD	350 hp	325 lb-ft
VW Golf R	Turbocharged 2.0 L, inline – 4 with 6 – Speed Manual in AWD	292 hp	280 lb-ft
Subaru WRX STI	Turbocharged 2.5 L, flat – 4 with 6 – Speed Manual in AWD	305 hp	290 lb-ft

However, when you take a peek at other cars in the segments, 2018 Civic is the only car with Front Wheel Drive (FWD) but that doesn’t take away any fun from the cars, thanks to the dual axis front suspension – Goodbye, torque steer. Nevertheless, the competition isn’t anything substandard, the 2017 Ford Focus RS is powered with a 2.3 L, Inline-4 and pumps out a flat 350 hp. While Golf R and the Subaru are a little underpowered with  2L and 2.5L engines delivering a max of 292 hp and 305 hp, respectively.

Acceleration

The Civic Type R is a calm and composed car only till you haven’t stepped onto the gas pedal. Put it into first gear in the R+ mode and you will feel the car gushing in all the air and spitting it right out. You wouldn’t even know that you have hit 60mph within a mere 4.9 secs, is that fast? Yes, This is one of the fastest stock hatchbacks available in the market. The car also holds the record for being the fastest front-wheel drive (FWD), lapping the legendary Nürburgring in 7:43.8.

When you look at the competition, you are only going to be able to peek at them from your rear-view mirror, for they are two car-lengths behind on the road. The Type R’s acceleration is not just phenomenal, it’s over the top for a hatchback. The 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder engine isn’t naturally aspirated and rather is turbo-charged, now you know what makes the Civic even more powerful.

Car	0-60 mph (Time in secs)	¼ Mile Timing
Honda Civic Type R	4.9 secs	13.5 secs
VW Golf R	5.2 secs	13.7 secs
Ford Focus RS	4.6 secs	13.4 secs
Subaru WRX STI	5.3 secs	13.8 secs

When you look at the score table, the type R is only 0.3 secs slower than the RS, and let’s not forget that the RS is AWD while our Japanese hot hatch is FWD. Even the VW Golf R is slower, both on 0-60 mph and Quarter-mile timings. Guess, the Golf needs to ‘putt’ in a little more effort, since it trailed on the Nürburgring lap timing board, too.

“It was a symphony of dips, crests, blind corners, and on- and off-camber corners, some with uneven pavement, and the 2017 Honda Civic Type R was absolutely annihilating it. The speed and unflappable control of this production car was an absolute revelation.”- Motor Trend on driving the Civic Type R in Quebec.

Handling and Steering

This is the kind of discussion that you would stumble upon on a Front Wheel Drive (FWD) car. Yes, The Honda Civic Type R is an FWD and a good one at it. The car is a pleasure to drive, you can almost take your hand off the steering feel while you feel in place, calm and composed, driving on a straight almost nose-headed.

The competition is, however, better equipped in this section as most of the cars are AWD in the category. However, the 20-inch wheels and low-profile tires adaptive dampers with 3 setting as standard along with a race ready (+R) mode makes for one serious recipe to get your FWD handling as smooth as any other car on the planet.

Even so, if you feel like driving in the comfort mode, the civic does not bother you even a little when the going gets tough and takes the rough patches and broken road with a little more grace for its class.  Well, if you are talking potholes, even the competition might deny such circumstances.

Braking

With all the power, comes more responsibility and responsiveness, that’s my car version of the Spider-man quote. Yes, The Type R weighs over 3000 lbs. on any given day and that is just the curb weight. Stopping such a heavy vehicle with over 300 horses can be a task at the accomplishment. Thank god for the Brembo’s that are so fine at their job, your car will always feel under your supreme control, also thanks to the brilliant Japanese engineers.

The power-assisted brakes are coupled with 13.8 inches of ventilated and cross-drilled discs in the front and 12 inches of solid discs in the rear. The set-up of these discs along with Brembo high-performance is all the more the reason for a note-worthy emergency-stopping distance (70 mph to zero) of 142 feet. The number that is not even fiddled by the rivals stopping as much as 15 feet farther than the Type R.

The fine Japanese engineering that everyone talks about can be adjudged from the braking department at Honda. The brake pedal has a small buffer zone available, that prevent head bobs from slight taps. The brakes are so one point, that you can stop on a line, or a couple of millimeters before, not after.

Car	70-0 mph (Emergency-stopping distance in feet)
Honda Civic Type R	142 ft.
VW Golf R	157 ft.
Ford Focus RS	159 ft.
Subaru WRX STI	158 ft.

“The Civic Type R boasts above-average fuel-economy ratings from the EPA and does equally well in the real world. Still, it can’t match the highway efficiency or range of the all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R.” – Car and Driver

 

The ‘R’ in type R stands for Racing and keeping the same in mind, The Civic, kind of over delivers. The type R has been rated above average by the EPA for mpg figures. The car delivers 22 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway, with a combined mpg of 25.

Car	City (mpg)	Highway (mpg)	Combined (mpg)
Honda Civic Type R	22	28	25
Ford Focus RS	19	25	25
VW Golf R	22	31	25
Subaru WRX STI	17	23	19

VW Golf R, however a little underpowered but delivers the best bang-for-the-buck mileage for your pockets. The Golf delivers 31 mpg on the highway, outnumbering everyone in the category.

The interior of the Type R feels all the more like a performance-based daily driver with red accents and the trademark ‘R’ badges laid all over the car. In the seating compartment, the car has comfortable red bucket seats with enough thigh support and bolstering to keep you in place when the going around the corners is tight.

Look no further than the driver’s seat to understand Honda’s intentions with the Civic Type R. Heavily bolstered on the seat bottom and even deeper for the seatback, you can hide the width of your hand behind them. Settling your butt into it is like sinking into a bean bag chair and feeling material envelop you. It’s snug, not tight.” – Autoweek

Seating and Comfort

When compared to the last generation of the Type R, the 2017 version stands its own in case of interiors as well. Although, visually the combination of Alcantara and red accented interior can be seen laid all over the car. What sets it apart is the configuration, the seats sit lower than before giving you a more low-set sporty feel. The same resonates in more thigh support and better control while driving.

Although being a driver’s car, the Type R also takes care of the passengers in the rear. Getting in and out of the car is not going to be an issue for anyone as the doors allow a clean and wide entry. The seats are well laid down and a bit slanty providing the passenger in the rear a rather sporty feel while sitting-in. Keeping it sporty in and out, eh Honda?

Infotainment

Honda pulled a no-brainer with this, the Type R comes equipped with the same Honda Infotainment System with the 7.0-Inch standard touchscreen which is a little clumsy and confusing. All thanks to the technological advancements in the infotainment industry, the Civic Type R has integrated navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto.

The Civic Type R rocks a 12-speaker, 540-watt sound system, and standard SiriusXM satellite radio. However, missing out on many standard features such as an auxiliary input (iPhone 7 user might like this one) and a Wi-Fi hotspot isn’t one of the sportier or smarter move.

Even the screen isn’t an easy one to use, with the missing volume rocker, turning the volume up/down can be a task. Nevertheless, the steering mounted controls do the tricks for the driver while the passenger will need to invest some time in getting their music, just right.

“The Civic Type R’s interior is rated R for scenes involving gratuitous red accents and obscenely comfy racing seats. Although the styling isn’t subtle, the interior relies on Type R trademarks and racy materials to highlight its sufficient passenger space.” – Car and Driver

Interior Features

Torquing (Pun intended) about the Civic Type R, It is one of the best hatchbacks available in the market right now. However, being one of the best doesn’t really mean the best. The Type R has a fair share of shortcoming that doesn’t crown it to be the undisputed hot hatch majesty.

The car isn’t loaded with most interior features, for sure. Missing of an auxiliary port does really mean that we have started to count on the downsides. You may, however, find a functional steering along with tilt and telescoping adjustment capabilities.

Cargo Capacity

Being a type-casted performance based car doesn’t really imply you can’t carry any luggage while your free run on the highway. The engineers at Honda have been accustomed to the idea of a track car being a daily driver with the Type R.

Car	Normal	With seats folded	Normal	With seats folded
Honda Civic Type R	26 cu.-ft.	46  cu.-ft.	6 boxes	17 boxes
VW Golf R	23 cu.-ft.	53  cu.-ft.	5 boxes	15 boxes
Ford Focus RS	20 cu.-ft.	44  cu.-ft.	5 boxes	14 boxes
Subaru WRX STI	12 cu.-ft.	–	6 boxes	17 boxes

With a small looking rear and all the cosmetics that come with it, Type R can still hold 6 boxes with ease and another 11 with seats folded. The closest rival that the civic has in the category is the Subaru WRX with a massive boot comparatively. Figuratively, the Type R has 16 cubic inches of space in the rear.

"Honda swears up and down that the gigantic wing, roofline nubs, deep front and side extensions, and other wild-looking styling elements on the Civic Type R are functional."-KelleyBlueBook

Design and Dimensions

The is ‘The part’ where you can’t stop talking about in a conversation. The Type R looks like one of the more powerful Transformers or an antagonist’s ride in an anime, yes it looks evil. The design of the 2017 type R might be a dream car-like for some while some might find it a little distasteful as you can’t really call it subtle, that it nowhere looks like. However, most of the design elements on the car are functional starting from the vortex generator on the roof to the huge wing on the rear which function in synergy. This combination produces enough downforce and also prevents lift, kudos to Honda on that.

Car	Length	Width	Height
2017 Honda Civic Type R	179.4 in.	73.9 in.	56.5 in.
VW Golf R	168.4 in.	70.8 in.	56.5 in.
Ford Focus RS	172.8 in.	71.9 in.	58.0 in.
Subaru WRX STI	180.9 in.	70.7 in.	58.1 in.

The car is nothing too odd to handle as a daily driver. Yes, getting groceries might just become a little more adventurous than before. The type R is the size of any hatchback present in the market but is certainly longer and wider than the competition and as tall as other cars in the category or just a little shorter here.

Exterior Features

The Type R has undergone a visual overhauling on the outside as well as the inside. On the exterior, The Type R has received a number of functional, futuristic and aerodynamic upgrades, including the high-performance 20-inch wheels and tires. The aggressive air inlets and a splitter with red edge trim further distinguish the Type R at a glance. The civic also sports an air scoop on the bonnet, inset with the aluminum hood that helps in keeping the engine compartment cool.

The rear of the civic is even more interesting and need I mention any more reasons than a flush-mounted rear window, rear vortex generators (Oh, yes!), wing and diffuser, the 3-outlet center exhaust, an additional red and chrome Honda badge, and an exclusive Type R badge (Gasping for air). The Type R is as functional as it is aggressive because the large tailgate is sized to allow easy loading of sports equipment, luggage, and even bulky cargo.

Here’s a list of features that you get on the outside of Honda Civic Type R

• Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure with crash stroke front frame design
• 61-percent high strength steel body structure (21-percent ultra-high strength steel)
• Unibody structural adhesive
• Class-leading aerodynamic performance
• Aluminum Hood
• Class-leading forward visibility
• Acoustic-glass, flush mounted windshield
• Variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Advanced Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) countermeasures
• Sound-absorbing undercovers
• Black side window trim
• Capless fueling system
• Roofline vortex generators
• Rear wing
• Center-mounted 3-outlet exhaust
• Rear diffuser

Lighting and Other Features

At first glance, the type R looks like a sharped eyed predator that is on the kill, for good. The car sports LED front and rear lamps, but putting it plainly would go against the characteristic R casted Civic. On the front, on either side of the car are white LED headlights and LED fog lights separated by the black chrome trim that runs across the front with a red ‘R’ badge on it.

The rear lamps are ‘Light Pipe’ type which the give the car a rather ‘devilish’ look. On the same lines, the lighting on the civic imparts it a rather sportier and aggressive which is something you’d want from a car that pumps an easy 306 hp and does 0-60 mph in 4.6 secs.

When you drive a 300 hp car every day, no matter where you drive, safety is going to be the most pressing matter. With a car that tops out at 169 mph, safety is certainly a factor that needs to be taken care of. Being one of the top safety picks of IIHS, the Type R has more than a couple of chinks in the armour.

Safety Features

Features	Type	Availability
Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Traction Control	Active	Available
Anti-lock Braking System	Active	Available
Electronic Brake Distribution	Active	Available
Brake Assist	Active	Available
Multi-Angle Rearview Camera	Active	Available
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)	Active	Available
LED Daytime Running Lights (DRLs)	Active	Available
Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) Body Structure	Passive	Available
Advanced Front Airbags (i-ABS)	Passive	Available
SmartVent Front Side Airbags	Passive	Available
3-Point Seat Belts at All Seating Positions	Passive	Available
Front 3-Point Seat Belts with Automatic Tensioning System	Passive	Available
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)	Passive	Available
Driver’s and Front Passenger’s Seat-Belt Reminder	Passive	Available
Child-Proof Rear Door Locks	Passive	Available

“In all but appearance the Type R is a sophisticated package. It’s not the frenetic and furious vehicle that it first presents itself as. It’s not the rawboned Type R that some have pined for. But it’s alive. It’s here. And it’s good.” – Car and Driver

The Subaru BRZ Premium

The Subaru BRZ costs only 300 bucks more than the Mazda MX 5 Miata. The BRZ gets a 205 HP engine which is 50 HP more than the Miata. Yet the Miata is scores better in terms of 0-60 MPH and quarter mile timings. Additionally the Miata is more fuel efficient.

But the Subaru can accommodate 4 people and also has more cargo space. So if you are looking for a sports car that can be your part time family car or for a family car that can be your part time sports car, then the Subaru BRZ Premium is the perfect buy for you. If you buy the Subaru, you will certainly miss out on the exciting driving dynamics that the Mazda MX 5 Miata has on offer. In conclusion, the Subaru definitely makes more sense than the Mazda.

The Toyota 86

The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ are similar cars that are based on same platform and use the same engine and also have many parts in common except for the fact it costs a $960 more over the Mazda MX 5 Miata. The performance and acceleration figures of the Subaru and the Toyota are the same and they are also offered with the same specs and features. In a nutshell, the Toyota 86 is a Subaru BRZ with a Toyota logo or the Subaru BRZ is a Toyota 86 with a Subaru Badge on it. Comparing to the MX 5 Miata, the Toyota 86 does make more sense.

 

The Ford Mustang Ecoboost Fastback

The Mustang is a legendary American muscle car and the Mustang Ecoboost is the downsized version of the Mustang. The Mustang Ecoboost costs only $300 more than the Miata and you get an engine that produces a whopping 311 HP and also the great exhaust note. Moreover, you can cramp in 4 people into the Mustang, it also has a bigger cargo volume and also has the best brakes of the lot.

The Mustang definitely is the better buy. If you crave for a hardcore rear wheel drive roadster, then and only then you should buy the Miata.

If we were to tell you that get a car that does 0-60 secs in under 5 seconds, has 300 horses while leaping at a max torque of 295 lb-ft and you could get grocery in it, would you call us absurd? Well, You might! But this car certainly has a lot to offer.

The only place the car lacks is in the department called ‘Luxury Features’, but when did hot hatches become symbols of luxury. If you could do without heated seats, heated steering wheel and subtleness, this is going to be one best-buy that you make. Although, If you are looking for something that is a little more conservative and economical, you could take a peek at the Honda Civic Si which can be scored 10 grand less than the Type ‘R’.