Cover story: Honda Civic Type R
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Civic</strong> <strong>Type</strong> R decoded<br />
Ben Barry breaks<br />
the news to the<br />
engine that he’s not<br />
in love with it. After<br />
which he wrung its<br />
neck<br />
SPEC<br />
HONDA CIVIC TYPE R GT<br />
Price £32,295<br />
Engine 1996cc 16v<br />
turbocharged 4-cylinder,<br />
306bhp @ 6500rpm,<br />
295lb ft @ 2500rpm<br />
Transmission Six-speed<br />
manual, front-wheel drive<br />
Suspension MacPherson<br />
strut with dual axis strut<br />
front; torsion beam rear<br />
Performance 5.7sec<br />
0-62mph, 167mph,<br />
38.7mpg, 170g/km CO2<br />
(<strong>Honda</strong> internal figures)<br />
Length/width/height<br />
4390/2065/1466mm<br />
Weight/made from<br />
1382kg/steel<br />
Rating ★★★★★<br />
Despite the torque, the <strong>Type</strong> R’s traction is supernaturally<br />
good. <strong>Honda</strong> ruled out all-wheel-drive from<br />
the outset – Yagi says it’s a mechanics-minimum/<br />
man-maximum philosophy thing, but no doubt it’d<br />
have been banned on cost and packaging grounds<br />
alone. Instead, there’s the diff and Dual Axis Strut front<br />
suspension; like the Megane RS and Focus RS systems,<br />
it allows the front wheels to turn independently of the<br />
suspension strut, optimising suspension geometry<br />
through turns and allowing more of the tyres’ contact<br />
patches to stay in touch with the road.<br />
It’s a killer combination. You can charge into a tight<br />
corner very late on the brakes with their fantastic<br />
pedal feel and huge stopping power – we did toast<br />
them, though – shift to second to keep the turbo<br />
spooling, then turn in and power out, noticing not a<br />
bit of tyre scrabble or torque steer, and marvelling at how the<br />
diff magnetises you towards the apex. Okay, so it is possible<br />
to make the <strong>Civic</strong> understeer – more easily, I’d say, than in the<br />
Megane RS – but you just need to moderate your<br />
entry speed a little, then power out early and let all<br />
that trickery at the front do its stuff.<br />
The softest suspension setting is still firm, but<br />
the taut body control and fairly robust damping<br />
still combines with a level of compliance that’d<br />
be alien – and extremely welcome – to owners of<br />
the old car, and you can flick through the faster<br />
corners with huge amounts of confidence.<br />
Often, you’ll find yourself holding a gear for<br />
longer than expected, but when you run out of<br />
headroom that manual gearshift seems shockingly<br />
short with its 40mm throw; you’ll think you haven’t<br />
engaged the gear properly, waiting for the sickening<br />
crunch, before realising that from now on, you’ll<br />
crunch every other long-throw manual you drive.<br />
Pity the shift can’t match the precision and tactility<br />
of the old model, but it’s effective in getting power<br />
back to the wheels as quickly as possible and it’s still<br />
one of the best manual ’boxes you can stir.<br />
ENGINE<br />
HIGHLIGHTS<br />
Impressive spec<br />
includes electronic<br />
wastegate for greater control<br />
over induction pressure,<br />
impressively high (for a turbo)<br />
compression ratio of 9.8:1, cast<br />
aluminium pistons, aluminium<br />
VTEC rocker arms, forged<br />
con-rods and a lightweight<br />
crankshaft. No, they didn’t<br />
mention F1 much at<br />
the launch.<br />
VTEC<br />
MEETS TURBO<br />
Direction-injection<br />
2.0-litre 16v engine is the<br />
first to combine variable-valve<br />
lift with turbo power. Mono-scroll<br />
turbo doesn’t boost until 2500rpm,<br />
which is where you get the peak<br />
295lb ft – double the old car’s. The<br />
306bhp arrives at 6500rpm,<br />
but you can play to 7000rpm<br />
– down 1000rpm on the<br />
198bhp previous<br />
gen.<br />
It’s clear the new <strong>Type</strong> R is a very accomplished hot hatch.<br />
But something keeps nagging me; I want more fizz, more<br />
interaction, more feel. I miss the sound and ferocity of the old<br />
engine, I want more steering feel, a sweeter gearshift. I’d trade<br />
outright speed for more involvement in a tenth of a second.<br />
It’s the same when we get to the Slovakia Ring. The <strong>Type</strong><br />
R works exceptionally well on track, with speed, stability and<br />
excellent braking, but I just never quite click with it. Here, it<br />
also throws another curveball into the equation: the R+ suspension<br />
mode is too firm; in corners you can feel it loading up<br />
onto its outside front tyre and a frequency starting to po-go<br />
through the body. Yagi doesn’t dispute this, but says that it’s<br />
perfect for the Nürburgring. He’s responsible for engineering<br />
the fastest front-drive car ever to lap the place, so I’m not really<br />
in a position to argue, but that makes no sense to me; don’t<br />
you need compliance for those German lumps and bumps?<br />
So, funny one the <strong>Type</strong> R. There’s a depth of engineering<br />
talent that’s genuinely impressive, but in a package I find hard<br />
to engage with; a Megane RS would still scratch my trackday/B-road<br />
itch far more satisfactorily. Someone’s just found<br />
phone signal in Wales, though; seems I’m in a minority. Turn<br />
over and get the counterpoint from Steve Moody and co…<br />
@IamBenBarry<br />
70 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | July 2015