Honda Civic RS raises eyebrows

Think of some of the world's most potent, most desirable performance cars and the 'RS' or rallye sport moniker is likely to spring to mind.

The Porsche 911 GT3, Renault Clio and Megane, Ford Focus and Audi A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and Q3 all bear the hallowed badge.

And now you can add the new Honda Civic RS small sedan to the list.

But unlike those vehicles which will set you back up to $350,000 and happily drive from road to racetrack and back in a day, the Civic RS costs jut $30,000… And probably wouldn’t last more than a few laps on the race track.

Essentially a cosmetic pack that adds a black grille, rear spoiler and fancy wheels, the Civic RS is part of a new model naming convention from Honda that won't create confusion or disappointment, says the Japanese car-maker's Australian chief Stephen Collins.

"I understand that for some brands RS might mean something a little different. But the pinnacle for us is Type-R," he explains.

"In the global hierarchy of naming in Honda, Type-R sits at the very top, the Si sits under that which is generally speaking a bigger engine, then RS sits under that and then you've got the rest of the grades."

It's the first time a Honda has worn the RS badge in Australia and although it gets the same brakes and chassis as the rest of the Civic range, it features a new 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine worth 127kW and 220Nm as seen in the new Civic VT-iL and VT-LX sedans.

Collins says it probably won't be the last RS from Honda either.

"We're interested in more of them. We're still trying to confirm that but I've said many times that adding more sporty dimensions, whether that’s performance or the look, is important."

So while the RS is the style leader in the new Civic sedan range, says Honda Australia, the performance king will always be the Type R hot hatch, which is due in Australia in late 2017.