Honda Civic Type R 2009 Review

Honda Civic Type R

Road Test

Price Guide: $42,990 (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges)
Options fitted to test car: nil
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 98 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 9.3L/100km
CO2 emissions (g/km): 219
Also consider: RenaultSport Clio 197, Golf GTI, Ford Focus XR5 Turbo

About our ratings

Last time I was in a Type R it was a pretty rough ride. And I wasn't even driving.

Strapped securely in the left-hand seat, British rally champ and general all-round driving God, Guy Wilks, was behind the wheel. He was showing me how a front-wheel-drive naturally-aspirated Honda could shade the performance of all-wheel drive turbocharged rally weapons. The venue was the Coffs Harbour round of last year's Australian Rally Championship.

It was no ordinary Civic Type R, however... Purpose-built by Italian Honda go-fast operation JAS Motorpsort, the full-house S2000 Civic Type R rally car was constructed to compete in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge -- a feeder category to WRC. If nothing else its pricetag of around $600,000 identified it as a pukka factory-supported racer.

Just 24 hours after my ride with Wilks, the Type R was a wadded red, green and white mess of steel and alloy -- wrecked, and with it any real hopes of Honda Australia entering the local rally scene full time. Big rally crashes have a way of turning engineering and budgets into the next best thing to compost.

With a pricetag of around $555,000 less, the standard Type R misses out on most of the goodies the JAS IRC car boasts. But you can walk into your local Honda showroom and buy one now. And with just one hard run up through the gears even blind Freddie will recognise the familial relationship -- as long as he isn't deaf Freddie to boot...

Even in 100 per cent road legal form, the Civic Type R has a direct connection to its competition counterpart -- an almost unique aural signature that's equal parts racecar, rally car, superbike and chainsaw.

It starts in the middling engine revs as a grumble and rawness and crescendos from there. As the Type R's 2.0-litre VTEC four-cylinder DOHC four passes through the redline of most 'regular' hot hatches its sound emissions harden, turn shrill and fair scream through to the 8000rpm zone where the dash-mounted graduated shift lights signal the driver its time to shift the close-ratio six-speeder and start all over again. Close your eyes and you could be in the Mugen-engined JAS car.

Type R is a three-door version of Honda's Brit-built Civic hatch (the local arrival of the five-door cooking model, the Si, is recent and low-key enough to have gone unnoticed by many). The two share the same footprint and Jazz-derived platform -- if nothing else guaranteeing the R model has more than a dose of practicality to its packaging.

Compared to the likes of the RenaultSport Clio, the Type R is a larger car inside and out. IT get's the Jazz's clever folding rear seat and offers real adult-sized rear seats ad legroom. That means though it might be likened to the Regie in non-turbo engine execution, its much closer to the Golf GTI and Focus XR5 in terms of accommodations.

It's these three competitors that are most often mentioned when the Type R is discussed. They've been compared and their spec sheets dissected since the Type R arrived late to the local market in June 2007.

Typically the VW has won out in comparisons. Simply, it's an easier car to drive fast -- thanks to a turbocharged wave of torque. It's also easier to live with. When the new GTI arrives later this year, we expect the scales to stay tilted in Wolfsburg's favour. The Ford has more midrange go and that great five-cylinder engine. It's not nearly as sharp a drive as the Type R but it's nonetheless winning fans and sales.

As good as the opposition is, that doesn't Type R is out of the game -- it's just not a car for snoozers. It's a car that needs commitment to get the best from it. In the wrong gear, it lacks the torque to get a lazy steerer out of trouble. On the wrong roads it kicks and bucks like a racecar. But get your technique together and match it to the right road and it's comes alive.

The latest updated model of the Type R is now Down Under and priced from $42,990 (up $3000). It now boasts iPod connectivity, rear park sensors and a new choice of external paint -- Championship White. The sole mechanical addition to the MY2009 Type R armoury is far more important, however... Type R now comes standard with a limited slip differential.

It's this component that gives the Honda hot hatch an extra degree of vigour. Not only does the updated Type R drive out of corners better in extreme conditions (the LSD tames wheel-spin on the inside front transferring drive to the outside wheel), but also on a moderate throttle openings. The extra drive also means there's less propensity for the car to 'push' in corners and run wide on exit. All of this combines on windy, 'interesting' roads to mean the car is more composed.

The Type R's steering response has been improved to boot -- already deliciously accurate, it's now even sharper. Perhaps too sharp for normal shopping trolley duties, but after all that's not what this car is built for.

Like the original Type R, the latest car's ride borders on harsh. Like a racecar, bumpy suburban streets bounce you around to the point that they can blur your vision. They make operating the clutch and throttle smoothly a challenge. For much of our time with the Type R alas this became wearing.

Some prospective buyers may also feel the front buckets are just too racecar like. The heavy bolstered, lightly padded seats are probably the most aggressive pews offered standard in the segment.

But like a true competition-bred set-up, at the right pace, it all comes together -- spring and damping rates, chassis geometry, high revving engine -- even those seats...

On the right road, at the right pace, the Type R feels light, infinitely manoeuvrable and pretty much the quintessential giant killer... Untouchable.

It's the trade-off of this Jekyll and Hide traits that makes the Type R a must-have for a vocal group of fans. It's not for everybody -- that's one thing for certain. But if you're demanding, dedicated and want purist, hot hatch performance, the Type R takes some beating.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi