Honda Civic Type R Review - You Mad, Mad, Race Car!

“Wait, did they say pry me out?” The sports bucket seats are incredibly snug but that has nothing to do with why I wouldn't relinquish the keys to this, possibly the most mental of front-wheel-driven sports cars ever produced.

I know I say this often, but the Type R is the best (fast) car I’ve driven this year, and I’ve driven Porsches, Bentleys and some quick Renaults too. See, some test cars make you reach for the helmet and racing gloves. Whilst others force you to grab your trusty book of favourite metaphors. The Honda Civic Type R does both.

Sharp as a tack and light as an Alcantara feather with a menacing stance brimming with naughty intent, that’s the bewinged CTR. I’ve never before been in a car that feels so much like an unconcealed weapon, and I like that. Also, this is one of those rare times where the bite verily, truly matches the bark.

It ain’t pretty... (to some)

Okay, now, looks have been divisive, and I get it – it isn’t handsome. But it is a commanding aesthetic, one chock-full of aerodynamic components, cuts and folds, hard creases and vents. It is science in motion, an oddity at rest, but very much a case of function over silly form - from a wing so big you can’t even see it from the driver’s seat, to the triple-threat array of exhaust pipes.

Speaking of which, there's that noise. The Honda Civic Type R soundtrack is one you’ve heard before – a blustery inline 4-cylinder pipe bomb, raspy on full tap punctuated with whip-cracks and whistles at the top of the rev range, excellent – but nothing you haven’t heard before.

Everywhere else this car is just plain frivolous. High of traction, high of jinx. And it revs like a Honda should! Oh boy, how it revs like something with twice as many cylinders and a flat plane crank between its banks. Mortal man, you will struggle to sniff the redline before your nerves betray you.

And under the bonnet?

Okay, I’m getting there… Under that bonnet vent lives 228kW and 400Nm which equates to a 100kph in just 5.7 seconds from a standstill, before topping out at 270kph. But none of this gives an indication of what it's really like when the tarmac turns into spaghetti. Nor do those figures convey the sheer powers of teleportation of the thing. Spot a gap, envision yourself in it, and you're there all at once.

This is simply a race car. A mad, mad race car. A mad, scary race car – or rather it is when it is in Race mode. Downgrade it to the Sport setting and you have the equivalent of a VW Golf GTI. Drop it another rung into Comfort Mode and oh my, the Type R fulfils the promise of an everyday performance car. The suspension is super compliant, the noise and drama diminished into a Goldilocks compromise and truly the Type R becomes a very liveable experience. But look, I only have this damned thing for a week so if you don’t mind...

Back to the drama

Ahead of me, an empty Dutooitskloof Pass. Underneath me, the soft but grippy bucket seats of a Civic Type R. My feet flatten the clutch and cover the throttling pedal, my right hand on the helm, my left palm (snik!) slots the gear lever into first gear and after dialling 3 or so thousand revs onto the tacho with the release of the clutch, I am off!

The noise is delicious, piped into my ears but I can barely give it a second thought as I’m swapping cogs in furious succession as the blown 2-litre screams frantically up the rev range, over and over again. I’ve barely ventured into 4th before it’s time to drop back into third gear after a brief braking opportunity, the road’s camber helping me scythe and squirt from one corner to the next far quicker than I have any right going.

It’s a hypnotic affair, one with an excellent soundtrack and stunning visuals both inside and out. The Type R is a Samurai from the land of the rising sun, Nippon’s finest. Steering feel is paramount, you can place any wheel on any chosen line on this fine tarmac with predictable understeer for when you’ve overcooked your inputs.

Go in warm, come out very, very hot and repeat. Only towards the end when the road began to unfurl did I find myself reaching for the taller gears – there’s so much torque accessible in the middle that you’ll find yourself able to dispatch most of the turns in a very handy 3rd gear.

A sublime driving experience that in my opinion beats out the very best from Europe’s FWD, and that is saying a lot.

Okay let’s wrap this up

And I haven’t even mentioned the Nurburgring. Up until now anyway – but I suppose I must. Honda sent it to the German race circuit to challenge for the title of quickest FWD production car and it achieved this with great success, in the process managing to go quicker than both the V8 powered BMW M3 GTS and its CSL predecessor. More relevantly it is four seconds quicker than VW's Golf GTI Clubsport S.

This humble Honda is playing smack bang in Porsche territory, and I don’t mean base Carreras - I'm talking GT3s and 718 Ss. So, while the 2018 Honda Civic Type R may not be everyone’s cup of tea, that’s only because saké isn’t tea at all. Gampai!

2018 Honda Civic Type R Specs: