The turbocharged engine is a gem that delivers a sting in typical boosted fashion. If you don’t fluff the manual changes, Honda says it will accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds. The bimodal exhaust system with three exit ports isn’t raspy, but a delightful and supercharger-like whine is piped into the cabin as you work the short-shift transmission to reach a claimed top speed of 272km/h.
It has comfort, sport and R+ modes and a new individual mode to tailor its attitude to preferences. The extra power and other key engineering mods come to the fore when you activate the R+ mode. It is at its fiercest here and there is not a hint of torque steer when you nail that throttle to the floor.
Stronger sports brakes with red calipers lurk behind lightweight 19-inch black alloy wheels giving more negative camber, and it’s shod with bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber. This combo offers sports car-rivalling grip and poise in fast or slow corners, and justifies its recent record as the fastest front-wheel drive car to lap the Nürburgring.
It also has a datalogger with a lap recorder and a variety of performance parameters for better support when performance driving on the track. A tyre friction circle in 3D motion displays the maximum tyre force the vehicle can achieve.
Honda aims to provide the best handling front-wheel drive machines in the world, and this new version continues to deliver on that promise. When not defying physics you thumb in comfort mode. Here the dampers soften up to make a daily driver better than its predecessors.
Inside, the new Civic Type R has good quality dash materials and digital driver’s information binnacle. It also gets a new nine-inch colour touchscreen with Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay compatibility, a Bose sound system and typical convenience items such as power windows, central locking and a start button.
Safety and convenience features are top drawer too. It comes with Honda Sensing — a suite of active driver assistance technologies such as auto high-beam lights, high-definition front camera, collision mitigation braking system, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and road departure mitigation.
These work alongside safety restraint systems such as airbags, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist, anti-lock braking system, electronic brake distribution, auto brake hold, agile handle assist and driver attention monitor.
It is available in five body colours: Championship White, Rallye Red, Racing Blue Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl and Sonic Grey Pearl.
FIRST DRIVE: Honda Civic Type R delivers true driving thrills
With a manual gearbox, turbo engine and epic grip, this hot hatch is an instant classic, writes Phuti Mpyane
Image: Supplied
If you fancy a practical four-door hot hatch equipped with a scarce manual transmission and racetrack levels of cornering, the new Honda Civic Type R that has gone on sale in South Africa is such a machine.
It has styling that is less brash than its predecessor with cleaner surfaces, yet still looks suitably steroid-boosted. Rear downforce is harvested through a larger rear spoiler, which remains out of sight in the rear-view mirror.
The differentiator between the Type R and many of its modern peers is the six-speed manual transmission lever nestling between the red sports seats.
It uses the same 2l turbocharged four-cylinder engine and other major internals from its predecessor, but retuned to deliver 235kW and 420Nm — respectively 7kW and 20Nm improvements.
Image: Supplied
The turbocharged engine is a gem that delivers a sting in typical boosted fashion. If you don’t fluff the manual changes, Honda says it will accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds. The bimodal exhaust system with three exit ports isn’t raspy, but a delightful and supercharger-like whine is piped into the cabin as you work the short-shift transmission to reach a claimed top speed of 272km/h.
It has comfort, sport and R+ modes and a new individual mode to tailor its attitude to preferences. The extra power and other key engineering mods come to the fore when you activate the R+ mode. It is at its fiercest here and there is not a hint of torque steer when you nail that throttle to the floor.
Stronger sports brakes with red calipers lurk behind lightweight 19-inch black alloy wheels giving more negative camber, and it’s shod with bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber. This combo offers sports car-rivalling grip and poise in fast or slow corners, and justifies its recent record as the fastest front-wheel drive car to lap the Nürburgring.
It also has a datalogger with a lap recorder and a variety of performance parameters for better support when performance driving on the track. A tyre friction circle in 3D motion displays the maximum tyre force the vehicle can achieve.
Honda aims to provide the best handling front-wheel drive machines in the world, and this new version continues to deliver on that promise. When not defying physics you thumb in comfort mode. Here the dampers soften up to make a daily driver better than its predecessors.
Inside, the new Civic Type R has good quality dash materials and digital driver’s information binnacle. It also gets a new nine-inch colour touchscreen with Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay compatibility, a Bose sound system and typical convenience items such as power windows, central locking and a start button.
Safety and convenience features are top drawer too. It comes with Honda Sensing — a suite of active driver assistance technologies such as auto high-beam lights, high-definition front camera, collision mitigation braking system, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and road departure mitigation.
These work alongside safety restraint systems such as airbags, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist, anti-lock braking system, electronic brake distribution, auto brake hold, agile handle assist and driver attention monitor.
It is available in five body colours: Championship White, Rallye Red, Racing Blue Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl and Sonic Grey Pearl.
Image: Supplied
The first drive verdict is that it will please driving enthusiasts who crave the back-to-basics engagement with a manual transmission. Semiconductor issues continue to plague vehicle availability, and Honda SA says it has an allocation of just 60 units this year.
From our seat-of-the-pants experience the performance, handling and practicality make it a potential future classic due to Honda hinting it is the last of its kind before any sort of electrification.
The price is R979,000 and comes with a five year/ 90,000km service plan, a five year/200,00km warranty and three-year roadside assistance.
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