REVIEW | Honda Civic Type R (FL5) - The Best FWD Car Ever?
My partner will be the first to admit that she is not a 'car person'. She appreciates cars and knows what she likes and dislikes, but she doesn't necessarily know what makes a particular car special beyond the visual and comfortable aesthetics. And that's not because she's ignorant of impressive engineering, no. She's just not that fussed about it.
I have a similar relationship with cake. I know what I like, and I know what I don't like, but I have very little interest in learning about what makes a great cake 'great' - and even less interest in finding out how to make a great one myself. Like my girlfriend is with cars, I'm just not all that fussed about the technicalities of cake - (and neither is she, I should add).
On the day I returned home from the office in my latest press car - a Honda Civic Type R in the less-than-subtle exterior colour of Racing Blue and the interior colour of... 'extremely red' - my wonderful girlfriend greeted me with a half smile, and some conservatively raised eyebrows. It's the sort of face I'd probably pull myself if, whilst celebrating my birthday, I was presented with a large pink glittery iced birthday cake intrinsically decorated with a scene of marzipan fairies and pixies. It will likely be a delicious cake, but the decoration wouldn't perhaps have been my first choice.
I'll do my best to park the cake chat for now, but hopefully, you understand my tenuous angle.
Bright blue paintwork and red-everything-interior aside, my self-confessed non-car-fanatic girlfriend was, however, still able to identify that the little Type R badge on the back of the very blue Honda Civic meant it was something extra special. And that's a pivotal point to raise because for a car maker to have a performance badge that's immediately recognisable to the non-geeks, well, that's a PR and a marketing dream come true.
The following morning, whilst on our first drive together in the car, she made another remark from the passenger seat, - "Wow, it grips into the corners fast, doesn't it?". Now, you can imagine my delight at this comment. Has she just made a positive observation regarding the superior geometric setup of the FL5 Civic Type R, demonstrating her familiarity with Honda's Type R heritage and engineering mantra? I thought.
She then regaled stories of being in the passenger seat of old friends Type Rs, recalling how they always seemed to feel faster than they perhaps looked. I could feel a sense of pride and a new-found adoration building up inside me. If we were in a Ferrari or a new Porsche, I'd perhaps be a little more expectant of such a remark; after all, everyone knows how special a Ferrari is. But no, we're in a Civic Type R, a hot hatch, a proper driving purists car!
I felt compelled to press on a little more. We were driving on one of my favourite local 60mph roads with on-camber corners and fast-flowing undulations. I've essentially been handed a free pass from the passenger seat to demonstrate how sublime the car feels through the corners - it was incredible!
My feeling of elation was promptly brought back down to earth shortly after, though with a polite request to slow it down through the turns. The exact request was something along the lines of "alright, I get the point. Can we slow it down a bit?" Still, I'm taking it as a win, regardless.
It's worth focussing on the recognisability of the performance badge because, as I mentioned previously, for a car manufacturer, it's pretty significant. Concerning Honda, it's been earned for a good reason. Like all the best performance division badges, the Type R badge's origin is the result of some genius motorsport engineering. However, unlike BMW's M division or Mercedes-Benz's AMG department, the focus wasn't primarily on taking a racing car and turning it into a road car. It was actually the other way around.
It all started in the 1990s with the NSX. Honda decided to enter the Mid Engine rear-wheel drive sports car consumer market and did so with the Honda NSX. The NSX far exceeded the expectations of the masses, considering Honda's product list up to that point, but a small team of engineers on the Honda payroll wanted it to be even better.
The NSX was given a thorough makeover, with heavy components replaced with lighter ones and non-essential items such as audio systems, air conditioning compressors, sound deadening and the spare wheel thrown back onto the spare parts shelf. Lightweight Recaro bucket seats replaced the heavy original versions, and the alloy wheels were replaced, too, with lighter and stronger variants made by Enkei.
One of the most iconic part replacements was the gear selector. The unnecessarily cumbersome gear selector was replaced in favour of a lightweight titanium piece - a now synonymous feature with Type R models. In total, 120 kg was trimmed from the already lightweight sportscar.
With some additional tweaks to the suspension geometry, chassis bracing and some very significant tweaks to the engine management and internals, the final result was the now iconic Honda NSX-R, later crowned as The Honda NSX Type R.
The first ever Type R rewarded the motoring world with two things, firstly, an exceptional, exciting and engaging sports car. And secondly, a crib sheet for other models in the Honda range to comply with to make additional Type R models.
The Integra was the first of the more ordinary Honda models to receive the Type R treatment in 1996, and the first Civic Type R came along the following year in 1997, which, like the Integra, was exclusively available to the Japanese domestic market.
It wasn't until the new millennium that the rest of the world would get an opportunity to experience the work of the Type R engineers. It came in the form of the 2001 EP3 Civic Type R, and it was a massive hit with the motoring press, with some comparisons being drawn to the BMW M3 CSL and Porsche 911 GT3.
Since 2001 there have been another 3 Civic Type R models, all of which have continued to impress, inspire and provide plenty of 'watch this!’ moments between drivers and their passengers (likely, just before a fast corner on a familiar road).
And so, here we are in 2023 with the FL5, the latest iteration of the Civic Type R.
The FL5 Type R rolled into Honda showrooms towards the end of last year and immediately got people talking for two reasons. Firstly due to its slightly more mature styling and secondly, thanks to the choke-inducing price tag of £49,090.00 - almost £17,000 more expensive than the previous model. Once an optional colour is added, such as the Racing Blue version I tested, you suddenly break into the £50k bracket.
Despite the eye-watering price tag, customer waiting lists started forming almost immediately. Even now, when writing this article in August 2023, people are still told their position in the queue is at the 2-year mark. So, what's the secret? How does a Honda Civic merit such demand at almost fifty grand? Well, as bizarre as it may sound, it does so actually because it's pretty good value.
Honda Civic Type R FL5 - Vital Statistics:
The engine is a 1,996cc turbocharged four-cylinder paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox. The drive train produces 329HP and 310 lb-ft of torque at 2,200-4,000rpm. 0-62mph acceleration happens in 5.4 seconds, and the FL5 has a top speed of 170mph. The FL5 weighs 1,405 kg and is priced from: £49,090.00 - Price as tested: £50,645.00
So, how is a Honda Civic at fifty thousand pounds good value? To look at a couple of comparisons, the BMW M135i is priced at £38,000, and the VW Golf R will set you back £41,000, and in both cases, that’s before you're handed the list of available options and upgrades. Like in the Civic, A 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine powers both cars, and both produce between 300-315hp respectively (which is less than the Honda).
So now, let's look at the list of options Honda gives you as standard on the FK5 Civic Type R for your £49.090.00:
High Beam Support System - Front and Rear Parking Sensors - Multiple Driving Modes - Matt Black 19" Alloy Wheels - LED Headlights - Adaptive Cruise Control - Lane Assist - Digital Drivers Display - HONDA SENSING Safety Features - Alloy Gear Selector - Alloy Driver Pedals - Sports Exhaust - Rear View Camera - Android/Apple Car Play - Sports Seats - Wireless Charging Pad.
Out of journalistic intrigue, and to save you the bother, I paid a visit to the BMW and VW configurators to spec the M135i and Golf R with the same list of options, and low and behold - the prices came to £49,950 for the BMW and £51,025 for the VW Golf R.
So, as it turns out - £50k isn't that extreme after all, and fortunately, to soften the blow of the price tag, you, as the driver, are given the best front-wheel drive car I have ever experienced: Fact.
In keeping with Type R traditions, the FL5 is a spectacular driver's car. In terms of driver engagement, it's near faultless. Acceleration, braking performance, and steering performance all feel sublime. On some of my favourite familiar country lanes, I found myself doing something I've not done in a new car for a long while - I was laughing out loud and giggling like a sugar-filled child.
What makes the Type R special is the freedom it gives a driver to push the limits before the traction control becomes too invasive. On slightly greasy roads following some rain, I was able to make the rear of the car dance into the corners, almost on the verge of oversteering, before powering through to pull the front forward and keep it all in check. At no point did the traction or stability control kick in to spoil the flow or, crucially, the fun, which at one point led me to wonder if the traction control was even turned on - perhaps there was a fault with the system? - a slightly more 'ambitious cornering test' later proved it was working perfectly.
The refreshing freedom of spirited driving without any interruption was something I wasn't expecting. It's almost as if the Honda engineers have worked through the telemetrics and yaw programming to differentiate between 'driver is being a happy hooligan' and 'oh no, the driver might have got this one wrong'. It's frankly magical.
The engine characteristics and performance, along with the brake performance, are complimented perfectly with the icing on the cake - that is, the suspension geometry and chassis - and this is where you can feel the engineering really work. The car's rear is tighter and stiffer than previous models, thanks to extra lightweight bracing. The Type R is marginally lower (just below 1cm) and 9cm wider than the standard Civic, and thanks to some lightweight panels (bonnet and tailgate), it's an impressive 38kilos lighter than the standard car, too, making the FL5 feel fast, light and tight.
As standard, there is a selection of driver modes, ranging from comfort to +R. As you would expect, comfort is comfortable, whilst +R is designed for the circuit. +R is unnecessary for the road, and unless you live within a road network that's exclusively paved with tarmac as smooth as glass, it can be quite unpleasant due to the bumpy ride. Fortunately, a fully customisable option allows maximum power delivery with soft suspension and steering, along with other features such as adaptable gearbox rev-matching.
The 6-speed gearbox is the only option for the Type R, with Honda giving no indication that a paddle shift will ever appear in the range. Perfectly matched ratios with an aesthetically pleasing shift process add to the excitement of the drive.
Of course, the true joy of a hot hatch is the ability to transform back into a delightful and compliant daily driver - perfect for office commutes, the weekly shop and the occasional errand with a grandparent complementing the comfort of the seats. All the conveniences of the standard Civic are present in the Type R, such as plenty of space, storage and genuine comfort.
My only complaint in my week with the FL5 is a common one with cars of this nature, road noise. The stiffer chassis and reduction of heavy sound deadening - paired with some semi-sticky rubber - results in some unavoidable tyre noise being amplified to the cabin. It is perhaps something I'd get used to with time, but I'd be sceptical of anyone that claimed it wasn't noticeable, and I struggled on motorway commutes to drown it out with music too.
The experience of driving a new car that evokes genuine emotion is becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon these days. Fortunately, the FL5 Civic Type R has reminded me that there is still hope.
Honda has produced possibly the most exciting, engaging and impressive front-wheel drive car I've experienced to date, and I'd challenge anyone else to suggest a worthy contender.
words: John Marcar
pictures: Henry Faulkner-Smith
