The last of its kind
Okay, the Type R will still be in production until the end of 2026. But you can now order the ‘Ultimate Edition’, which is a clear sign that it’s coming to an end; 40 units are coming to Europe, eight of them to Switzerland, each costing 64,800 Swiss francs (which, incidentally, is almost exactly twice as much as eight years ago – inflation is a nasty beast…). In addition to the car in Championship White, you also get a carbon fibre key ring, custom-made floor mats and a car cover. We didn’t get any of that, but we did get to sit next to Tiago Monteiro shortly after breakfast for a few hot laps in a standard Type R. Tiago, the first Portuguese driver to finish on an F1 podium (great story), is a quiet, refined man, but behind the wheel he gets pretty fierce – and he immediately showed us what a Honda can do on the track with road tyres. And it was a good lesson. If I hadn’t seen Monteiro take one chicane at full speed, I wouldn’t have dared to do it myself.
Because then I got to try it too. Not quite as fast as the Portuguese driver, of course, but a Honda Civic Type R is a really good car. Very stable chassis, hardly any roll, even when you take the kerbs hard, wonderfully precise steering, wonderfully short shift travel, extremely good brakes that are also very stable. But the most important thing is that you immediately feel confident in this vehicle. It doesn’t act up, it doesn’t do anything you wouldn’t expect – if you take a corner too fast, it gently rolls over the front axle, but you can confidently call that a driving error; it was the driver’s fault, not the car’s. If you drive cleanly on the mountain or on a (winding) track, you’ll embarrass far more powerful and twice as expensive hot air blowers (such as a Porsche 911…). Because it goes forward perfectly. The sixth generation of the Type R (FL5, in Europe since 2023) weighs 1429 kilos, but the 2-litre VTEC turbo with its 330 hp and 420 Nm of maximum torque, available between 2600 and 4000 rpm, has no problem providing decent propulsion. Sure, every other SUV can do 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds these days, but the top speed of 275 km/h is pretty impressive.
It was the eternal battle: Civic Type R versus Megane R.S.. The French car lost because it has been out of production since summer 2023. Sure, there are/were other hot hatches, including the front-wheel drive Hyundai i30 N, the eternal Golf GTI, of course, and the cool all-wheel drive models, the Audi RS3, Ford Focus RS, Mercedes-AMG A45 and Golf R. But really, it was always just Civic vs Megane. Two very well-balanced vehicles, pushing each other to peak performance, constantly setting new lap records on the Nordschleife. The A45 had almost 100 hp more, but no chance. But, alas, the fun is coming to an end; there will be no more Type R after 2026 – and we’re already feeling a little sad. Because yes, we’ve experienced a lot with earlier Type R models. (We once had the pleasure of a ‘vertical tasting’ of all Type Rs, EK9 (from 1996), EP3 (from 2001), FD2/FN2 (from 2007), FK2R (from 2015) – and, at the time, the FK8. Unfortunately, we can’t find the pictures anymore.)
But we have to live with it: true driving pleasure is being abolished. The manufacturers will then say: it’s the politicians’ fault. That may well be, and they are certainly partly to blame, but it’s just as obvious that the car industry has stopped thinking and, in sync with the politicians, has thrown itself to its knees like the EU recently did before the most idiotic Potus a.Z.. Just so we’re all on the same page: From 2035, i.e. in ten years’ time, it will be difficult to sell combustion engines in the world’s third-largest market – in other words, in ten years, one and a half car generations (according to Chinese standards: about four). The fact that they surrendered without resistance long ago and stopped all development work on combustion engines four or five years ago is now proving to be a nasty boomerang (see Porsche). It is a little surprising that Honda – the world’s largest manufacturer of combustion engines – is also playing along, as one would expect the Japanese to be able to assess the global market a little better. But maybe they don’t care, they continue to sell millions of mopeds, boat and lawnmower engines every quarter, and the last 40 Civic Type Rs won’t really hurt their business, it won’t even make a dent in their postage budget.
Perhaps a Honda Civic Type R is the last source of joy you can still buy for a reasonably decent price; when it’s no longer available, all that will remain is the VW Golf GTI. Nothing against the GTI – ‘radical’ was surprised just the other day at how much fun it is to drive (test report to follow) – but the Honda lacks the surgical precision of the Wolfsburg model. Oh yes, we agree with those who don’t find the Japanese car particularly attractive (inside or out), but as a ‘daily driver’ that’s also suitable as a ‘track tool’, the Honda is something of a last of the Mohicans. And when we have to say goodbye to it, the automotive world will indeed be a little poorer. If you’re not a collector or a hunter, there’s no need to pay extra for the ‘Ultimate Edition’; a standard Type R (from £57,800) will definitely do the job. Perfect.
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