2023 Honda Civic Type R review: International first drive

Anticipation is building to something close to drooling levels ahead of the arrival of the new Honda Civic Type R. We’ll have to wait a while longer to tell you what an Australian-market car feels like, but Drive has already nabbed a go in a US-spec car in America. The good news is that, on the basis of experiencing one in the Midwest, it seems set to head straight to the top of the class.

The new FL5-generation car is closely related to the outgoing FK8, with the most obvious similarity being the continued use of the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine built in Ohio. Honda is quoting different power outputs in different markets, this due to varying fuel quality and emissions standards, with the US car reckoned to be good for the same 235kW we’ll get in Australia. Japanese versions have 243kW, and in Europe Honda is saying the Type R will have 241kW. All markets get 420Nm peak torque.

Power goes to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential, and the FL5 also sticks with its predecessor’s innovative dual-axis suspension system to help fight torque steer when cornering hard. Other spec changes are all slight. The FL5 Type R is 35mm longer, 25kg heavier – this based on American numbers – and Honda claims its body structure is now 15 per cent stiffer. Nothing radical, this is evolution, not revolution.

More significant are the styling changes. While subtle is the wrong word for a car sporting a rear wing that would be considered too big for most sedan racing championships, the new Type R is a far more harmonious piece of design than the last one. It has grown more mature, losing the cartoonish detailing of the previous versions.

Fake vents and mesh-contoured plastics have gone, the apertures in the front bumper are now all functional, with the ones at each side directing additional cooling air to the front brakes. The vent in the bonnet works to improve airflow over the radiator, and the narrow gaps behind the front arches help reduce air pressure in the wheel well.

Don’t worry, nobody is going to confuse this Type R with a regular Civic. Beneath the XL rear wing it still sports a triple array of exhaust tailpipes in the centre of the bumper, sits on big 19-inch wheels, and sports sizeable brake discs; the ones at the front a reassuringly large 350mm diameter. Being a Type R, it has also gained the right to wear a red Honda badge.

The interior feels both traditional and more modern than the last Type R. The US-spec car I drove had the very Japanese combination of a white exterior with red seats and carpets, these providing some party beneath the sensible regular Civic dark plastics further up the cabin.

While most of the architecture is obviously close to that of the mainstream version, the Type R has a redesigned centre console that both ensures the rounded aluminium gearshifter is in the optimal position, but also incorporates a dynamic mode selector for the Comfort, Sport and Individual dynamic settings. And a +R button that puts all functions into their most aggressive mode.

There is a 9.0-inch central screen for the infotainment, plus a separate digital instrument pack display behind the steering wheel; this re-configuring to a motorsport style when +R is selected. Honda has still put in a row of ultra-bright LED change-up lights above the e-dials rather than rendering these.

Anyone who has driven an FK8 Type R will find the FL5 feels immediately familiar. It has the same ultra-fast steering, now just 2.1 turns between locks, the same beautiful gearshift action, and a light but relatively high-biting clutch pedal.

Even at gentle speeds there are some obvious changes, with a lighter flywheel improving responses at low RPM and helping the motor to drop into a new gear more quickly. Pushing a bit harder also reveals a surprise, with a warning chime that sounds as the engine gets close to the redline to prompt an upshift. Given the K20C1 engine is hardly lacking in aural fury, plus the extra warning given by the change-up lights, this seemed redundant.

At lower speeds, the steering assistance felt a little too light, but adding pace and chassis loading improved it. The sensation definitely improves when the front wheels are trying to deliver both cornering forces and traction at the same time, the steering writhing and wriggling as the differential hunts for grip.

But this stops well short of old-fashioned torque steer, and only in the tightest bends, or full-bore starts on poor surfaces, was there any sense of the front axle deviating from a locked-on line. Thanks to the limited-slip differential, it fights understeer equally well, the Pilot Sport 4S tyres finding huge grip even on what were some greasy, damp surfaces.

Despite the hugeness of the adhesion, there is still plenty of playfulness in the chassis. Even in the gentlest Comfort mode, the Type R allows an impressive amount of throttle adjustability, the rear end tightening progressively as the accelerator gets eased, or more abruptly if the gas is snapped shut. But it is just as happy with a more direct approach, braking hard to the apex of a corner, the rear end lightening as the weight transfers forwards, and then getting hard on the throttle when the exit is lined up.

Don’t worry, the Type R is spared from the heresy of perfection. The US car’s adaptive dampers felt excessively stiff in the punchier dynamic modes. Sport was tolerable when attacking a lumpy road at speed, but +R was much too firm – even bringing the sensation of what felt like Formula 1 style ‘porpoising’.

The gentlest Comfort actually seemed to cope with the real world much better, combining compliance with still impressive levels of body control. I suspect that most American buyers will make use of the programmable ‘Individual’ to combine the punchier powertrain with the softer chassis. The rev-matching function that tries to blend downshifts also felt a bit dull-witted, and was soon turned off. It’s more fun to do it yourself.

There wasn’t much wrong with the previous Civic Type R, but on first impressions, this one seems to have subtly improved in almost all of those areas – and more besides.

The toughest thing for Australian buyers to swallow will be the size of the premium that Honda seems determined to extract over the old car with a drive-away price of $72,600 – and that comes under the brand’s ‘non-negotiable’ strategy. It’s clearly a bloody good car, but is it really going to be $20K better than a Hyundai i30 N sedan? We look forward to throwing them together to find out.