Price (as tested) 💲: $44,385
Powertrain ⚙️: 2.0-liter Turbocharged 4-cylinder
Output 💪: 315 hp/310 lb-ft of torque
Transmission 🕹: 6-Speed Manual
0-60 MPH 🚦: 4.9 seconds
Top Speed 💥: 169 mph
MPG (as tested) ⛽️: 22 city/28 hwy/24 combined
Curb weight ⚖️: 3,183 lbs
Porsche was ‘foolish’ for letting the 911’s engine hang over the back axle, yet decades of refinement have turned that car into an benchmark both front- and even mid-engined sports cars dream of challenging.
Channeling similar stubbornness, Honda has retained its front-drive architecture for the Civic Type R while all its hot hatch foes embrace four driven wheels. Power raises a negligible amount in the latest (FL5) generation and calibrations alter to a similar degree, but the recipe remains.
Except for one very important thing: the new car is no longer an embarrassment to drive. In gentlest terms, the FK8 predecessor was as aesthetically cohesive as a giant magnet that had been dragged through a metal yard.
The new Civic Type R is now the perfect dollop of immaturity mated to divine dynamics that have far more in common with Porsche products than the German automaker would like to admit.