2017 Honda Civic Type R Road Test and Review

2017 Honda Civic Type R exterior front angle by Miles Branman ・ Photo by Miles Branman

Somewhere along the line, front-wheel drive (FWD) cars got a bad rap. “They understeer too much;” “it doesn’t require skill to drive them quickly.” Complaints come easy — until you drive the fastest FWD car on the market. The 2017 Honda Civic Type R isn’t your momma’s commuter – despite being based on the same platform. Honda has mustered all its engineering talent to transform a humble hatchback into a track-thumping sports car.

The Type R has finally made it to the U.S. to compete with the latest crop of hot hatches. Much like muscle cars, these compact vehicles are in the midst of a horsepower war. To handle the increased output, most manufacturers have integrated all-wheel-drive systems. Not Honda. The Japanese automaker is holding true to its front-drive performance roots.

To see just how fun (or frustrating) a super-powered FWD hot hatch can be, we journeyed to Ridge Motorsports Park in Washington State for some hot laps.

What’s New for 2017

The Civic Type R has sold abroad since 1997, but the sixth generation model is finally a global market car. North America inherits a completely redesigned hot hatch with a claim to the Nurburgring front-wheel-drive lap record. It also has a really big wing. The 2017 Type R is bit Civic Hatchback Sport, a bit Civic Si, but features plenty of all-new goodies. A new 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with a beefed-up six-speed manual to handle the extra grunt, a decked out interior with track-spec accessories, and the suspension is a smattering of sophisticated mechanics. Who’s excited?

Photo by Miles Branman

Exterior Styling

If all other cars knock politely before entering your field of vision, the Civic Type R bashes its steel-toed boots through the door. The car’s brash bodywork will certainly rub some would-be consumers the wrong way, but many more buyers will flock to the unapologetic flair. We’re fully on board with the Type R’s looks as a way to set this Civic apart from the hoards of civilian models seen each day. Sharing design cues with the Civic Sport, the Type R boasts blacked out exterior accents, a ground effects kit, and trapezoidal inlets in the front and rear bumpers. However, the Type R goes a step further with its hood scoop, massive fixed rear spoiler, and three-port center-exit exhaust system with non-uniform pipe sizes. A line of red lipstick also borders the lower aero work, and black painted 20-inch wheels wrapped in 245-section Continental SportContact 6 summer tires with fender flares complete the beyond-sporty look.

Photo by Miles Branman

Interior Comfort

Inside, the hyper hatch continues to stand out with aggressively bolstered red and black seats, a brushed steel shift knob, and a flat-bottomed, leather-wrapped steering wheel. Each Type R also receives a badge below the shifter with the car’s serial number. This subtle touch – one typically reserved for limited-production supercars – goes a long way to make owners feel special.

Like the Civic Hatchback Sport, cabin volume is excellent. Full-sized adults have sufficient head and legroom in the rear chairs. Front occupants can even fit wearing a helmet when track duty is on the agenda. The front sport bucket seats afford excellent lateral support during hard cornering, but – as we found when driving off-track – they remain comfortable while cruising.

The hot hatch offers ample storage space as well. With rear seats in place, the Type R has 25.7 cu. ft. of cargo volume is available (46.2 cu. ft. with seats folded down).

Photo by Miles Branman

Powertrain and Fuel Economy

Gone are the days of naturally aspirated, high-revving, VTEC-bucking Honda powertrains, but the future is still bright for Honda performance models. The Type R utilizes a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder to shuttle 306hp and 295 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. No CVT or automatic, no problem. Honda quotes a 0-60 mph sprint of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 170 mph – both impressive figures for the segment. The Type R pulls from all over the rev range, making it a sharper weapon on the track than VTEC motors of yore that required frequent downshifts to access useful grunt. Available power isn’t overwhelming like a muscle car, but the Type R’s tractable performance is arguably more usable on road and track. Rowing through Honda’s slick six-speed is a pleasure, complimented by some extra heft to the clutch pedal compared to the Civic Sport. On downshifts, the Type R will also auto rev-match smoother than even a veteran heel-toe practitioner. When not setting Nurburgring lap records, the Type R averages 25 combined mpg.

Photo by Miles Branman

Driving Dynamics

When it comes to Honda’s confidence in its front-drive engineering, the proof is in the prodding. We put the Type R through its paces both at high speed on Ridge Motorsports Park’s 2.6-mile racing circuit and along the switchbacks of Union, Washington. To mitigate torque steer, Honda equips the Type R with a mechanical limited-slip differential and dual-axis front strut suspension. The latter system separates the steering axis from the damping stroke so the two functions don’t compete when you put the hammer down. In practice, the Type R has but a hint of wheel movement even at full throttle. More impressive even than smooth power delivery is the set of 4-piston front Brembo brakes, which haul the Type R down from tremendous speeds without fade. The Type R also employs an adaptive damping system with greater adjustability than the updated Si’s unit, meaning a tauter track car and a more supple road car. With a dedicated comfort mode, the hottest Civic is a joy to drive on public roads – something that can’t be said about most rivals. During track driving, the added steering weight of the Sport and +R modes is appreciated, but around town, the extra effort is a bit unnecessary. We’d prefer independent adjustments for steering feel. Neither a punishing track car nor a lackluster road car, Honda’s Civic Type R is a best-of-both-worlds performance blend.

Photo by Miles Branman

Convenience and Safety Features

To highlight the Type R’s performance atmosphere, Honda has equipped its hot hatch with a driver information interface (DII) integrated within the instrument panel. This system displays not only speed and revs, but can be configured to show turbo boost, throttle, and braking effort, a lap timer, or progressive shift lights. In the vein of traditional convenience features, the Type R uses the same 7.0-inch infotainment system as its Civic siblings. The module is, for the most part, easy to use and responsive, but we’d still prefer a few more physical buttons to accompany the touchscreen and steering wheel-mounted controls.

Photo by Miles Branman

Pricing and Packages

2017 Honda Civic Type R models start at $33,900 (excluding an $785 destination and handling fee). This undercuts the Ford Focus RS by $2,220 and the Volkswagen Golf R by $1,755, but there’s more to the pricing equation. Unlike the Golf R, which approaches $40K with a few simple option boxes checked, every Civic Type R is equipped with Honda Touring grade features. Standard goodies include LED headlights, taillights, and fog lamps, push-button ignition; cruise control, voice activation navigation, a 12-speaker, 540-watt audio system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth compatibility, SiriusXM, HD radio; 1.5- and 1.0-amp USB ports; and Honda Link with apps, Pandora, and SMS text functionality. There quite literally are no additional boxes to check – the Civic Type R has it all, at no extra cost.

Photo by Miles Branman

Highs and Lows

Highs: -    Usable, robust power -    Good mix of handling stability and ride quality -    Cabin space and versatility -    Unapologetic, brash design Lows: -    FWD has its limitations…

Photo by Miles Branman

Competition

If the 2017 Civic Type R was on sale a year ago, it would have only needed to fend off Volkswagen’s Golf R, but with the Ford Focus RS in its crosshairs, the competition intensifies dramatically.   Though the Type R, Golf R, and Focus RS share similarities, the hot hatch field is anything but uniform. Only the Golf R is available with a dual-clutch automatic, only the Type R uses a front-wheel-drive system, and only the Focus RS cracks the 350hp (and 300+ lb-ft of torque) threshold. Each vehicle appears focused on a different objective. The Focus RS is quickest but suffers from poor ride quality. The Golf R looks the most mature, but can’t keep up with its more powerful rivals in a straight line. The Type R falls somewhere in between with strong performance, good ride quality, and a flashy physique.

Our Take

From the moment we first experienced Honda’s 10th generation Civic, we knew the car’s bones were bred for something special. The sixth generation and first global market Civic Type R is the realization of Honda (and our own) ambitions for a performance hatchback.

Fast, fluid, and affordable, the 2017 Civic Type R was indeed worth the 20-year wait.

Photo by Miles Branman