2002 Honda Civic 2.0 Type-R 2.0 I-VTEC petrol

Summary:

A wonderful-looking, affordable high performance hatch-back

Faults:

Noise like a loose object inside the tailgate. Dealer knew about this and said it was one of the struts that just "needed tightening".

Apart from this very minor and silly fault, this Honda, like most I read about, was completely fault-free and totally reliable.

General Comments:

I needed to get away from the rut of owning two Impreza Turbos in a row over 7 years. The Civic compared very well on outright performance, but I missed that 4-wheel drive traction from standstill in the Subaru.

Buy it for that amazing, zingy engine and incredible, light gearbox. The step-up in performance (and noise!) as you pass 6200 RPM is very addictive. However the high revs and noise that go with getting high performance makes you feel a little bit anti-social.

The "space saving" spare CANNOT be put on the front (fouls the brake caliper) ; so if you have a front flat, you must first put the spare on a rear position and use the good rear wheel/tyre on the front. Not good on a wet night!

The free Motoring Appreciation Course (MAC) that Honda provides is a nice touch. It does NOT teach high speed driving, but makes you a better driver.

The ride is not great and the driver is inhibited from using all the performance for fear of alienating his passenger who gets thrown about!

Very cheapskate and annoying of Honda to not even fit "one-shot up and down" to front passenger window and only one-shot down (not up) to driver's window.

When either front seat is folded for access to rear, it does not return to its previously set position; this sounds minor, but is disproportionately annoying!

The "motor cycle style" Type-R decals on the sills are a bit ostentatious.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th November, 2003

2002 Honda Civic Type-R 2.0L iVtec

Summary:

A High Performance Car at a reasonable price - Poor Quality standards though

Faults:

Uneven tyre wear - 15kmiles Problem caused by poor suspension design. Problem took Honda 6 months to correct (If it is fixed it takes 10k miles to determine if failure is still there), replacement arms on top of suspension.

Replacement steering rack due to knocking - 18k miles.

Electrical Power Steering failure - Intermittent since first purchase. Assistance lost during parallel park manoeuvres. (Design feature not failing!)

Rear wheel hubs rusted - 6k miles

Honda say effect is purely cosmetic and does not effect performance. As such they have no intention to fix issue.

Paint quality lacking, stones chip paint way too easily for a Black car.

Honda customer services, Poor.

Honda dealer care, Dismal.

General Comments:

This car is a brilliant drivers car, fast responsive engine, and excellent gearbox, beautiful. WOW!

Cabin is very spacious for size of car.

Excellent ergonomics, everything is within easy reach with exception of Stereo, easy to over tune/change volume when driving due to stiff sports suspension. I would recommend they consider remote control stereo in the face lift when it comes next year.

Brilliant handling.

Gorgeous Looks.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th July, 2003

4th Jul 2003, 17:46

Actually, black paint is a very soft paint, so stone chips and scratches are to be expected. Sounds like your car is a piece of crap. Glad I don't own it.

29th Aug 2003, 08:34

I have a 03 Type-r in black. The problem is that Honda have used a thick lacker. Generally the scratching you can see, unless particularly deep, is not to the paint layer, but to the lacker. Being a black car the scratching to the lacker is more obvious as the light shines on it.

I have only had mine for 4 months and have scratched it several times just washing it (and I do wash carefully).

The only plus is that black paint is easier to repair and that most scratches can be polished out. Try Chipsaway they will come out and polish them out (all for £30)

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