Faults:

The passenger side door handle is stiff and hard to open - almost impossible.

The clutch pedal sometimes squeaks.

Paint quality seems a little thin.

General Comments:

Has to be the most practical car in its class. The rear doors open 90 degrees, and the seats fold totally flat and lift up cinema style. Loads of leg room all round too.

The 1.8 engine seems to come alive above 4000 RPM, and is generally smooth but a bit coarse around 3500 RPM. It can also drone annoyingly at motorway speeds. Very quiet at idle. Amazing fuel economy 45 MPG at 75mph, which is good for a 1.8 138 BHP motor.

Handles very well, at the expense of the ride, which is very hard - it's also quite noisy on bad roads. The steering is great for feel and is very accurate. The gearbox is very good - the unique clunk confirms it's definitely in gear!

Compared to a VW Golf or many other small cars, it's very good looking - they have really thought about the styling, inside and out. You get used to the awkward rear visibility and the lack of a wiper. Silver pedals, petrol flap filler and exhaust trims looks so cool and stand out from a bland class of cars. A very attractive shape and nice interior plastics / finish. The Royal blue paint can look a bit flat, despite polishing regularly.

The dashboard layout has to be near the best in class. Everything is so simple and logical, especially the dashboard computer and climate control system. A warning lamp for low screen wash would be nice however. Standard air-conditioned glovebox is a thoughtful touch too.

Being a 2006 build/chassis, you can also program it to self lock at 9mph and auto unlock when you remove the key. A great feature - I don't know why they stopped it on 2007 models onwards.

Reliability has been very good; what more could you want from a car in this class?

Faults:

Intermittent cutting out.

Rear suspension knock.

Petrol filler cap failed to open.

Central locking failed.

Power steering failed.

Colour came off of gear change knob.

Engine to body earth point failed.

General Comments:

Honda really failed on this one, although it has been very reliable since an independent motor engineer fixed the faults. For which repeated negotiations with Honda customer services failed to do. And the dealer as much use as a chocolate teapot. Probably why they went bust.

I would say the car drives well, comfortable, and running costs are good.

The bad Honda customer service detracts from how good this car could be.

Faults:

Nothing at all.

General Comments:

Still running the car in for the first 1000 miles.

Car is great looking and gets admiring looks whenever I am out in it. It is a last of the line Type R with the tinted windows and red recaro seats. Well done Honda.

Only negatives I would say that I have noticed in my short time of owning this car are:-

1) The seatbelts are hard to reach when putting on.

2) Everyone wants to race you from the boy racers in their Corsas to the old guys in their BMW's. I encounter this everytime I'm out in the car, and it gets annoying when they are sitting inches off the bumper of your new pride and joy.

As I have not yet run the car in fully, I am not aware of and cannot comment on its performance yet, but have been told various figures 146mph flat out and 6.6 seconds 0-60mph. Although I was also told by someone who has had a few of these cars, that it would hit 155mph no problem and that 60mph comes up quicker than 6.6 seconds and would have been in the fives if the limiter had not kicked in at 58mph in second, requiring a gear change into third. How much of this is true I do not know.

Comments, figures achieved and experiences by other Type R owners would be appreciated. I bought the car for its looks, street cred and the attention it gets first of all, but curious as to the true performance of this car. I love going out posing in it when it's all polished up - it really looks the part. But I also bought the car partly for a bit of performance and acceleration when needed for overtaking, but certainly not taking it to its limits.

So far very impressed with the Type R, and know I made the right decision buying this car. The new Type R is out in January 2007, and looks smart and does 60mph in 6 seconds and 150mph, but what I am waiting for is the Type RR whenever that comes out. Not sure exactly when, but heard it could have 240bhp. That will be some machine!!! Looking forward to reading about that.

Overall, very impressed with my new Type R, it puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it.