2007 Honda Civic Type R UK Spec 2.0 Vtec from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Looks great, but lacks the power to thrill
General Comments:
I test drove a 2007 Civic Type R last week and was not that impressed by it. I wondered if anyone else had found this? Obviously it is impossible to get a full appreciation of a car after a short drive, but certainly from first impressions it was poor.
From first impressions it looks like a serious piece of kit with its mean body kit. It is certainly much better looking than the last shape, which I thought was very uninspiring.
The interior is nice too. There is a definite feeling of quality and the digital dash is great. I found it to be very comfortable and easy to find a good driving position.
My disappointment started as soon as I pushed the ignition button. A droning 4 pot came to life without any sign that it was a performance car. It sounded no more exciting than any other Civic; it was quiet. I was expecting a rumble from the exhaust. Not loads of noise, but at least something to suggest that this was not your normal Civic.
Unfortunately the disappointment didn't end there. When I moved off it again sounded boring. More concerning it didn't seem to have any more low down poke than a normal Civic. However honda engines love to be rev'd so I assumed that it would suddenly come to life on the open road.
I was directed onto a dual carriage way by the salesman who allowed me to open the taps. I floored it and it went faster, but not particularly fast. At no point did it get my pulse going. It was quite boring to be honest.
Anyway I was very disappointed with the car. I thought Type R meant hardcore, but this really is a watered down hot hatch. Maybe more of a warm hatch. I guess the only good this is you can get a japanese spec one which is hardcore, but surely the UK one should be too? Or is it just another car designed for people to pose in?
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 8th November, 2007
12th Nov 2007, 05:48
It depends if you view thrashing an engine to within an inch of its life to extract every last drop of power a pleasure or a chore.
Yes the VTEC engines sound incredible at high revs, and yes they produce a huge amount of bhp per cc for a normally aspirated engine, but there's no getting away from the fact that the interesting stuff doesn't feature until the top 25% of the rev range. The rest of the time they are flat and uninspiring.
I personally think they're a laugh to drive for a few hours, but intensely frustrating beyond that. A bit like a small engined motorbike - a whole lot of fuss, noise and gear swapping to achieve what many alternatives can match or better with a simple snap open of the throttle.
But this Civic Type-R in red is probably the best looking of the current hot hatches, I'll give it that much.