Review: Honda Civic Type-R - the fast and the furious

The five year hiatus between the old one going off sale in Europe and the new model arriving is partly explained by the fact that the old model's high-revving petrol engine couldn't meet increasingly tight EU emissions regulations. Elsewhere, the last gen Type-R soldiered on until 2012. So we can blame Brussels for some of the delay.

The rest is down to turbocharging. This is the first hot Civic with forced induction - for so long anathema to the Honda of way of doing things - a necessary switch if the fastest Type R to date is to meet the tailpipe rules laid down by Brussels.

ON THE ROAD

When Honda announced the switch to turbocharging some aficionados wondered if the frenzy of the old Type R's normally-aspirated engine would be lost. Those fears seem to be confirmed by the new powerplant's 7,000 rpm red line.

But fear not, whether by accident or design, this is the most exciting Type-R yet. It's a lot more powerful, yes, but that's not why it's such an adrenaline rush. For that we can thank some good old-fashioned turbo lag.

At low revs the Civic feels docile, nosing about town like its hum-drum cousins, but pile on the revs and suddenly things go berserk with a capital 'b'. The power and torque come flooding in with such ferocity that, in the lower gears, the front tyres are sometimes overwhelmed. The low-profile Continental rubber struggles to master all 306 dobbins when they come charging out the stable door in anything less than perfect road conditions, despite the limited-slip differential's best efforts.

As if this isn't enough excitement, when the engine enters bonkers mode the digital dashboard goes all Blackpool illuminations on you, lights flashing as the LCD rev counter races through its operating range.

It's a tribute to Honda's chassis engineers that this vicious power spike doesn't render the Civic completely undriveable - it corners beautifully - but you do have to hang on to your hat when it happens. The Type-R transformation takes the already racy-looking hatchback and adds a bodykit, an enormous rear spoiler, quad exhausts, flared front wheel arches and smart-looking black alloys with red brake calipers. That's enough to attract the attention of every policeman within a half-a-mile. It's also a challenge to every would-be boy racer you come across.

I was sat waiting for the traffic lights near Sainsbury's, in Darlington, to go green last week when a bloke in a red Porsche pulled alongside. He took one look at the Civic and revved his car's engine for all it was worth in the Max Power reader's equivalent of a glove slap to the face.

Not being interested in re-creating The Fast 'n' The Furious (it's a film you duffus), I let Porsche man depart in a screech of tyre smoke. Presumably, he considered the Civic's brash exterior as a challenge to his manhood. At least the bodykit performs a useful function beyond antagonizing other drivers. It channels the air under the floor, creating a venturi effect which helps suck the car to the road when it's going fast. Of course, this all happens at the highly illegal speeds the Civic is capable of - just not in the UK.

ON THE INSIDE

The Civic's interior is as wacky as its exterior - a mixture of old-school analogue and ultra-modern LCDs on three levels - with added sporty touches. The aluminium gearknob (a feature of Type-R models ever since the Integra) feels great, albeit cold enough to freeze your palm in winter weather, the chunky steering wheel has a red notch so you can see when it's in the 12 o'clock position and the seatbelts are scarlet not black.

You sit 30mm lower in the hip-hugging sports seats because there's less padding and the floor is dropped by 10mm. Very comfortable when you are in them, the seats make getting in and out more difficult because your bum has to negotiate the exaggerated side wings that hold you secure. It's best to go in backside first.

HOW PRACTICAL IS IT?

In its quest for weight saving Honda has dumped the ordinary Civic's innovative 'magic seats' folding mechanism and the back seats only accommodate two people, not three. At least it's still possible to fold the seats down and they split 60/40.

You may not need to do so, however, because the boot is absolutely massive by dint of the fact there is no spare wheel, just a tyre inflation gizmo. WHAT YOU GET Two versions are available: the standard Type R and the GT model which comes with extra kit and satellite navigation. The infotainment system is the most complex I have come across: an Android-based systems it links with your phone to access the internet and download apps. That's fine, but it took me ten minutes of head scratching looking for the navigation app before I concluded that it wasn't included.

Cruise control, LED headlights and a reversing camera are all standard.

RUNNING COSTS

It's not cheap to run, especially if you're young or have a less than perfect speeding points score, but the Type-R is no more - or less fuel efficient - than key rivals like the Ford Focus or the Seat Leon Cupra. Despite the crackerjack performance and the macho bodykit the British insurance industry has played fair with the Type-R which inhabits the same group 33 bracket as the Focus ST and the Leon Cupra - one group below the Peugeot 308 GTi and the Golf R.

VERDICT

BRUTAL. That's the only way to describe the Civic Type R. Cars like the Golf R disguise their performance potential but the Honda flaunts it in your face. The Type R is not so much an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove as an iron fist wearing a knuckle duster. Whether that's a good thing or not probably depends on how old you are, but one thing's for sure: there's nothing restrained about the way it goes.

SPEC: Engine: 1996cc/four cyl/turbo.

Max power: 310PS.

Max torque: 400Nm.

Top speed: 167mph.

0-62mph: 5.7 seconds.

Combined mpg: 38.7mpg.

CO2: 170g/km.

VED: £295.