Although Honda sought to round off the sharp chassis edges of this car’s predecessor, the fifth-generation Civic Type R nails its track-biased colours to the mast from the word go.
Steering inputs require some heft, there’s surprisingly little lock for a car with pretensions of practicality and, even in its softest setting, the damping remains unapologetically firm at low and medium speeds, to the extent that it will be a deal-breaker for some.
But not for us. It’s that trade-off of low-speed comfort for high-speed composure again. Flick the toggle switch on the transmission tunnel to Sport – forget about using +R mode on the road and save it for the track, where this chassis excels – and the Type R has just enough pliancy to diligently knead its tyres into the road surface while nipping in the bud anything approaching meaningful body roll.
The impression it conveys is one of resolute poise with calculated wheel control, although this comes at the price of suppleness.
Indeed, the suspension is a touch over-sprung for committed driving along typical British B-roads and this can make it a challenge for the driver to establish a rhythm at speed, despite the directness of the well-calibrated variable-ratio steering and the general infallibility of the front axle. Comfort mode, conversely, feels a little under-damped when up against the Civic’s 1400kg kerb weight and huge grip levels. There’s a sweet spot to be found here, which we hope the facelift would address.
