The Honda Civic Type-R is more fun to drive than a supercar
It's totally normal to wake up at 4am and drive 70 miles out to the mountains to go fetch apple donuts when you have a Honda Civic Type-R. [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]
After reviewing the entry-level and middle-ranked Honda Civics, it's only fair to extend the same courtesy to the apogee of all things Civic-the $37,495 Type-R. It takes the starfighter styling and turns the dial all the way, adding spoilers and wings and vents and scoops. Underneath all those aerodynamic appendages, the mechanical bits have been similarly stimulated, taking friction out here and quickening response times there. It's Honda's idea of the world's best hot hatch, and after a week in the brightly colored, heavily bolstered driver's seat, I'm inclined to agree.
I didn't need long behind the wheel before I started kicking myself for waiting until 2020 to make friends with the Type-R. It's had a few tweaks here and there since Jim Resnick drove it in 2018. The front grille admits more air, and an uprated radiator core makes use of that to reduce coolant temperatures by up to 10C. The bigger grille opening led Honda to reprofile one of the two front spoilers to balance out the efficiency, a change you're unlikely to notice unless you take it off the car and look carefully.
There are some stiffer suspension bushings here and there, and the adaptive dampers react 10 times faster than they used to. The front brakes are now two-piece items, so they weigh less and are more resistant to fade. At its core, the Type-R is still a Civic, so it benefited from the same midlife refresh as its cheaper, more numerous siblings-new front and rear bumpers, better infotainment, and a full suite of advanced driver-assistance systems.
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