2023 Honda Civic Type R – Review by David Colman +VIDEO

Factory Prepped Street Legal Racing Sedan

David Colman

Story and Photos By David Colman
Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

It took only the briefest of test drives to discover that the latest Type R Civic is a wicked whiplash generator. This rather innocuous looking sedan changes direction with such ferocity that I checked under the front end to see if a slot car guide flag was connected to the pavement. Honda builds a lot of vehicles in the U.S., but the Type R is not one of them. Rather, the design, development and construction of this ultimate high performance Civic is solely the responsibility of Honda Japan. The Type R program kicked off in 1992 with a specially modified NSX. Over the past three decades, Honda has sold 7 Civic Type R variants, the last coming in 2017. The 2023 edition we tested is the first to receive a serialized VIN plate attached to the passenger's side of the dash. Our test car bore plate number R 007 03. You don't suppose...?

The Civic Type R is so far divorced from the run-of-the-mill Civic Honda sells most American families that it bears only a superficial likeness in shape and size to its prosaic relatives. Honda has tweaked every conceivable parameter of the Civic to turn it into a street-legal race car. The magic starts, as ever with this Indycar/Formula 1 aligned company, with the 2-liter turbo motor, which is dubbed the "K-Twenty-C-One" powerplant. Compared to the most recent 2017 Type R, horsepower is up by 9hp to 315hp while torque improves by 15lb.-ft. to 310lb.-ft. Honda achieved these gains by altering the size, shape and number of blades in the turbocharger. An industry benchmark for high-performance output long stood at 100hp/liter of displacement. The latest Type R blows that standard away with an output of 157.8hp/liter.

You can only buy a Civic Type R if you're proficient at operating a clutch and a 6-speed manual gearbox. Devotees of automatic transmissions will have to look elsewhere. The Civic's 6-speed is a model of perfection, from its precise clutch engagement to its delicious aluminum shift knob. We never missed a shift, and found the hill-start brake feature to be a great assist when launching on a slope. The shift gates are close but not so close as to confuse you when searching for the correct slot. Rev-matching is also a performance asset on downshifts. Pedal placement felt perfect, and we appreciated the aluminum-faced clutch pedal and adjacent dead pedal.

The Type R's cockpit was clearly designed by racers for racers. The bright red "suede effect” front sport seats provide exceptional full body support without needing to rely on myriad motors. But you'll have to put up with a bit of inconvenience when you climb aboard since you don't so much sit in these seats as wear them. In fact, they provide so much support under your thighs that your leg comes close to hitting the steering wheel. So you learn to slither into the Type R rather just dumping your buns. Once you're cinched up and set to go, the only thing missing is a helmet and a Nomex driving suit.

So exactly what is Honda's secret recipe for the Type R's monumental stick in cornering? Contrary to popular expectations, engineers lengthened the Civic's wheelbase by 1.4 inches over the prior model. In addition to providing more legroom for rear seat passengers (yes, this can be a real family car) the wheelbase extension imparts more directional stability to the Civic. Further gains are gleaned from widening front track by 1 inch and rear track by .75 inch. Honda capitalized on these dimensional changes by using more high strength steel and structural adhesive in the Type R's construction to produce a 15% increase in torsional rigidity.

To capitalize on those structural improvements, Honda retuned the adaptive suspension dampers to provide 4 different drive modes. A more comfortable ride quality is available in Normal mode, with increasing levels of adhesion on tap as you ascend the mode ladder from Sport to Sport+ to Type+R. You can also dial up your own Individual mixture which provides a combination of damper setting, exhaust note (triple tail pipe), and throttle response to suit yourself. The Individual array we liked best utilized ultra stiff dampers, muted exhaust, and the available Formula 1 style bar graph readout for the tachometer.

Standard tire fitment is a set of (TW300) Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (265/30ZR19) dry weather radials mounted on understated satin black alloys. If those gumballs aren't adhesive enough for you, you can factory order your Type R shod with full race Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. But the most amazing thing about this Civic isn't its extra terrestrial performance, it's the price. How does Honda sell this beast for just $44,385?

2023 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R

• Engine: 2.0 liter inline-4, turbocharged and intercooled, DOHC 16-valve. aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
• HORSEPOWER: 315hp@6500rpm
• TORQUE: 310lb.-ft.@2600-4000rpm
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 22MPG City/28MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $44,385

HYPES: Factory Prepped Street Legal Racing Sedan

GRIPES: Annoying 'Posted Speed Limit' Warning Blinker

STAR RATING: 10 Stars out of 10

©2023 David E Colman

DAVID E COLMAN
Auto Journalist
Biographic Profile

Dad jumpstarted my automotive career by taking me to the Indy 500 ten years in a row. During that decade he generously bought me a trio of new cars to drive: a C1 Corvette followed by two XKE roadsters. By 1970, I purchased my first new Porsche, a 911S Targa. The Porsche immersion has continued with a succession of newer models: 1970 914-6GT, 1983 944, 1987 944T, 2003 911 Turbo X50 Aerokit, 2011 911 GT3 RS and 2016 Cayman GT4. This "buy your own press fleet" exposure helped launch my literary career when I co-founded Excellence Magazine in 1987. I have written hundreds of reviews and profiles for Excellence over the past three decades.

I also covered motorsports for The Wheel, SCCA's San Francisco Region newspaper, as well as racing events for the Marin Independent Journal. Other outlets over the years have been The San Francisco Chronicle, Autoweek, Bimmer, Forza and Sports Car International. I started a weekly new car review in 1986 at the Marin IJ and subsequently continued it with the San Francisco Examiner. I am currently a Senior Writer for Vintage Motorsports magazine, and have written numerous race reports and feature articles for that publication.

My weekly reviews first hit the internet at CarReview.com and play today only on TheAutoChannel.com. I was a co-founder of the Western Automotive Journalists (WAJ), a press group formed to track-test vehicles at local road racing circuits. Since 1986, I have driven and evaluated a manufacturer-provided new vehicle just about every week of every year.

I have also been a long time competitor in Porsche Club and SCCA track and autocross events. I was sponsored by BF Goodrich tires for a number of years, and later by Yokohama Tires. My record book at the SCCA's annual Solo 2 National Championship event shows ten consecutive years of entries and trophy successes in a variety of classes. I also earned Top Time of Day at the Porsche Club of America's annual Parade Driving Event in my one owner 914-6GT.

I learned to write proper English in Sidney Eaton's English class at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts. Later, I majored in American Literature at Middlebury College (AB) and subsequently earned two Master of Art Degrees from the University of California: English (UC Santa Barbara); History of Art (UC Berkeley). So I'm a pump jockey and a word jockey.