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MOTORS: Civic duty of Type-R to cater for everyone


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The Honda.
The Honda.

The second-hand car market is booming which means if you’re trading in, you should get a good price. The downside of course, is that you’ll probably have to pay over the odds for your replacement.

There’s plenty of choice out there, and in among them are some gems, but you’ll have to search hard to find them.

One you should certainly be looking out for is a ‘pre-loved’ Honda Civic Type R. They are scarce, because as a specialist machine, sales of new ones have always been on the low side. So if you find a good one, you might have to dig deep into your pocket... but it’ll be worth it.

A new model is expected to be with us around the end of the year and it’s eagerly awaited by enthusiasts but in the meantime, it’s possible one of the last of the current breed could be hiding in your local Honda dealership.

Since it first appeared just over two decades ago, the car has been a petrolhead’s favourite giving an enthusiastic driver everything they could wish for, at an affordable price.

Motors
Motors

The outgoing 10th generation version looks great from its ludicrously large rear wing, to its flared arches and unique three-pipe central exhaust all finished off with a stunning palette of dramatic paint colours.

The lightweight aluminium bonnet with built-in air duct weighs five kilos less than the steel bonnet on the standard five-door model.

But it’s not all show because under the surface is a pretty nifty two-litre turbocharged unit that pumps out tons of power through the front wheels to fling it from a standing start to 62mph in less than six seconds.

The statistics only tell half the story. Behind the wheel, it’s a terrific experience and the car simply bursts into life especially on twisty back roads where everything comes together with superb steering, magnificent manual gearbox and stable suspension to provide a memorable drive.

The Honda.
The Honda.

All the while, you’re gripped in the hip-hugging red sports seats while the performance is enhanced by the treble tailpipes at the back end in the centre of the rear diffuser. They incorporate Active Sound Control to create a raucous rasp during aggressive driving in Sport mode or a gentle burble at a more relaxed pace.

The standard Civic has been with us for half a century but while it shares the name with this wild one, it feels as if it comes from the tame side of town.

The new Type R version will have a hard job to do to replace the existing model which is also happy to serve as a practical family car which can be used every day.

Space for both front and rear occupants is remarkably good and anyone in the back seats also has surprisingly good all-round visibility. Boot space is generous with a side-sliding and removable cover, while the low sill height, wide opening and split rear seats mean it’s easy to load heavy, wide and long items.

The interior is clearly sports-focused with fake carbon-fibre trim across the dashboard and red trim around the air vents. The instrument binnacle could have come straight from a racing car with an analogue speedo supported by a digital display which includes virtual gauges displaying a variety of different readouts including an LED gearshift indicator light, boost pressure gauge, G-Meter and lap time recorder.

There are plenty of easy-to-operate traditional physical buttons and at the top of the piano-black central console there’s a seven-inch colour touchscreen.

For a car like this which likes to go, you need to be sure it can also stop, so there’s a top-class Brembo braking system with two-piece floating front brake discs and special brake pads..

All round the car there’s the classic sporty red Honda ‘H’ badge but an extra special touch is the unique serial number on a metal plate below the titanium teardrop gearshift knob.

Fact file:

PRICE: £36,415

ENGINE: 2.0-litre VTEC turbocharged 4-cyl petrol

POWER: 320 PS

TORQUE: 200 Nm combined

PERFORMANCE: Top speed 169mph; 0-62mph 5.8 secs

ECONOMY: 36 mpg combined

CO2 EMISSIONS: 176g/km

See Motors every week in the Ross-shire Journal


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