Tuesday 24th February 2015

Honda Civic Type R (EP3): PH Buying Guide

The first UK Civic Type R is now from £2K - here's how to choose the best

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Given Honda's aspiration for the Civic Type R EP3 was for it to be a 'hatchback bullet', you could forgive the Japanese firm for being a little miffed this model has become more widely referred to as the 'breadvan'. Still, why worry about a nickname when the car itself is one of the best hot hatches of its period and now available for as little as £2,000?

Search for Honda Civic Type R EP3s here

First UK Civic Type R arrived in 2001

You might have to spend a bit more to bag a carefully tended EP3 Type R, but even the best shouldn't set you back more than £6,000 unless you want the rare Japanese market model with its standard limited-slip differential.

UK Civic Type R EP3 models changed little throughout their lifespan, which stretched from 2001 until 2005. A mild facelift in 2004 was notable for slight revisions to the steering to help reduce understeer. This update also brought a lighter clutch and flywheel, as well as projector headlights - the only notable changes.

Throughout its life, UK Type Rs were fitted with a K20 2.0-litre normally aspirated petrol engine producing 200hp at 7,400rpm. There may be only 145lb ft of torque at 5,900rpm, but the engine only has 1,204kg to lug about and is helped by a close ratio six-speed manual gearbox.

Mid-life facelift tweaked steering

Much of the Type R's appeal lies with the VTEC variable valve timing, which comes into play around 5,500rpm to deliver a rush to the redline. Some drivers find this engine short on low-end power but it's designed to be revved hard and can provide 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds when driven as Honda intended and will go on to a top speed of 146mph.

With Honda build quality and attention to detail, even the oldest EP3 Civic Type R still makes for a vividly fast road car and capable track machine if it's been cared for. On the eve of the launch of the new Civic Type R, the EP3 is great value and also a practical choice for those who need a single car for all reasons.

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PHer's view:
"The EP3 was hugely entertaining to drive, practical enough to get my bikes in the boot and the biggest surprise was that it was the cheapest of any of my previous cars to run and maintain. That's despite being significantly quicker and a fairly big step up in terms of performance."
Phil Higgins

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Buying guide contents:
Introduction
Powertrain
Rolling Chassis
Body
Interior

Search for Honda Civic Type R EP3s here

[rallye666]

Just show us the new one!

[Chicane-UK]

You need to shop around for these, no doubt. Went with a friend to buy an EP3 Type R last year, and we looked at several total nails before he ended up finding a totally unmolested enthusiast owned example.

Given that the ones we looked at were not much more than 10 years old, they were all thrashed, tired, had bodywork damage, badly executed modifications and reeked of pending expensive bills (clutch, etc). Definitely do some proper research before parting with your hard earned!

[y2blade]

Good piece, I have a soft spot for the EP3.

[Axionknight]

Chicane-UK said:

You need to shop around for these, no doubt. Went with a friend to buy an EP3 Type R last year, and we looked at several total nails before he ended up finding a totally unmolested enthusiast owned example.

Given that the ones we looked at were not much more than 10 years old, they were all thrashed, tired, had bodywork damage, badly executed modifications and reeked of pending expensive bills (clutch, etc). Definitely do some proper research before parting with your hard earned!

100% this, there is a lot of ste out there, so persevere and make sure you do some thorough resesrch and inspections.

[allergictocheese]

Pre-facelift cars should have a LOT of attention paid to the steering before parting with cash. An sign of clunking, or of 'notches' or any warning on the dash should be treated with extreme caution (my 2002 car needed three new steering racks and three new control units in 2 years from new).

Front ARBs can loosen and should be checked over before driving away.

The gearbox is likely to have spent a large proportion of its changes at high RPM and possibly without too much mechanical sympathy if Barry has been doing them. Any test drive should be done from stone cold, paying extra attention to changes around 2nd and 4th, not to mention running up and down the gearbox at high revs to check synchros. Reverse should be easy peasy to engage.

At high miles the throttle bodies can block and as the butterfly runs out of adjustment the car can stall at the approach to junctions etc. when warm. Not a major thing and just requires a good cleanout.

The gearlever is aluminium (as opposed to titanium on the DC2) and scratches up easily. The seats (unless in special editions or JDM models) are not Recaro, although they are relatively comfortable.

[PistonBroker]

Agreed on the nails comments.

I was very tempted by one that a local Logbook loans outfit was selling on eBay a while back. Finished up around half the price this article says gets you into an EP3 . . . but I've no doubt it was absolutely knackered!

SWMBO is in a CRV with the 2.0 VTEC lump in it. Completely unsuited to its application - thrashing the nuts off the family holdall just to get up a slight incline is not what I want to be doing! But I wouldn't mind trying it in this application.

[anonymous-user]

I've always been keen to drive one of these. I don't know if all the barry boy knobbers I see on the roads really don't know how to drive them properly or if they're just not that fast, but I never have any trouble leaving them behind in my lardy automatic V70 T5. Also before anyone says yes I do know they are trying hard because I can hear the engine farting it's guts out through the stty exhaust they've fitted.

I think the EP3 is reaching the absolute bottom "McDonalds Car Park" part of the hot hatch life cycle. They are still in the wilderness for me where they are too popular with the scumbags to hold any appeal - most of them are knackered/abused/neglected/badly modified and we'll have to wait for all the st to get crushed into cubes to leave behind the well preserved ones at a price that'll see the eijits move on to something else. The above point about the "log book loans" one is a pretty good illustration

[Nath1790]

Just bought a Silver 2003 model as I've always wanted one. I agree on many of the points made in the article re wear and paintwork.

I found it quite difficult to find an example I liked within my budget. I initially wanted a Grey Facelift model but couldn't find one close. I had to travel 2hrs for mine, there just wasn't any local at all (Gloucestershire).

Mine is a bit 'barried', as it has the following; Induction kit, tints all round (front gone already!), Spoon N1 rep backbox, lowering springs but it has uprated engine mounts and a Spoon Cam Cover so I hold out hope that it's been looked after!

I think they're great and I'm aiming to really look after mine. Serviced already and 2 new rear tyres (No ditch finders here!). The car pulls well and is easy to drive, yes you need to VTEC to actually press on but I love it. People who complain are just used to anything with a turbo.

[Limpet]

dme123 said:

I've always been keen to drive one of these. I don't know if all the barry boy knobbers I see on the roads really don't know how to drive them properly or if they're just not that fast, but I never have any trouble leaving them behind in my lardy automatic V70 T5. Also before anyone says yes I do know they are trying hard because I can hear the engine farting it's guts out through the stty exhaust they've fitted.D

To be honest, this has been my experience as well. One of those cars you always hear screaming its knackers off, usually through a crappy aftermarket bean can exhaust, and not really going anywhere. Reminds me of a four wheeled equivalent of those two stroke crossers that used to be everywhere.

Can't help wondering if most of them are actually completely shagged through abuse, neglect or badly executed mods. They never look that fast to me, even though on paper (when new) they clearly are.

[TheJimi]

I don't subscribe to the notion that certain cars are bought by certain types of people. Hot hatches, by their nature, will prejudice the opinion of some people.

I've lost count the amount of times I've seen near 30k's worth of Mk2 Focus RS being referred to on here as "chav wagons" and similar. It's a prejudice thing. Any car will have a representation of an unsavoury type of owner and if you spend enough time researching and buying different cars, that becomes pretty obvious.

It's also a PH thing IMO. The above owner referred to his/her car as being "barried", but I'm willing to bet that if this was any other forum than PH, the poster would have made the reference to "modified" rather than "barried" - because "barried" tends to fit in with the general PH perception of modified cars.

Maybe I'm over-thinking this

[Nath1790]

I referred to my car as 'barried' because it seems to be the accepted word for modified on here regardless of whether it is done properly or not. I like modifying cars and IMO I keep it tasteful. I wanted a car with these bits on because if you have a little look, things like an AEM induction kit are £200+. Even my N1 style rep is around £200.

I like to believe that there is a huge difference between having a 'chavved' (cheap nasty Ebay ****) and having a 'modified' (actually spent decent money for parts so in theory should look after their property) car.

Everybody has their own opinion and is into different things.

[TheJimi]

Nath1790 said:

I referred to my car as 'barried' because it seems to be the accepted word for modified on here regardless of whether it is done properly or not.

My point exactly

[Goatex]

Limpet said:

To be honest, this has been my experience as well. One of those cars you always hear screaming its knackers off, usually through a crappy aftermarket bean can exhaust, and not really going anywhere. Reminds me of a four wheeled equivalent of those two stroke crossers that used to be everywhere.

Can't help wondering if most of them are actually completely shagged through abuse, neglect or badly executed mods. They never look that fast to me, even though on paper (when new) they clearly are.

You really need to work the engine in order to make it move which is great when your in the mood as it sounds wonderful but tiring / embarassing when you are not. They eat front tyres so suspect a lot of the afore mentioned poorly looked after ones are on budget tyres and thus struggle to get the power down.
I had mine for a couple of years - as I said, superb when you are in the right mood and on a nice smooth road, but when you're not it's hard riding and has a massive turning circle which ultimately proved too frustrating for me.

[Martin_Hx]

What a brilliant car this is!

• I am in no way biased

[ModernAndy]

dme123 said:

I've always been keen to drive one of these. I don't know if all the barry boy knobbers I see on the roads really don't know how to drive them properly or if they're just not that fast, but I never have any trouble leaving them behind in my lardy automatic V70 T5. Also before anyone says yes I do know they are trying hard because I can hear the engine farting it's guts out through the stty exhaust they've fitted.

I had a similar experience; seriously embarassed some wee lad in an EP3 on the motorway when he thought it would be clever to tailgate when I was already making decent but relaxed progress in my totally unmodified S60 T5.

[GTEYE]

Axionknight said:

Chicane-UK said:

You need to shop around for these, no doubt. Went with a friend to buy an EP3 Type R last year, and we looked at several total nails before he ended up finding a totally unmolested enthusiast owned example.

Given that the ones we looked at were not much more than 10 years old, they were all thrashed, tired, had bodywork damage, badly executed modifications and reeked of pending expensive bills (clutch, etc). Definitely do some proper research before parting with your hard earned!

100% this, there is a lot of ste out there, so persevere and make sure you do some thorough resesrch and inspections.

+1

2 of my work colleagues had them when new as company cars. Both absolutely hammered them.

One ended up written off at 3 months old upside down in a field

The other managed to blow up the supposedly un-burstable VTEC engine.

Buyer beware I guess...

[Dgr90]

I keep thinking about selling mine, (03 pre facelift) but every time I go to write an advert I remember how reliable its been, how much fun it can be if you are in the mood and that it will do the daily duties without a problem. I just cant justify selling it, in my opinion nothing around the same price will give me the same experience. Yes, other things are faster, but its a do-it-all car that can be a lot of fun, and for £3k I will be hard pushed to find something similar.

[Oz83]

GTEYE said:

+1

2 of my work colleagues had them when new as company cars. Both absolutely hammered them.

One ended up written off at 3 months old upside down in a field

The other managed to blow up the supposedly un-burstable VTEC engine.

Buyer beware I guess...

It's the VTEC system that has the reputation for being super reliable, the rest of Honda engines are just as vulnerable to abuse as any other engine.

It's important to check the oil levels on these as they can suffer from starvation issues during enthusiastic left hand cornering. Drop links tend to wear out which can lead to knocking and sloppy handling. Make sure vtec engages properly during a test drive (after being properly warmed up ofcourse).

To be honest, as long as the owner has looked after the engine and gearbox (with regular oil changes using the correct weight and type of oil), the rest of the car is relatively cheap and easy to refresh with standard or aftermarket parts. I used to love tinkering with my Honda, happy days!

[bumrar]

I've had my 2003 type R for four years now. The longest I've kept any car apart from my kit car. In that four years all its needed is servicing, tyres, brake pads, an exhaust and drop links. It gets used for camping trips, tip runs, house moves, commuting to work, carrying bikes on the roof, and putting a smile on my face when I'm in the mood!

Great car, it is a shame people see them as now a favourite of 'the modders' (Mine's as it should be!)

[muppet42]

It's on the short list of what I'll be getting next pretty much. In terms of price range, it falls right in the bracket I'm looking at though there's a range of cars in consideration. Hell, there's an RX8 231 in the dealership next door for a similar budget to what I'm thinking though it's one of those ones where they leave the sunroofs on tilt no matter what the weather is Does look pretty spotless with decent matching tyres all round...

Just always liked the unfussy look of the EP and still like the noise they make - just a proper induction roar even without any modifications. Like many Japanese cars though they attract a certain type of person, especially with the budget they've crept into. It always depresses me when a car I like falls into this region, it happened with classic shape Imprezas for example Still, a well cared for, perhaps sensibly modified example is right up there on the list. Would love a Premier Edition in Nighthawk please Or a late model JDM of course lol