RE: Honda Civic Type R (FK8): Driven
Discussion
Hi, I posted a fairly long post re my FK2 in early 2016. I’ve had along line of Honda Type Rs, M3s & Porsches (predominantly 911s). My FK2 replaced an E90 M3 2 door, it lasted 6 months till I reverted back to a 997 GTS 2 PDK I then sold that about a year later & bought a very low mileage, manual Mk 7 Golf R to use day to day. The Golf R was capable but ultimately too dull for me, that was sold & I went back to another gen 2 997 C2. Having 18 month old twins & a need to move people & thngs about the 911 wasn’t really cutting it day to day (much as I tried to work round the space limitations). My wife’s car is pretty big but not available to me due to being in constant use with our kids, we live a reasonable distance outside Glasgow so another option was required. My dealer (Phoenix Honda in Linwood - not local to me but the best I’ve ever used) kindly gave me an extended test drive in a FK8. Initially I was horrified at how it looked, then I put all the junk I needed for my job in the boot as opposed to the front seat, the rear seats & the boot of the 911. How novel. Then I drove to the shops on the way home to collect all the stuff from the supermarket that my wife couldn’t get due to the kids kicking off earlier that day - IN SPORT MODE - & the ride was brilliant. Then I put it in comfort mode & it was even better on Glasgow’s chronic roads. The reason I sold the FK2 was primarily the ride. Ultimately unbearable for me day to day, this was a big deal for me. It was the weekend in late November when we had some snow in Scotland so the roads weren’t great. I got out for a drive on the Sunday afternoon for about an hour & was hooked. Pre all the reviews etc, if Porsche built a fwd hatchback, it would feel like this. It’s the whole thing, the ride, the engine, that gear change, all the contact points. I’d be amazed if they haven’t benchmarked Porsche GT cars. I’ve driven both gen 2 996 GT3 & gen 1 997 GT3 + owned 993/996/997 Turbos & everything naturally aspirated from SCs to 997 GTS & all points in between. I’m not the fastest but I know a sorted car when I drive one. The FK8 Civic Type R is one of the 3/4 best cars I’ve ever driven in my 48 years on this planet. It’s unbelievably good day to day, utterly addictive to drive anywhere & sensational whenever you get the slightest whiff of a chance to have fun. I also think it’ll destroy anything point to point on our roads. The FK2 was almost this good but too firmly sprung. The FK8 is sublime. Forget all this “must have individual mode” talk. The FK8 is setup up by engineers & drivers way beyond my ability. I’ve deduced that their combination of settings is fine by me, & sport mode as the default is the correct one 90% of the time. I only use comfort mode on the worst roads in my area. As for the looks? I don’t care & now even like them. Everything’s there for a reason, & once you’ve felt it on a good road you know at a decent speed you’ll understand why it’s all there. Anyway, I don’t have to look at it, I’m inside having fun in the best day to day car available to me at any price - & mine’s white!
Edited by scmcc on Tuesday 26th December 21:54
Edited by scmcc on Tuesday 26th December 22:09
scmcc said:
The FK8 Civic Type R is one of the 3/4 best cars I’ve ever driven in my 48 years on this planet. It’s unbelievably good day to day, utterly addictive to drive anywhere & sensational whenever you get the slightest whiff of a chance to have fun.
Can't believe it's taking them 2 generations of Civic to finally produce a good one with sorted suspension. Have to admit i've been hankering after a grey one to replace the MX-5 - FWD wouldn't necessarily put me off the car, if it drives so well, but you can't help wondering how good an AWD version would be.scmcc said:
Hi, I posted a fairly long post re my FK2 in early 2016. I’ve had along line of Honda Type Rs, M3s & Porsches (predominantly 911s). My FK2 replaced an E90 M3 2 door, it lasted 6 months till I reverted back to a 997 GTS 2 PDK I then sold that about a year later & bought a very low mileage, manual Mk 7 Golf R to use day to day. The Golf R was capable but ultimately too dull for me, that was sold & I went back to another gen 2 997 C2. Having 18 month old twins & a need to move people & thngs about the 911 wasn’t really cutting it day to day (much as I tried to work round the space limitations). My wife’s car is pretty big but not available to me due to being in constant use with our kids, we live a reasonable distance outside Glasgow so another option was required. My dealer (Phoenix Honda in Linwood - not local to me but the best I’ve ever used) kindly gave me an extended test drive in a FK8. Initially I was horrified at how it looked, then I put all the junk I needed for my job in the boot as opposed to the front seat, the rear seats & the boot of the 911. How novel. Then I drove to the shops on the way home to collect all the stuff from the supermarket that my wife couldn’t get due to the kids kicking off earlier that day - IN SPORT MODE - & the ride was brilliant. Then I put it in comfort mode & it was even better on Glasgow’s chronic roads. The reason I sold the FK2 was primarily the ride. Ultimately unbearable for me day to day, this was a big deal for me. It was the weekend in late November when we had some snow in Scotland so the roads weren’t great. I got out for a drive on the Sunday afternoon for about an hour & was hooked. Pre all the reviews etc, if Porsche built a fwd hatchback, it would feel like this. It’s the whole thing, the ride, the engine, that gear change, all the contact points. I’d be amazed if they haven’t benchmarked Porsche GT cars. I’ve driven both gen 2 996 GT3 & gen 1 997 GT3 + owned 993/996/997 Turbos & everything naturally aspirated from SCs to 997 GTS & all points in between. I’m not the fastest but I know a sorted car when I drive one. The FK8 Civic Type R is one of the 3/4 best cars I’ve ever driven in my 48 years on this planet. It’s unbelievably good day to day, utterly addictive to drive anywhere & sensational whenever you get the slightest whiff of a chance to have fun. I also think it’ll destroy anything point to point on our roads. The FK2 was almost this good but too firmly sprung. The FK8 is sublime. Forget all this “must have individual mode” talk. The FK8 is setup up by engineers & drivers way beyond my ability. I’ve deduced that their combination of settings is fine by me, & sport mode as the default is the correct one 90% of the time. I only use comfort mode on the worst roads in my area. As for the looks? I don’t care & now even like them. Everything’s there for a reason, & once you’ve felt it on a good road you know at a decent speed you’ll understand why it’s all there. Anyway, I don’t have to look at it, I’m inside having fun in the best day to day car available to me at any price - & mine’s white!
I thought the same after my test drive. Had it over an hour and it felt right within the first 100m. Seating position was perfect as were the pedals and gearshift. A fantastic front end when warm had no hint of torque steer or understeer. I really want one now to replace my vRS. It's tuned so has similar power levels but the Type-R is a spaceship in comparison. Some knock the looks but I think it's fine. Japanese cars should look mad as if it's just about to race down a touge in Initial D. Edited by scmcc on Tuesday 26th December 21:54
Edited by scmcc on Tuesday 26th December 22:09
TameRacingDriver said:
My dad likes the look of it and he’s 63 in a couple of months!
Eye sight does fail when you get older.FWIW I wouldn't be seen dead in it, utterly embarrassing. It's a total POS as far as I'm concerned, could give me a blowjob on the way into work everytime I drove it and I would still prefer anything to it.
Aggressive styling and skirts and spoilers are one thing but this does not appear to have any cohesion to it, bits are just stuck on and there is no flow to any line. God it just annoys me looking at pictures of it.
yonex said:
I can't see the point of tracking a road car.
I used to think like that a few years ago but I have kind of changed my mind.The faff associated with trailing a car to the track in the UK does put me off, let alone to the Ring or Spa.
And road cars used to be really tricky to track without major mods but things have evolved a bit and some road cars can be very good track companions with just fluid/pads/tyres. I have had decent success with my last three cars.
If I insisted on a Caterham I would rent it.
RemyMartin81D said:
Eye sight does fail when you get older.
FWIW I wouldn't be seen dead in it, utterly embarrassing. It's a total POS as far as I'm concerned, could give me a blowjob on the way into work everytime I drove it and I would still prefer anything to it.
Aggressive styling and skirts and spoilers are one thing but this does not appear to have any cohesion to it, bits are just stuck on and there is no flow to any line. God it just annoys me looking at pictures of it.
Don’t sit on the fence eh? FWIW I wouldn't be seen dead in it, utterly embarrassing. It's a total POS as far as I'm concerned, could give me a blowjob on the way into work everytime I drove it and I would still prefer anything to it.
Aggressive styling and skirts and spoilers are one thing but this does not appear to have any cohesion to it, bits are just stuck on and there is no flow to any line. God it just annoys me looking at pictures of it.
I'm contemplating one of these at the moment, massive change from the Jaguar XK8 I had before, the looks concern me but in the right colour aren't too much of an issue. Need to get a test drive booked and then decide if I want new and reliable or to go back to another Jag XK (albeit a more powerful one than I had before).
Anyone got indication of running costs, in particular tyre wear as I can't imagine they last long!
Anyone got indication of running costs, in particular tyre wear as I can't imagine they last long!
I drove one yesterday, got the keys and drove it around for a few hours from Yeomans Guildford, definitely going to buy one, the performance on offer is a joke and the traction is frankly ridiculous.
I was looking at an M4 or C63 to replace my current 430d, the numbers worked but I had a long hard think and thought about the extra fuel and insurance costs, along with consumables like tyres and brakes. I always fancied the idea of a Type R but found them somewhat immature.
I decided to have a look at prices and at 15 grand cheaper minimum for an 18 plate with warranty and sub 10k miles, I was almost certain I would be buying one until I drove one and it’s a done deal, M4/C63 sound nicer and are quicker but the you can fully floor first and second in the Civic with no wheel spin and return a minimum of 25 mpg.
The best part is that the Civic rides SO much better and the seats are brilliant. They all come with everything so no need to worry about the right spec. The only bad thing is the noise which isn’t that good but what 2.0 turbo sounds good?
My cars being repaired as we speak and I cannot wait to get it back to get rid of it and buy one.
The funny thing is that I’ve currently got a 2018 Mini CooperS as a courtesy car and I thought this was a go kart until I drove the Civic.
Also, there is ZERO torque steer, none! This Mini only has 190 bhp and the steering wheel is all over the place, the Civic? ZERO, every petrolhead needs to drive that Civic.
I also had the pleasure of borrowing my friends MK7.5 Golf GTI manual for a few weeks about 2 months ago (thread about it) and I cannot believe how I thought the Golf was good.
Honda, THE POWER OF DREAMS!!!
I was looking at an M4 or C63 to replace my current 430d, the numbers worked but I had a long hard think and thought about the extra fuel and insurance costs, along with consumables like tyres and brakes. I always fancied the idea of a Type R but found them somewhat immature.
I decided to have a look at prices and at 15 grand cheaper minimum for an 18 plate with warranty and sub 10k miles, I was almost certain I would be buying one until I drove one and it’s a done deal, M4/C63 sound nicer and are quicker but the you can fully floor first and second in the Civic with no wheel spin and return a minimum of 25 mpg.
The best part is that the Civic rides SO much better and the seats are brilliant. They all come with everything so no need to worry about the right spec. The only bad thing is the noise which isn’t that good but what 2.0 turbo sounds good?
My cars being repaired as we speak and I cannot wait to get it back to get rid of it and buy one.
The funny thing is that I’ve currently got a 2018 Mini CooperS as a courtesy car and I thought this was a go kart until I drove the Civic.
Also, there is ZERO torque steer, none! This Mini only has 190 bhp and the steering wheel is all over the place, the Civic? ZERO, every petrolhead needs to drive that Civic.
I also had the pleasure of borrowing my friends MK7.5 Golf GTI manual for a few weeks about 2 months ago (thread about it) and I cannot believe how I thought the Golf was good.
Honda, THE POWER OF DREAMS!!!
Searched the ‘FK8’ tag on Instagram to have a look at other owners type R’s as I’m tired of seeing pictures of them on forecourts on cloudy days and I couldn’t believe my eyes, not a single post of an FK8 in the UK with UK plates, all of them in the States and they have a massive following over there! So many track ready ones and pictures of garages installing exhausts etc.
Why don’t Brits like them, are we just snobs and care about what the neighbours think? It must be the case.
It was nice seeing how successful they are in the States as they are all built here in Swindon. I know the car looks a bit bonkers but I think we’re all the minority as it appears to be selling very well everywhere else. Honda don’t care what we think
Why don’t Brits like them, are we just snobs and care about what the neighbours think? It must be the case.
It was nice seeing how successful they are in the States as they are all built here in Swindon. I know the car looks a bit bonkers but I think we’re all the minority as it appears to be selling very well everywhere else. Honda don’t care what we think
scmcc said:
Hi, I posted a fairly long post re my FK2 in early 2016. I’ve had along line of Honda Type Rs, M3s & Porsches (predominantly 911s). My FK2 replaced an E90 M3 2 door, it lasted 6 months till I reverted back to a 997 GTS 2 PDK I then sold that about a year later & bought a very low mileage, manual Mk 7 Golf R to use day to day. The Golf R was capable but ultimately too dull for me, that was sold & I went back to another gen 2 997 C2. Having 18 month old twins & a need to move people & thngs about the 911 wasn’t really cutting it day to day (much as I tried to work round the space limitations). My wife’s car is pretty big but not available to me due to being in constant use with our kids, we live a reasonable distance outside Glasgow so another option was required. My dealer (Phoenix Honda in Linwood - not local to me but the best I’ve ever used) kindly gave me an extended test drive in a FK8. Initially I was horrified at how it looked, then I put all the junk I needed for my job in the boot as opposed to the front seat, the rear seats & the boot of the 911. How novel. Then I drove to the shops on the way home to collect all the stuff from the supermarket that my wife couldn’t get due to the kids kicking off earlier that day - IN SPORT MODE - & the ride was brilliant. Then I put it in comfort mode & it was even better on Glasgow’s chronic roads. The reason I sold the FK2 was primarily the ride. Ultimately unbearable for me day to day, this was a big deal for me. It was the weekend in late November when we had some snow in Scotland so the roads weren’t great. I got out for a drive on the Sunday afternoon for about an hour & was hooked. Pre all the reviews etc, if Porsche built a fwd hatchback, it would feel like this. It’s the whole thing, the ride, the engine, that gear change, all the contact points. I’d be amazed if they haven’t benchmarked Porsche GT cars. I’ve driven both gen 2 996 GT3 & gen 1 997 GT3 + owned 993/996/997 Turbos & everything naturally aspirated from SCs to 997 GTS & all points in between. I’m not the fastest but I know a sorted car when I drive one. The FK8 Civic Type R is one of the 3/4 best cars I’ve ever driven in my 48 years on this planet. It’s unbelievably good day to day, utterly addictive to drive anywhere & sensational whenever you get the slightest whiff of a chance to have fun. I also think it’ll destroy anything point to point on our roads. The FK2 was almost this good but too firmly sprung. The FK8 is sublime. Forget all this “must have individual mode” talk. The FK8 is setup up by engineers & drivers way beyond my ability. I’ve deduced that their combination of settings is fine by me, & sport mode as the default is the correct one 90% of the time. I only use comfort mode on the worst roads in my area. As for the looks? I don’t care & now even like them. Everything’s there for a reason, & once you’ve felt it on a good road you know at a decent speed you’ll understand why it’s all there. Anyway, I don’t have to look at it, I’m inside having fun in the best day to day car available to me at any price - & mine’s white!
Saw one today, the bigger news was it was in Waitrose, so Honda have cracked the Porsche market for sure Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 26th December 21:54
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 26th December 22:09
I actually love the looks, if you are going to do it, then go for it. The shade of white (assuming it's Championship like my old Integra) just looks so right. Big thumbs up from me and it's fascinating the views of someone who has owned both the FK2 and 911's.
Thanks.
Chestrockwell said:
wong said:
Is this a 5 seater, with three 3 point belts in the back. Previous Civic type R were 4 seaters weren't they?
The FK8 is also a 4 seater!Contrast with everything up to the FD2, which has twin semi-bucket rears in the same contrast-stitch alcantara/fabric mix as the fronts. I mean, how much extra would the right fabric and foam have cost?!? (Answer, as I used to do that job, is perhaps a hundred quid a car, or c.£200 including amortising the bespoke tooling for the foam, depending on volumes.)
havoc said:
Chestrockwell said:
wong said:
Is this a 5 seater, with three 3 point belts in the back. Previous Civic type R were 4 seaters weren't they?
The FK8 is also a 4 seater!Contrast with everything up to the FD2, which has twin semi-bucket rears in the same contrast-stitch alcantara/fabric mix as the fronts. I mean, how much extra would the right fabric and foam have cost?!? (Answer, as I used to do that job, is perhaps a hundred quid a car, or c.£200 including amortising the bespoke tooling for the foam, depending on volumes.)
I haven’t seen or even been in an FD2 but perhaps the rear seats are better because the FD2 is a JDM only car. The JDM EP3 Type R came with more goodies like an LSD standard and more power unlike the UK one.
I couldn’t care less about the back seats, if I want a car with high quality rear seats for passengers, I’d buy an e class or 5 series, nobody has adults in the back of a hatch back often enough to care about the quality, usually it’s a baby seat and an infant.
I hardly carry anyone in the back but once I took 4 mates up to Manchester in my 4 series gran coupe, by the end of the 3 hour journey, my back ‘premium’ leather seats looked like they’ve been through 150k miles of carrying people up and down the M1. It’s all scam anyway, I love BMW’s but it’s time to move onto something more honest, GT spec Civic comes with everything you want standard, there are no boxes to tick unlike an A45 or M140i, list price can shoot up to 45k for the 1 series, sure there are discounts but it’s at the end of its life cycle.
Edited by Chestrockwell on Monday 6th May 00:41
I’ve had a lot type-r’s but now that I’m old and have a family, four seats kills it of straight away for me. Sometimes I need to take the wife, the two girls and another, even for a short distance, and this Type-R doesn’t allow that. I genuinely don’t see why they don’t make it a five seater.
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