Monday 8th May 2017

New Civic Type R pricing

Looks bonkers, promises to go like stink and yours from £30,995

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Still getting your head around there being an all-new Civic Type R when the FK2 predecessor still seems fresh? Us too. Time marches on though and Honda has confirmed the new Type R will start from £30,995 for the base version, rising to £32,995 for the GT following a similar range progression to the last car.

These are relatively modest rises over the FK2, that coming in at £29,995 at launch and our GT-spec long-termer costing £32,395 before options. Opting for that top spec car basically adds to the gadgets and gizmos too, including blind spot monitoring, Garmin-based Connect navigation and upgraded stereo and LED front foglights. Whichever spec you go for the heart of it is the same 320hp turbocharged engine, manual-only transmission, three-mode driver settings (Comfort now included) and more sophisticated multi-link rear axle. Mad looks and 7min 43sec 'ring lap bragging rights are standard across all cars, naturally.

How does that compare to the rivals then? A Focus RS starts at £32,265, the revised Golf R we drove recently £32,540 in equivalent five-door manual form and the SEAT Leon Cupra 300 (ditto) from £30,140. Fancy something (slightly) less wacky but still fast and Japanese? The old school choice would remain the Subaru WRX STI from £31,995 while at the other end of the spectrum a five-door BMW M140i starts at £33,180.

No shortage of choice for your £30K-odd fast car budget it'd seem but there will doubtless be a degree of 'how much?' outrage that this now seems the entry point for a proper hot hatch. The counter argument is just look at how fast and capable these things are now and the range of options you can choose from, be that front-, rear- or all-wheel drive, three- or five-door and any which way of transmission you happen to favour.

[court]

Throwing around £300pm figures without mentioning the punchy 30% deposit again?