Civic Type-R 2004 - Road tested by Andy

Honda has been busy modifying the Civic Type-R for 2004, on the exterior these include new projector headlights and restyled rear light clusters along with door mirror mounted LED indicators. Under the bonnet changes include a lighter flywheel and clutch assembly which reduce inertia and make the engine more responsive, shaving 0.2 secs off the 0-62 mph time (now 6.6 sec), without affecting the fuel consumption. Honda claim that considerable effort has gone into improving the overall refinement by using improved sound deadening and both the suspension and steering have been tuned for improved ride and handling. So how does the new and improved Type-R stack up?

I’d be surprised if many people lust after the basic civic shape, unless anyone has a thing for the mini mpv look. Having said that Honda have done a reasonable job of making the Type-R actually look like the hot-hatch that it most definitely is. The deep bolt on side skirts, beefy roof mounted spolier and attractive 17inch alloys all do their best to transform the civic into something purposeful, if still a tad ordinary. The mpv like shape does have an impressive upside though; the interior space is vast for a car in this class. Headroom is more than ample for even the tallest drivers (big hat anyone?), rear legroom is fine and boot space has improved thanks to a smaller space saver spare wheel. The materials used throughout the cabin are also impressive and give the civic a quality feel. The sports seats are a combination of red cloth inserts and black alcantara bolsters which certainly grip well enough when needed, although, after an extended drive I did find myself wishing the actual seat backs were slighty firmer. The overall driving position is good once you’ve set the adjustable leather steering wheel to the correct height, although in my case this meant the top of the dials were obscured, which allowed me to safely do less than 70mph or more than 90mph…not ideal.

The stubby dash mounted aluminium gear stick looks faintly comical on first inspection, but underway it’s clear that the location is pretty much perfect and the feel of the short throw lever with it’s quick, precise shift is extremely good. The 6 forward ratios are very closely spaced, and work well in keeping the the revvy v-tec motor in it’s powerband when you’re pressing on. Whilst the steering ratio is well judged at 2.7 turns lock to lock, the electric power steering is a let down. The amount of assistance chosen actually gives the Type-R quite a firm (some might say slightly heavy) steering feel. This in itself is not a problem. The low levels of feedback and strange way the assistance can be beaten most definitely is. For instance on the motorway, as you’d imagine, only tiny adjustments are required most of the time. Unfortunately for the first fraction of a turn the EPS seems to offer no help. So, naturally you apply a bit more force only to find the assistance starts, the steering gets much lighter and you’ve over steered a fraction, meaning you need to steer the other way. And so the whole process starts again, disappointing.

Cruising around town, the ride quality is pretty good, certainly firm but never crashy over potholes, the whole car feels solid and able to soak up most things Uk roads can throw at it. The overall noise level is also impressively low, even at motorway speeds, although by this time due to those short ratios the engine is starting to make itself heard. Once you get away from the motorway and onto some more challenging roads, turn in is very positive, and the grip generated by the 205/45 R17 Bridgestone tyres is more than enough to allow the Civic to carry silly speeds through bends. There is some roll, eventually, but this is probably just as well as it serves as a good reminder not to get too carried away. Without doubt though the engine is the Type-R’s best feature. Driven below the vtec changeover point (about 6000rpm) it’s actually quite torquey, and the throttle response is pretty much instantaneous, which makes everyday driving a pleasant experience. In fact it’s entirely possible to make rapid progress without ever entering the vtec zone. But, once you do, it quickly becomes addictive. The engine note and volume change dramatically, from sounding like a quiet family hatchback to a lovely hard edged BTCC type howl. This does encourage you to use the perfomance, and over my week with the Type-R I did find myself driving around a couple of gears lower than normal just waiting for the chance to get back into that vtec zone.

It’s been much debated whether you could actually live with an engine which requires that you thrash it so mercilessly to extract all the performance. Personally, with the latest Civic Type-R I’d have no problem at all. For the money (and we are talking only around £16000) you really do get the best of both worlds. On one hand you get a quiet, spacious and reliable hatchback, and on the other you get seriously rapid motor that is fun to drive hard and almost certainly won’t break the bank in the long run. Well done Honda!