Mike Humble

After 28 years of VTEC and latterly turbocharged performance, time has been called on the legendary Honda Civic Type R. What a shame too!

Call them what you will, a Jap Javelin or a Rice Rocket, I have never been a particular fan of high performance Japanese cars. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s the thuggery and Bull Terrier image with Subaru’s or the Mitsubishi Evo. Personally, if I had a car that popped, banged and spat fire from the exhaust, I’d either scrap it or get it repaired. Clumsily souped up and customised Toyota Supra’s for example do nothing for me except shake my head in disbelief and Mazda MX5’s with their suspension set up for drifting and the rear wheels looking like the rear axle is bent spoils what otherwise is a pretty nice car to drive. On the whole, really high performance stuff doesn’t float my boat. Even when I was a pup with a fresh licence I did my best to make my cars as smooth and as quiet as possible – a good heater, plenty of space and a decent wireless was how I roll… and still do for that matter.

“They are nothing more than beautifully engineered and dependable vehicles, if you have worked with or had first hand experience of them you just know that already”

There are the exceptions to the rule however. I really do admire a car with engineering prowess and rock solid reliability. I’ve always been a big Toyota fan and very fond of a good Honda, which brings me on to something I feel is a bit sad. After various generations of the model with all of them being respected for having both performance and good reputation, the Civic Type-R is to be deleted from the UK and European markets at the end of 2025. Since 1997, the Type-R has been up there with the best of the hot hatches thanks to their absolutely superb VTEC engines, pin sharp road manners and a Trojan of the racetrack. In my own opinion, you shove the Focus ST or RS and keep your Golf R32, for me the Civic Type R follows in the footsteps, or tyre marks for that matter, of previous Honda motor cars before it. They are nothing more than beautifully engineered and dependable vehicles, if you have worked with or had first hand experience of them you just know that already.

I personally knew a self employed minicab operator in Bedfordshire who ran a 2.0 Accord from new until it literally dropped to pieces. He replaced it with a Passat and gave the Accord to his restaurant-owning brother to use as a takeaway delivery vehicle who continued to run it for another three years. Eventually, the engine literally blew up with a rather impressive 330 odd thousand miles on the clock, once again, if you know your old school Honda’s, that’s what they were like. But getting back to the Type R, I’ve been lucky enough over the years to have spent some time with the last three generations of Civic Type R, every one of them impressed me with the performance, handling and ease of operation. Only the FK2 model built from 2015 – 2017 felt a bit over done. A colleague once quipped to me that it looked like a car that had ram-raided a branch of Halfords – I had to agree.

My contacts at Honda UK offered a recent chance to grab a last steer of the Type R. I was keen to accept as the Civic is the only high performance car that really gets my juices flowing, for reasons I cannot put a finger on. Perhaps it’s the way it is just as happy to bumble around town as it is belting round a track or racking off the miles of an endless motorway – all the aforementioned I have done a good few times. It’s the only car that genuinely makes me feel twenty years younger as well, not to mention that if you drive them sensibly they will still knock on the door of 40mpg on a cruise. Despite the seats being figure hugging buckets, you don’t feel like you’ve been trampled by a pack of wild horses when you reach your destination – even if it does take me a little more time than usual compared to my SAAB to get in the damn thing. Maybe it’s the solid feeling build quality, the strongest most efficient brakes I’ve encountered or the way it never feels out of its depth when driven in haste.

The reason for the deletion is down to the company having to lower their average co2 level for the whole range of cars. For sure, current EV vehicles offer similar if not even better levels of performance, but they lack soul, character and of course, the gorgeous sound of an engine turning petrol into noise and power. We are after all human beings that were put on this planet to be fire starting carnivores – all this vegetarian stuff is a modern invention, and it doesn’t do anything for me. All I want is my Sunday roast beef and the four stroke combustion engine, everything else can go to hell. Over my last fifty three years, I have seen some wonderful cars come and go – too many to mention in fact, but seeing the Civic Type R disappear from the showrooms is a sure sign that the times they are a changing – perhaps in some cases not for the better.

There are still a handful of cars out there for sale and Honda have also created an ‘Ultimate Edition’ of the sporting Civic with just forty examples in white with bespoke decals, extra carbon detailing and presentation gift box for the lucky owner. So after twenty eight years of high performance, the Type R bows out, almost ensuring its place in the hearts and history books of one the automotive worlds true modern classics. I for one will mourn its passing and I’ll not forget the miles of smiles they have given me. My thanks go to Brad and Kitty at Honda UK for giving me one last hurrah in a really fine high performance car.

Farewell Type R – it’s been fun!

For more information on the Civic Type R or the Honda Range CLICK HERE