Honda Civic Type R Review & Prices

The Honda Civic Type R, now that it has (sadly) disappeared from Honda’s UK price lists, can be seen for what it is — a fabulous, last blast of petrol-powered hot-hatchery, before the electric era arrives in full.

It’s not that we’re worried that electric hot hatches won’t be fun in the future, it’s just that the Civic Type R is gloriously, wonderously analogue — like playing your favourite tune on a classic Gibson guitar, rather than a synthesiser.

Obviously, it’s still a Honda Civic underneath, with all of the practicality and quality that implies, but it’s wearing an OTT bodykit. That said, while it’s certainly more OTT than the standard Civic, the Civic Type R is a bit more restrained in its looks than the previous model – massive rear wing aside, of course.

Inside, once again, there’s plenty that’s taken from the standard Civic, including the cool full-width (well, it looks like full width…) air vent design, the 9.0-inch touchscreen and — hurrah! — the proper physical buttons for climate controls. The way you know it’s a Type R is thanks to the big bright red bucket seats (fabulously comfortable, yet still clamp you in place like a vice) and a steering wheel trimmed in soft fake suede.

Out goes the standard Civic Hybrid’s automatic transmission and in comes a six-speed manual gearbox with a cool-to-the-touch aluminium shifter. There’s also a distinctive ‘+R’ button which is how you turn the Civic Type R’s settings all the way up to 11. There’s a fully digital dial pack now too, which looks smart.

There’s still good space in the boot and the Civic Type R’s 410-litre capacity is well ahead of the luggage space you get in most other hot hatches, aside from the impressively practical Skoda Octavia vRS, but that’s a much less powerful car than the Honda.

There’s just the one engine option, but who needs more choice when you’ve got a four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo with 329hp? The real bonus here is that six-speed gearbox, which is just magically good to use.

You’d think that a car with that massive rear wing and the big alloys would be a nightmare around town, but no — the Civic Type R’s adaptive dampers keep the suspension surprisingly smooth over urban bumps, and the steering is still just about light enough to make parking easy.

For longer journeys, there’s adaptive cruise control to take the strain off the driver, and the Civic Type R is pretty comfy — those wonderful bucket seats help — although there’s a good bit of tyre noise to deal with.

However, where you want to be is on a twisty road, and it’s here that the Civic Type R truly comes to life. There's epic grip from the front wheels, and that fantastic manual gearbox always entertaining you as you shift up and down. You even get little LED lights that tell you when you need to change up a gear, just like a racing car.

One problem — the Type R is expensive. Even compared to its opposition, it’s a very pricey car. You kind of have to take it that what you’re paying for isn’t out and out performance, it’s the chassis and steering know-how of the Honda motorsports department. That kind of makes the price tag acceptable.

If you want to get the latest deals on the Civic Type R or any other Honda, check out Carwow. You can also find and buy used Hondas, where we have a wide selection of models available. You can sell your car through Carwow too, with dealers bidding on your car, allowing you to select the best offer and get the car taken away. 

The Honda Civic Type R has now been discontinued from Honda UK’s range, but even so its £52,000-plus price tag was a pretty tough pill to swallow when it was still available new, and it makes it quite a pricey purchase even second-hand. That said, a new Volkswagen Golf R is only slightly less expensive, and while it has four-wheel drive, the Honda is more fun to drive. An Audi S3 is similar in overall power to the Civic, and again has four-wheel drive, but again it’s not half as much fun for only slightly less cash.

As a hot hatch, there is a firmer edge to the Civic Type R at all times, which could be a bit much for everyday use, but it’s an absolute delight to drive on a twisty road

In town

The Civic Type R is based on a car that’s comfy around town, so you would expect that accommodating character to be found here too. It is, mostly, but you will have to deal with some bumps feeling harsher due to the sportier setup. 

Steering is also a little more of a workout as it’s quite heavy compared to the lightweight setup in the base Civic. It has a larger turning circle at 12.1 metres, with the standard car measuring 11.5 metres. That means manoeuvring into parking spaces or performing a U-turn is a little trickier.

With the three set driving modes, it’s best to stay in comfort. The adaptive dampers help iron out some of the bumps in the road, while using Sport or +R mode isn’t recommended unless you’re hammering round a track where the surface is super smooth.

On the motorway

With the addition of larger wheels, more aggressive tyres and a sportier setup, the Type R isn’t quite as refined as the base Civic – but you wouldn’t expect it to be. Saying that, the adaptive dampers in comfort mean it’s very civilised on a cruise apart from the additional road noise from the larger wheels. 

The body-hugging sport seats not only hold you in well through fast corners, they do a fantastic job of cushioning you on longer trips. Add into that the standard safety features that include adaptive cruise control and you’ve got a hot hatch that can be great going to the track, driving round it, and then heading back home again. 

Even with the uprated power and torque figures, the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine still returns relatively decent fuel economy figures of up to 35mpg on a long run. 

On a twisty road

This is the happiest stomping ground of the Type R, and the new one continues to be exemplary here. Unlike the previous model, this new Type R feels a bit more unhinged and on edge, with the steering and brakes not feeling quite as smooth.

Which may sound like the new Type R is a step back, but it really isn’t. You get used to those changes pretty quickly, and from there you can enjoy it. The front tyres grip excellently and the limited slip differential helps you hook up to get round corners brilliantly. 

Honda’s engine upgrades may not be that significant when you look at the figures – only nine extra horsepower and 20Nm of torque – but the reworked turbo, upgraded cooling and ECU alterations all make a difference. It’s more responsive, there’s less turbo lag and it punches you out of corners with the help of the wonderful six-speed manual gearbox. 

With the individual driving mode, you can have everything in +R or Sport settings for quicker responses, then add in the comfort suspension setup, which is the best overall configuration for UK roads. It helps you get the most out of the engine, steering and transmission, while ironing out a lot of the bumps that could unsettle the car. 

Having the rev-matching function (which boosts the revs between gear changes to offer a more consistent gear change at  on helps with the experience too, especially for those that can’t blip the throttle between gear changes themselves. 

On the whole, the new Type R isn’t quite as predictable and have as consistent steering as the previous version, but it’s more fun, sharper and will get you down a twisty road just as fast and with a big smile on your face.

While you do lose the middle seat in the back making it slightly less practical, it still manages to tick a lot of the hot hatch boxes with lots of useful space

Up front in the Civic Type R you’ll find a lot of useful cubbies and storage spaces, just like you would in the base CIvic. You get well-sized door bins, a couple of cupholders in the middle and a small storage space under the central armrest. 

The glovebox hasn’t changed from the standard car so that’s a good size still, and you have a space to plug your smartphone in in the centre console, where there’s also a wireless charging pad. 

Space in the back seats

The main change with the Type R over the standard Civic is the removal of the central seat. Instead, there’s two cupholders, which for many won’t seem like a fair trade. The outer seats that do remain are deeper and sportier though, providing more support when the driver is hooning it. Leg room is as good as in the normal Civic, while the head room is also the same – so a bit tight for taller people, but okay on the whole.

You don’t get pockets on the back of the front sport seats either, but the door bins remain to ensure that not all practicality is lost. 

Boot space

With the sportier setup, you would expect less boot space. But no, Honda has kept the same 410 litres from the base CIvic here. That’s 10 litres less than the previous Type R, but it’s better than the majority of its rivals while being a very useful square shape. 

The VW Golf R has 341 litres, while the Audi S3 has just 325 litres. The Skoda Octavia vRS has 590 litres, but performance is nowhere near as potent.

Folding the seats down offers 1,212 litres, which is slightly down on the base Civic, but you won’t really miss the eight litres you lose. The seats fold near to flat and it’s a useful space.

There aren’t a lot of changes to the design of the cabin from the standard car, but the Type R has some key and striking differences. For example, you now get a fully digital dial setup, which changes depending on the drive mode you’re in. F1-style gear shift lights have also been added above the display. 

In the centre, the aluminium, teardrop gear lever replaces the buttons for the automatic transmission of the standard car, while there’s also a smattering of Type R-specific features, like a car build number badge and a +R drive mode button. 

But the main changes are the swathes of faux suede, which can be found on the slightly altered steering wheel and gear gater with red stitching, and on the frankly superb sport seats, which are now all-red. You also get a lot of red trim in the footwells and red ambient lighting strips in the doors. 

The infotainment is the same 9.0-inch touchscreen from the base Civic. That means a responsive system that is easy to navigate, and it comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which most will choose to use. 

Strangely, you don’t get heated seats with the Type R – a small downgrade from the base Civic. Otherwise, you get an excellent level of equipment, with optional features including an interior illumination pack that adds extra red lighting, and carbon options to make it look a bit sportier inside and out. 

For a hot hatch, the returns of the Civic Type R are okay, with an official 34.4mpg on the combined WLTP cycle, and combined emissions of 186g/km CO2. 

Costing over £40,000, you will have to factor in the premium for road tax. From new, you would need to pay one of the higher bands for the first year due to the emission bracket it falls into. You also have to pay the expensive car supplement in years two to six, and the benefit-in-kind for company car drivers is high, too.

With the sensible Civic underneath the sporty surface, the Type R has an excellent fleet of safety technologies as standard. That setup includes blind spot monitoring, collision mitigation braking and throttle control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, road departure mitigation and traffic sign recognition. 

Add to that all-round airbags, emergency brake assist, eCall in Europe and Isofix points in the back, and the Civic Type R has all the safety kit you might need. 

Although the Type R hasn’t been through Euro NCAP safety testing specifically, the base Civic scored five stars – rated above 80% in all categories. It scored the best in occupant safety for both adult and child categories. 

The Type R comes with keyless entry and start available as standard, as well as an immobiliser and a smart tonneau cover that can easily be taken out and stored when required.

Previous versions of the Civic did have some issues that went against Honda’s image of being reliable and dependable. But this latest Civic has yet to suffer any major faults that would tarnish that image.

As standard, all Hondas come with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, but there are some parts that get extended warranties. Your exhaust system is protected for five years, surface corrosion for three, chassis corrosion is covered for 10 years, while structural corrosion is under wraps for 12 years.

The regular Honda Civic finished in 19th position in the 2025 Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, with an excellent rating for reliability and quality, while Honda as a brand finished in tenth position, out of 31 makes, in the overall owner satisfaction survey.