Written by DriveLife online
2021 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R Better than ever!
Back in 2017, Rob Clubley reviewed the Honda Civic Type R and wanted one. This is the riskiest aspect of reviewing cars; you spend a week with one and don’t want to give it back. It gets even more dangerous when you want to go out and buy one. So, the thennew Civic Type R had Rob struggling to restrain himself from visiting a Honda dealer. I drove the car after Rob and had the same feelings; performance, handling, braking all packaged up in a 5-door hatchback. It felt like there was little not to love - except for the looks. 2021 brings a few updates to the 10th gen car; tweaked suspension, some new body bits, enhanced engine noise, and a new performance app, among other things. You can read about the updates here. The engine is unchanged, still putting out 228kW of power in this front-wheel-drive hot hatchback. With the i30N and now the i30N Fastback closely on its heels and of course Toyota’s all-wheel drive GR Yaris now knocking on its door, can the new Type R maintain its desirability, or will buyers start flocking to the new kids on the block?
THE RANGE There’s just the one model here, it’s manual-gearbox only, and the 4-cylinder, petrol-turbo motor pumps out 228kW of power and 400Nm of torque. 1 6 C A P R I C O R N I G N I T I O N M AY 2 0 2 1
Standard price is $62,990, and for that you will get 20” alloy wheels, suede performance seats, hill start assist, a limited slip diff, rev matching system, 350mm Brembo front brakes, 305mm rear Brembo brakes, emergency brake assist, Lane Watch Camera, tyre deflation warning system, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, reversing camera with dynamic guidelines, keyless entry and start, alloy pedals, dual-zone climate AC, all windows auto up/down, a 7” centre touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, electric folding mirrors, LED headlights, automatic headlights, LED DRLs, LED front fog lamps, and LED tail lights.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS I’ll be the first to admit that in 2017, the look of the Type R had me gagging, and I
think that was the case for a lot of people. When I drove it, all I could think was that I couldn’t see what the car looked like while behind the wheel, and that was okay. I now love the look. After four years, it’s still so freaking outlandish it looks amazing. Oh, I still had people driving past me on the motorway, looking, pointing, laughing, but I didn’t care. In this new Boost Blue Pearl colour, to me it looks superb. All those lines, angles and bits of plastic trim jutting out that used to look like a mess, now turn me on. I wasn’t alone in having this view. There haven’t been huge body changes for 2021; redesigned front and rear bumpers, body coloured accent blades, and that’s it. That means there’s still the big, red Brembo brakes, the triple exhaust tips and all sorts of aerodynamic tweaks.
