Honda Civic Type R generations DRAG & ROLLING RACE, BRAKE TEST and review | Head2Head

Type R: Honda's performance moniker has sat on the nose of some truly spectacular hot hatches. But which is fastest, and which is the best? To celebrate Type R's 30th birthday, I assembled every Civic Type R officially sold in the UK to find out.





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[ameelshahzad]

9.50 when the ep3 goes sideways just wins my heart

[grahamek]

Matt: EP3 is the original Civic Type-R
EK9: Am I a joke to you?

[SURFLIFE]

EP3 everyday, 17 years older and still going strong

[psions]

4:28 Suspension setup is so incredibly important to a car. The EK9 had double wishbone which is just unbeatable in feel. I had a EJ Coupe and the combination of all round double wishbone and hydraulic power steering made it one of the best cars I've ever had the pleasure to drive dynamically. Use of a multi link rear suspension is what made the Ford Focus the must have car when first released. Fully independent suspension is heavy, expensive and intrudes on cabin space/crumple zones but it's just unbeatable in terms of feedback, response and behaviour at the limit. If you want to make a decent car put it on a decent platform, quite simple

[ej_gc]

To be quite honest, my favourite Civic is the FN2. Yes, it’s not the best Civic, but really just looks so special to me. It was that very generation of the Civic that I led me to finding about Honda. It was my first Honda Civic ever to see in my block’s of flats yard. It wasn’t a Type R, but I was just adoring its futuristic looks. And the Mugen version just makes the FN2 the Type R it is supposed to be. The cherry on the cake

[KaBlackShark]

This needs to be redone with the EK9, FD2 and FD2RR for a real head to head comparison of a real JDM badge name

[mojosabien]

The EP3 is the lightest, the most mental and the original really but for every day… it’s the FN2 for me. It’s the best looking, the best interior design… love it. And the later ones are too over the top.

[OfficialMINIm]

That mugen is no joke if you consider it lacks the turbo.

Its my favorite in the bunch.

[Alkhoholic]

For all those saying where is the EK9, this is for you! EK9 was only released in Japan and this was an all UK CTR test. But just in case you insist, there is a video here in youtube done by Best Motoring in Japan. They compared stock ek9 vs stock ep3 and the EP3 won hands down. In fact the the JDM ep3 also out performed the DC5 and DC2 in that same test.

[theman-yxyu]

Anyone else come here from watching Carwow’s ‘Cars we’ll miss’ (or what ever the title is)

[Honda_Man_Sam]

Just bought an ep3 today as my second car. It’s so engaging to drive.. I love it

[FlyinGato]

As everyone else is asking, should have had an EK9 Type R, I think that one offers the purest Type R feel of all of them. I own an FK8 Type R, but now I really want an EK9 to add to the stable.

[Epic_RC_Time]

I feel most reviewers of the type r completely miss the point of the vtec and the high revving and adrenaline pumping sounds.

Yes you can have a golf gti (yawn) which will be quicker, but realistically where can you use that in the modern world?
The vtec engine makes you want to change down a gear and nip round the corner a bit quicker than normal as it rewards the driver and makes you feel racey.
In the st or gti you do not get that.
You get propelled forward with a fake engine noise coming from the speakers or the noise pipes into the cabin.

Type r is more fun.

[DZDii]

Glad to see the old EP3 still does well against modern stuff!

[dreamshaq]

Totally agree ep3 was and still is my favourite car I owned, I had the final edition ep3, still miss it to this day

[rayner]

Miss my old ep3 was a little weapon on the back roads and lots of fun

[Speedy]

Wowww that Mugen is a very very good machine for a NA!! =)

[dreamshaq]

I will always have a soft spot for the EP3, I would gladly own another one

[TheUncleGoat]

Not gonna lie, the FN2 Mugen really surprised me that it did that well, wow well done.

[lancealbon]

I loved owning my 2008 Honda FN2 Civic Type R. I bought it with 16, 000km on it and sold it a few years later with over 160, 000km on it. Did a track day around Killarney Race Track in Cape Town, raced a Ferrari through Sir Lowry’s Pass and had a blast in it. Not the fastest of the Type R bunch, but I loved mine. Mine gave Ford ST’s and BMW 330i’s a tough time. The driver’s of those cars always asked what I had done to mine. It was stock except for the brakes. The track day stuffed up my brakes, so I upgraded them.