The WORST Type R...or hot hatch bargain?

[@danmoney9932]

I would definitely get a potential purchase on a ramp, they can look great on the outside but be quite rusty in the rear arches and underbody, there isnt much protection.

[@graemethompson3169]

As someone that has always bought cars with my own money i would be all over one of these. Reliable, practical and real world performance are amazing for the money. Grwat video. 👍

[@motorstockholm]

I had a Mk8 Civic for many years, never once did I hurt my knee.

[@johnedwards3198]

Down the country lanes??? No it has to be ragged around a KFC car park throwing a few hand brake turns 😅

[@eddiepilling1943]

The cup holders are in the cubby. They were just pushed back.

[@DB-eh4yk]

I had one of these and it was possibly the best driving car ive owned. It wasn’t the fastest or best handling, but the steering was perfect, gear change, pedals were perfectly weighted and the engine was a peach. It was just a very rewarding car to drive on normal roads. Sadly rust, a noisy gearbox and savage fuel economy necessitated a change in the end.

[@rizzrazz]

Matt, the centre blind in the arm rest will reveal a flexible cupholder system at the front.

[@huwdavies6650]

You don't need overcomplicated muti link this and that. Look at the Peugeot 205, 309 and 306. All had a super comfy ride and handled superbly. They only had mcpherson struts up front and torsion beam at the rear. Simple suspension but executed well.

[@furiousdriving]

Very true! KISS - Keep It Simple Stoopid works most of the time

[@TassieLorenzo]

Different philosophies! Michelin Pilot Sport tyres (at least modern ones) have soft sidewalls too, to add to the typical French comfort whereas Japanese Bridgestone Potenza tyres (like those that originally came standard on this Civic Type R) have rock hard sidewalls to provide dry handling with no regard to comfort!

[@shand1967]

A rear torsion beam never harmed the Fiesta ST's reputation. Plus it made the FN2 & FK2 an extremely practical car, which helps to persuade your other half when it came to buying one.

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

How quirky, the Type R might be the only UK made Japanese car ever being factory imported into Australia that I can think of. Here in Au a Gen8 Type R sells on average for £7,000 GBP. Benefit of it being less popular is many are still unmolested.

[@mclouj]

Meanwhile flogged out EP3s are going for twice that. Then FD2's for 3x that 😁

[@porfious55]

Had my mk8 3 years now....never once have i hurt my knee gettting in or out....

[@redlineste4283]

Absolutely brilliant car. I owned a 2011 Type R GT with standard LSD for nearly 12 years. Amazing engine. Never used a drop of oil and only needed brakes and tyres. Had it serviced at main dealers all its life. I regret trading it in.

[@Mrcento]

The ride on all Mk8's is abysmal. Like, properly abysmal. Smooths out a bit at speed, but around town, it's miserable. You can get in any other car, even a sports car or one on coilovers and drive down a road you thought was terrible and feel like you're in a limo. Gets completely insufferable.

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

I had a 2.2 CDTI one of these when they were fairly new and it was a torque monster. I never got on with it though despite it having decent handling. I do like the Type R version although the one being tested is a festival of chavness with its fake carbon wrap on the bonnet and Maxton Tupperware glued to it. Wouldn't mind one in pure physical form.

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

I can picture the "Beige Bomber" aka Mr Lloyd, driving one like a hooligan in a tweed jacket.

[@classics144sportscarschannel]

the only thing myself does not like about them is way the gears a seated, the back seats a the same as the honda jazz fold both ways

[@Boating_David]

Had an FN2 Type R GT and was a love / hate relationship! Yes I too banged my knee! Also couldn't reach the seat belt with the door closed and had to get steering wheel JUST right to see the speedo 😂

[@robertsedgwick1629]

16.58 no they're not they would be the heated seat switches-rear window switches sit exactly where you woukd expect, behind the fronts on the door! cup holders are in the cubby next to handbrake

[@classics144sportscarschannel]

the stupid thing is having a start button wen u can turn the key to start engine ? great sports seats

[@tonys1636]

Wouldn't like to do much mileage on todays roads as would get expensive constantly replacing those wheels and tyres, as well as attempting to ease the shocks up one's spine.

[@leecaddick8502]

I had a ep3 and loved it. Unfortunately they become fairly affordable and bought by little chavy boy racers. I got fed up of teenagers trying to race me at the lights so I sold it. 😔

[@worldhello1234]

@5:10 It is actually my favorite Honda Civic, the space shuttle.

[@MichaelThomas-be7gq]

I had the 2.2D in the EX trim, comfy leather seats, 4-door, big glass sunroof, the magic seats in the back, and 40mpg - 0-60 in 8.4 seconds, plenty quick enough. However, they were notorious for wearing out their clutch, which mine did. Oh the whole, for 130,000 miles, I loved that Civic, the ride got too much for me, though, it is on the harsh side.

[@robertbransby]

Had a 2.2 tdi which was great, went like stink but the clutch was slipping like a bastard at 150k miles, would've cost half of what the car was worth so got traded in. It seemed to eat front bulbs and the glass fog lamps got smashed easily. The doors filled up with water as well, needed to take out the rubber grommets in the bottom of the doors to release all the rain water.

[@peterfi.]

switched from the ol' trusty alfa 146 1.4 to a mk8 Civic 1.8 a little over a year ago. Had a fair share of issues (more than the alfa..), but all in all I'm enjoying the extra horsepower and fuel economy. I do miss the alfa sometimes though...

[@SBBUK]

Even though its still the "worst" performance wise I think a sizeable percentage of jeremy Clarkson fanboys are somewhat responsible for this perceived opinion that these aren't very good. They still seemed to sell a lot of them though! These were sold in Japan by the way, just were rare as the JDM Type R (fd2) performed better Worth spending a bit more to get a nice one (rust is an issue on the subframe), and later models got an LSD, which is worth going for.

[@furiousdriving]

Its a bit of a confusing history, but I think the standard version of this car wasnt sold outside Europe, but the Type R was

[@SBBUK]

​@@furiousdrivingyes sorry, you are right, only the FN2 (this one) in limited numbers

[@TassieLorenzo]

"Worse" is all relative! The FD2 is the much better track day car but I love my FN2. I had a DC5 Type R with no sound insulation (almost none at all! all the clickly clacky injector noises come straight through the uninsulated firewall) and the (even) harder suspension, and I think the FD2 Type R that also has those track day attributes would be too tiring as everyday car! While the FN2's suspension may be "intolerable" compared to the likes of Focus ST and Golf GTI (I tamed mine wiht 17" wheels), it's still lightyears more comfortable than a FD2 Type R which basically has rock hard aftermarket racing suspension as standard! I also have the version with the LSD which helps a lot with driving dynamics. Regarding the rear beam -- I love the huge interior space that the Honda Jazz rear platform provides! Besides Clio RSs, Megane RSs and Fiestas STs are all beam rear suspension -- the rear suspension isn't that important on a front wheel drive, the rear just follows along (granted a beam rear does produce a choppier ride). I know these cars have a Max Power reputation (as do the Focus ST, Golf GTI, Megane RS etc too to be fair) and there a lot of rough & modified examples out there, but I was lucky to buy my car from a middle-aged couple: bog-standard, low mileage with full dealer service history! 😃 That's the kind of Golf GTI demographic Honda were chasing when they made the car (a little) softer, full of toys like cruise control, and more civilised compared to the EP3 and Japanese Type R models.

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@furiousdriving Some very small numbers of the standard hatch were also sold in Australia, but they aren't common either. It's kind of ironic that the FD2 Civic Type R sedan is the rare car in the UK, whereas Civic sedans are very common in Australia and it's always a guessing game if a sedan Civic Type R is real or is a regular Civic sedan with a bodykit on it! Sedan FD2 Civic Type Rs they only became allowed for import in Australia in 2020, after some changes to relax the import rules -- they are very common in New Zealand though, which has more relasxed import rules. Also: imports built after April 2021 are being made to comply with the same Austalian Design Rule 85 side impact protection regulation that official imports need to meet (even a lot of modern full size cars like the Lexus IS were withdrawn from sale due to not meeting this specific regulation and no interest in re-engineering the car for it, in light of low sedan sales), so that means no more Kei car imports built after that date. Only Kei cars built before then are now allowed.🥲 I love Kei cars, everytime I see one they brighten my day! Such a shame to restrict their import, we should be encouraging people into smaller, lighter cars IMO, and consider waiving some of the safety regulations IMO.

[@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars]

Compromises aside, Toshiyuki Okumoto achieved perfection in this design...and I dare say he had a hand in the Accord Euro as well. I gather he is no longer with the company because ever since Honda has descended into mediocrity and bland vanilla. Such a loss.

[@wessmith3161]

Tuning a very lightweight front wheel drive car to over 400 BHP would make it virtually undriveable. Great car in standard spec though.

[@TassieLorenzo]

You can get towards 250 BHP NA (or 275 BHP NA with a K24 bottom end and K20 head) but it gets very expensive, as it is all incremental gains! But the K20 is never going to perform it's best in an FN2 as the FN2 is relatively heavy (1310-1340kg) -- you'll get the best out of a K20 swapped into an older, lighter double wishbone Honda Civic or Integra, or a Lotus Elise or (blasphemy?) MG TF? Is it blasphemous to replace a Rover K with a Honda K in an MG TF or MG F? 😮 Come to think of it, a swap into a Rover 400 or MG ZS (the proper one) could probably even use standard swap engine mounts made for older Honda Civics... I'm not sure if that is blasphemous either... TBH I like Honda, but it's kind of boring when everything has a K20 or K24 swapped into it -- it's kind of like the Chevy LS of inline-four engine swaps, yawn. Much better to keep that Rover K or Rover KV6 goodness!

[@cjmurach]

We never got this body style in the USA, only the previous Swindon-built 7th generation (EP3), and that was only sold as a sporty-ish DOHC 3 door known as the Si. They’re fairly uncommon, the 7th generation is the unloved one here as it was the generation that lost the double wishbones in front. The hatch wouldn’t return to the USA until the 10th generation, which is also when we got the Civic Type R for the first time.

[@user-xu5vl5th9n]

A key and a button is not as irritating as finding your car was stolen because it was keyless entry.

[@russellthechemist8291]

The styling has aged very well. Great cars for the money.

[@mikefoley360]

The Japan flag rising sun flag is viewed by some as being equal to the German Swastika - I know it's JDM but just a heads up.

[@furiousdriving]

good to know (Id not heard that) but Im not sure how many are aware of it as at Japanese car meets thats everywhere

[@TassieLorenzo]

My favourite band The Living End did a cover of the Cold Chisel song "Rising Sun" (with the lyrics "the Rising Sun done took my girl away"), complete with a video dressing in Montsuki robes, wearing face paint and doing karate. It's a fun song if you like rockabilly. *However* said video has now disappeared from the internet! They've censored themselves on it, lest they be "cancelled". It's amazing how social standards of what is "acceptable" change so quickly over the space just 15 years... Edit -- You can still find the song, but the music video has vanished! You can find a still from the music video on Apple music, perhaps the eyebrow makeup & wearing of traditional Japanese hairstyles by the band is problematic! 😬

[@davidgibson4840]

Hit my knee all the time, my lads got a 1.8 si nice wee car

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

@@TassieLorenzo Two awesome bands! I'll have to go on a wayback search to try and find this vid.

[@buck3655]

FN2 Is A Good Little Fun Wagon, Had Mine Since 2009 To Date

[@jo05dk]

I hated this generation of Civic Type R when it launched, with a passion. ...but now... It actually looks pretty good compared to the horror shows we've seen from that camp since, AND it has what i call a real Honda engine. They can stick their turbo engine where the sun doesn't shine, for all i care. So yeah.. Times sure has changed.

[@craigbrown5667]

I've had 4 of these over the years and looking to get another, as a weekend toy. For the money, they're absolutely superb cars.

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

Curious, why have 4 of the same car in succession? Do they get written of in crashes? Not a criticism Craig I read comments like this a lot and I'm genuinely intrigued.

[@35dononeill]

Perhaps it has such a poor reputation because although it's good, it followed a better car. Firm suspensions are lovely for track days but would become tiresome for normal driving.

[@CbrHJ]

Very under estimated these cars owned mine 8 years now, set up right these are better on track the. Ep3s took mine to.nurburging and it was absolutely mint on there

[@delukxy]

The Honda Hooligan.

[@andic6676]

May think of a Mk8 Civic after my Mk7 dies...good idea?

[@furiousdriving]

any civic is a good idea

[@andic6676]

​@@furiousdrivinglove my mk7 but have no garage so it is slowly dissolving 😢😢

[@JohnJohnson-lu9we]

The gear knob looks wrong, I thought they were a titanium jobby. It was on my lads FN like on his EP3.

[@tedsmart5539]

Yes - A K20 will make 400+hp. The rub is how long will it last?

[@tristanpage6805]

It’s like the Sauber f1 car of type Rs. Amazing car but against its close rivals not so great. Love the content

[@KS-xo3oh]

Our 8th Gen Civics look a lot different in the US. I loved my 2006 and definitely prefer the US styling. Ours was Much more subdued, this screams ASBO

[@chriswalford9228]

What's that "someone shaking a bag of crisps" noise ?

[@TassieLorenzo]

That's a slightly non-Concours example Matt! A bit of a contrast to the mint example in the Honda heritage collection. It's not too bad if looked at from the distance of the exterior filming though. 🙂 Is that a RenaultSport metal gearknob instead of a Honda one? The standard radio replaced with a double DIN fascia but a single DIN radio? Carbon-fibre effect bonnet? Those Rage 19" alloys are not good IMO, they take the ride from bad to abominable (I put 17" wheels on mine instead). Someone has turned the cluster dimmer down (the dial on the left of the rev counter), the speedo & rev counter is not supposed to be that dim (it defaults to dim after changing or disconnecting the battery for some reason)! Thanks for the review! The sort of front cupholders are under that sliding cover on the centre console. Re: how low the car is... It's quite low as standard, but there are lowering springs available to lower it another 15mm (which I don't know why you'd ever fit, but people do). I don't agree that Honda ought to have gone turbo on this car! Still being NA is what makes it special and fun. Perhaps it could have had the K24 for more torque (and slightly lower revs) though, the Civic Si got a K24 from 2012-2015. This example car could be the basis for a cheap 750 Motor Club racing car perhaps? Despite not being very fast, the FN2 is a popular choice for a club racing car because it is fairly reliable and there are a lot of parts available (750MC is great because they use a power-to-weight formula, which allow for all kinds of cars to enter and have a chance, by adjusting power output and ballast to fit into different classes -- would great to see more Rovers and MG Rovers out there!). 🙂

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Nearly looked at one a few years ago, but it was black (not a fan of black cars) it had a high mileage and looked ragged from a inch within it's life, wheels kerbed....Do I think it's the worst? No the one after that when it became a five door IMO is the worst. Loved the Family guy clip..... An excellent Review Matt, guess who is away to look at Auto Trader 😂😂

[@furiousdriving]

It had to be Family Guy after that wallop! Check out Dad Skillz Cars as hes selling this soon!

[@TassieLorenzo]

"No the one after that when it became a five door IMO is the worst." I like that one! The 9th-gen Civic hatch as that is, is just a facelift of the 8th-gen. The basic bodyshell is the same shape (apart from no more 3-door offering). I like that it is still a VW Golf-sized car. After Honda put independent rear suspension back with the next Civic, Honda had to make the car a *lot* bigger overall to keep the same cavernous cargo volume that these 8th and 9th-generation Civics achieved thanks to their Honda Jazz rear end (they were basically a Honda Civic sedan front architecture with a widened Honda Jazz middle & rear architecture, including the beam suspension and fuel tank under the front seats to make more boot space).

[@whowho6420]

I currently have a ford st220 im thinking off selling it and buying one of these or the type S

[@giulianomarco]

By your command, Matt. 😁👍

[@ScottWard-k6r]

Why is the engine management light on?

[@furiousdriving]

unknown, there are no actual faults

[@ScottWard-k6r]

@furiousdriving okay so I didn't watch all the way through you say car is going up forsale could you please let me know the price and miles please?👍

[@tony-yp6qk]

Another great video has always matt and family 👍

[@furiousdriving]

thanks!

[@michaelstaunton1632]

Thanks for all the videos in 2024 👍👍👍

[@furiousdriving]

Thanks for watching!

[@jefferysmith3930]

Neet little car. We didn’t get them in America however. We didn’t get the type R til 2019?? I think

[@Phiyedough]

It seems very noisy.

[@fhwolthuis]

Nice car but the 5 door is a lot more practical and looks good too

[@furiousdriving]

more practical but 3 door hot hatches always look better I think, more coupe like

[@TassieLorenzo]

You get used to not needing to look around a B-pillar at junctions! That's a nice bonus of a 2-door/3-door with long doors IMO, it depends how often you use the rear seat.

[@quirksandfeatures3215]

Had one. It was a brilliant car, and the styling is still holding up today. Matt, this or a very broken and dangerous diesel Citroën Berlingo?

[@furiousdriving]

this every day (over a good Berlingo as well!)

[@quirksandfeatures3215]

​@furiousdriving Haha, when will he learn. 😂

[@kevrobierts8235]

​@@furiousdriving Cool Car Lovely In red Real honda TyPe-R No Turbo Cool Style Door handle but I StIll Do Prefer 2000 Era EP,3 Door handle , are you havIn 2001 Model On your Channel 1-Day ?

[@davidjack825]

@@furiousdriving is there such a thing as a good berlingo !

[@billgriffiths1685]

Yipee I'm here, I love these cars.

[@williamwales6619]

Lo Matt. Honda Luvit. banged yer knee. 5aghs? A bit OTT. Matey. Just have to take them for the team. BTW noted the roads on the Test drive. Ye need a landing strip to rip the ass out of it. Later

[@drdanphd]

If you get a mk8 2.2 cdti you can remap it to 191 bhp with no mods so only 7 away from type r and better fuel economy and more toque

[@rickbaines8262]

But you will have to listen to a tractor engine and not a lovely K20 and deal with huge torque steer and replacing flywheel every few thousand miles, ask me how I know!

[@MichaelThomas-be7gq]

@@rickbaines8262 and don't forget replacing the clutch - ask me how I know!

[@nolahahnshouse3389]

Even if it did suck.. we would still take it here in the states 😂

[@SBBUK]

To be honest I'd rather have your 8th gen si, if only because you can convert it to fd2 spec!

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@SBBUK There's pros and cons to both! The sedan does have the IRS, but the FN2 does have a lot more FD2 parts like the newer gear ratios, lighter flywheel, newer cylinder head etc.

[@atay8153]

Ugly design 😂

[@furiousdriving]

no! its brilliant and thats final!

[@atay8153]

@ maybe after 8 pints

[@terryatkinson899]

Lovely dashboard, it has a real kick to it 😂 ​@furiousdriving

[@01ls1z28dabx]

Brilliantly ugly.

[@TassieLorenzo]

It's no Citroen C4 VTS, but at least Honda tried! Remember when 3-door hatchbacks were readily available? It was ever such a long time ago. 😟

[@shieldaigbencher]

I have just gone totally mad and bought a brand new electric car. The performance of which makes cars like this look absolutely ancient. Maybe, you can donate this to the National Trust?

[@rickbaines8262]

Problem is, just like my EV, the novelty of the instant torque just gets boring after a while and you realise its just another boring jelly-mould box, there's no character or soul to them, I'm on my second but meh! Glad I've got a couple of classics for the weekend.

[@shieldaigbencher]

@rickbaines8262 Yeah, I have a few old cars as well, so I get where you are coming from. But for everyday use, I think my brand new electric car makes perfect sense.