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Honda

Tuesday, 6th of January 2009

Polls

The latest body shape has been available since 2007, and still looks as distinctive today as it did back then, lots of fantastic lines and angles not found on other cars; and white suits the overall style of the car. The 2.0 litre i-VTEC DOHC engine remains unchanged, providing a top speed of almost 150mph, and a 0-62 mph time of 6.6 seconds; the limited slip differential is an addition over the standard Type R and helps the engine transfer more power onto the road – this car knocked 1.44 seconds off the time set by its close sibling around the Tsukaba Test Track. The performance is everything you’d expect from a Type R with enough thrills to suit most.

As if to confirm its sporty pedigree and looks the Type R has a pretty stiff ride, the steering is sharp and responsive, the car lets you put its engine to good use without the feeling of losing control, with the 18” (white!) alloys reassuring you that you are firmly planted to the asphalt. The ride is stiff, understandably so, which will deter some people from the model but you can’t expect a comfortable ride for the hottest of “hot hatch’s” surely?

Squat to the ground, mean looking, the car oozes appeal and quality, and with the Honda badge on the front grill you can be sure that this is a well made car. Honda is rightly considered to be one of the top manufacturers in terms of build and reliability and there is no reason to believe that this special edition will be anything other than a quality car. The warranty is the standard 3 years/90,000 miles.

Putting it through its paces with Euro NCAP, the car performs well, with four stars for the Occupant and Child protection, with three stars for the pedestrian category. The car also comes complete with the usual interior and perimeter alarm system and deadlocks. Perhaps the only security fear will be drivers of ‘normal’ Type R’s looking jealously at your motor!

The engine was born for high rev’s, and while there have been improvements in the 2007 model over the pre-2007 Civic Type R in low rev’s; the car much prefers the engine to be purring along at 2000 plus; so in stop start, heavy traffic the car will complain a touch. The dimensions of the Type R are identical to other Civics so you get large amounts of room in the front and more than enough in the back for 2 decent sized adults.

Demand will be sky high, the Civic Type R has a near fanatical base of owners and news of a Championship White edition will go down a storm with people wanting a Type R with just a little bit extra, and with supply restricted to only 500 a year for the UK market, expect a fight to get your hands on one. It is doubtful that people wanting one of these will be concerned about emissions, but for completeness sake the car achieves VED band F with emissions of 215 g/km. If you have read that last sentence with interest then this car is definitely not for you. Prices start at around the £20,000 mark when it becomes available in January 2009.

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