2003 Honda Civic Type R review from UK and Ireland

No major faults apart from paint and rattles.

I liked this car for a bit, but now I can't stand the thing, driving it is extremely wearisome, due to the ride and the engine.

I'm sick of constantly rowing through the gears trying to find the power band, especially on twisty roads, you are either screaming it to death or having absolutely no torque or power at all.

Is it quick? It sounds quick, but recently I had a guy in a 2.0 Carina E, giving me a run for my money (don't laugh they are actually a lot quicker than they look)

I think its lack of torque really is the problem with this car, it loses out on a many so-called slower cars in many areas, as for them being on a par with Subaru's, Mitsubishi Evo's etc... forget it, not a prayer of keeping anywhere near one.

Lots of paint problems, mine was silver, back to dealer several times, especially for blotchy paint on the bodykit areas.

The quality of the ride is appalling, I know its supposed to be a performance car, but even so I don't expect to get joggers nipple just driving it for an hour, the jarrs and bangs are simply dreadful, it also sounds like you are driving with a plastic bin wedged underneath due to lack of insulation.

Build quality is not good either, you close the door and it goes "ching", its built like a bean can.

The looks haven't grown on me either, looks a bit like a bread van I guess.

Interior build quality is also not good, my interior creaks and rattles a fair bit, not helped by the ride.

So all in all, I'm not impressed with the car or Honda UK, and yes I am selling it.