2001 Honda Civic Type R review from UK and Ireland

Where to begin! Rear wheel geometry misaligned causing lurid tail slides on dry tarmac for no reason. Interior scratched on delivery and centre console silver facing warped. All wheels replaced due to heavy corrosion. Second set already corroded and Honda UK will not replace a second set, even within warranty period. Front struts both replaced due to faulty bushes. Paintwork on both sills and rear spoiler badly flawed and repainted. Bonnet, front wings and front bumper badly stone chipped after only 3 months of ownership. Suspicious of poor paint quality and commonly noted on owner's forums, but Honda UK refused to accept warranty claim. Driver's seat replaced and seat belt mounting replaced twice due to persistent knocking. Been into dealers 6-7 times to sort rattling from dashboard, front door trims and A pillars. Not sorted yet! Gearbox decided it didn't like 5th and locked me out for 2 weeks only to inexplicably resume normality!!! Driver's window constantly jams on the rubber seal when going up- awaiting replacement.

For the money, this is a very quick car, but you really have to use all of the 8000rpm. Below 6000rpm it isn't any faster than most 2.0 litre hatchbacks. Thankfully the shift action is superb and rewards use.

The sound of the engine on full chat is stunning, though it can sound rather rough when driving normally. Not enough of the good sounds reach the cabin, you have to open the windows!

The ride is very jittery at speed and harsh around town. Thankfully the high quality seats cushion you well. Wouldn't like to be a back seat passenger though, with no support and thin cushions.

The steering is ridiculously lacking in feel, but a lot of the road messages reach your feet and bottom so you're not entirely robbed of feel overall.

The handling is very good, but not quite in the Integra Type R's league I'm afraid. Part of this is the high driving position and centre of gravity causing too much body roll, and part is due to the mismatched front and rear damping. The front is good, but the rear lacks wheel travel and is far to nervous to be confidence inspiring. The original tyres (Bridgestone RE080) do not suit the car at all and give very poor wet grip/traction, a lot of tramlining and a high level of noise. I switched to the Toyo Proxes T1-S (going from 205/45 to 215/40 in the process) and all these problems are resolved. A worthwhile change and gives a far better balance to the handling as well.

My car was an early production model and the dealers were not to blame, but Honda UK have been very unsupportive too many of the complaints.