2002 Honda Civic Type R from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing serious mainly trim problems.

This car looks odd! I was given as a company car and I hate it.

The adverts say bye bye gti, but my experience at the lights is more "Ta Ta Type R!" Golf's frequently beat it off until you rev the horrid sounding engine.

The interior is awful, spacious, but uncomfortable, not a patch on the seat leon I used to own.

The gear stick is in the wrong place.

My grandad also owns a civic.

The ride is way to hard, this would acceptable if the handling was great it is not.

This car should not be taken on to the motorway as it will make your ears bleed and your teeth will fall out.

On the plus side my fleet manager says I can replace it in 2005!

I agree with some of your comments, but to say the handling is not great! Every single magazine reviewer (even the ones who criticised this car for other things) have remarked on how good the handling of this car is. I have one and the handling is superb. Are you really saying your Seat Leon had better handling?

The ride is hard, certainly, but driving on the motorway is no problem. I even had 3 passengers a few days back and did 280 miles on the Motorway and we had no problems at all. City driving (esp in London) can be dodgy because the low profile tyres don't like potholes.

Surely you have some say in what company car you get? You obviously chose the car without doing your homework because this car was never intended for your kind of driver.

If you wanted a soft, over weight car (e.g. the Golf) why didn't you get one of them?? The CTR is basically a toned down racing car for the road. The Type R series is not aimed at people who spend hours on motorways and driving round poor london roads.

As for saying the performance is poor? 15 seconds to do a 1/4 mile is the same as a 2.5 Porsche Boxster!

The handling is also superb! Granted its not as good on a track as a Focus RS, but you can by a LSD for £1300 fitted and it'll be more than a match! (plus you'll save £3000!)

How can you say a golf will beat this off the lights? just looking at the performance figures proves this wrong, it is the fastest hot hatch, faster than a focus RS to 100mph! take a look on http://www.syclone.freeserve.co.uk/rivals_cars.htm.

If you get beaten at the lights by every golf you have come up against you obviously cannot drive.

I have had my Type-r for 6 months now and am also the administrator for the Civic type are forum and can point out over 1000 others that will also prove you wrong...

If you don't like the hard ride that is because it is a hot hatch designed to be as close to a track version as they can make and then put in some small refinements.

I have driven 1000's of miles on the motorways with no problems, what you obviously wanted was a Mondeo or other suitable car for a traveling salesman with the comfort to go with the long journeys.

The car is not at fault - you or your company are for getting you the wrong one in the first place.

By the way the ride in a Honda Jazz or Accord would be acceptable for you.

Sorry, but you have bought the wrong car...

As the other comments point out there is not one "standard" golf in the range that would touch the CTR for performance and drive ability. My previous car was a Fiat Coupe and with the large turbo this had you could put your foot down at 2000 rpm and wait from launch, probably similar to the Leon you used to drive. However the Civic needs work to get it roaring, and this can be annoying and fun to both extremes. Personally I love mine and think the challenge of trying to drive a proper NA performance car compared to lazy turbo style of just dump your foot is something I and other real car enthusiasts enjoy... all I can say is go buy yourself a Skoda Octavia, I am sure this would suit you more, and give you that lazy turbo driving style you are probably used to.

"Golf's frequently beat it off until you rev the horrid sounding engine"

Its not a lazy mans car, learn to DRIVE it, not let it drive you. To get beat by a golf or any car off the line points to not using the iVTEC engine properly. After all, 0-62 in 6.8 seconds is not bad.

90% driver, 10% car I would say. I think the original post is a wind up ;)

I totally disagree with the comments on the Type R - I think it is a great car to drive - handling superb and the interior is fine, remember this car is on the road at £15,995 it is not a Mercedes. Compared to the new ford focus this is a limo of a motor and will depreciate a lot less over the next few years which will please your fleet manager. Just get out there and enjoy the car.

ROFLMAO :)

OK who let Bernard Mannings in on this survey???

Ha!

I'm afraid to say that is an ill informed and completely biased review!

Slow? I think not! Poor handling? Well that's just silly to say that, I would question your driving abilities on that one, and the interior is one of the best in its class. The gear stick is in a perfect position for quick changes.

I am a little puzzled as to a lot of your comments, but won't dwell on them.

I don't think owners of Civic R's or Honda itself will be worrying about this one!

I can't understand some of the comments on this review.

Performance - 2/10 - this is one of the fastest hatches available. 6.4 seconds to 60 is the manufacturer's quoted figure.

Reliability - 1/10 - Honda's are one of the most reliable cars that you can buy.

Comfort - 5/10 - Even though it's a hot hatch with a hard suspension, I find it to be one of the most comfortable cars that I've driven. The seats make up for lack of ride quality as of the sports suspension.

I think this reviewer has chosen the wrong car for himself. His driving style does not seem to fit with the way the car is to be driven to get the best out of it. For example, as all the cars power is above 6,000 rpm he is not revving it that high as he doesn't like the engine noise.

I strongly disagree with most of the comments made. The Civic Type-R is a fantastic car. To say that a VW Golf beats a CTR from the traffic lights is pure rubbish. 0-60 mph in 6.4 second is damn quick for a non aspirated 2.0 car. With the exception of the W32 Golf (possibly) there is no way any Golf would beat it.

I travel up and down the motorway every weekend (a total of around 400 miles, and I have never had any problems with the ride or noise level, admittedly it isn't exactly silent, but when you own a car that is basically a racer for the road you should be able to deal with it. The ride is self is firm, but not bone shattering, giving excellent feedback to the driver.

At the end of the day, if you want a non involving rep-mobile buy a golf, but if you want to have a smile on your face every time you drive get a Civic Type-R, for £16000 brand new, you cannot go faster.

"Golf's frequently beat it off until you rev the horrid sounding engine"

I personally don't think you can drive if this the case. There is no current golf bar the R32 which will keep with a Type R.

As for handling I don't know how you can say either a Golf or a Leon is sharper in the handling department - what rubbish - I have driven both extensively and can honestly say neither is a patch on the Civic.

As said previously this is either a wind up or someone that seriously doesn't know how to drive!!!

Was the type are really the car you were in. This is a serious piece of performance kit designed for enthusiastic drivers. The performance is a good as it gets in the real world this side of 25k and there is no standard golf out there including the R32 that will touch it away from the lights.Clarkson, needal and other real motoring journalists rave this car and given their level of knowledge I think their reviews are somewhat more accurate than the rubbish I have just read.

I actually changed my Golf to a Civic Type R and would never ever change back. I absolutely love the car to pieces... the sound of the VTEC kicking in has changed my life for ever... for the better. It's an amazing ride with great performance.

Never mind Golf's - use the accelerator and not the brakes at the lights and start leaving Audi TT's for dead...

Are you sure your Company bought you the Type-R?...and not just a box standard with bigger wheels on?

Learn to drive mate... There ain't nothing like i-VTEC.

I can't agree with any of your comments above... they can't be further from the truth.

Go and get a Mondeo next time!...they have more cup holders and nice soft, spongy seats.

NigeCTR.