2023 Honda Civic Type R: A Brush with Greatness

Honda’s history is deeply rooted in internal-combustion engines, and as we make the shift toward electrification, the company’s most exciting gasoline-only vehicle has just undergone what is likely to be its final redesign. The Honda Civic Type R has rejoined the lineup for 2023, following the 2022 model-year revamp of the supporting Civic sedan and hatchback. Based on the handful of laps we took around Harris Hill Raceway outside Austin, Texas—including as a passenger to two-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen—it seems Honda absolutely nailed it.

For starters, we fist-bumped Max as we pulled the bright-red seatbelt across our chest. “Full send, right?” we asked. A shrug from Max and a “You sure?” served as acknowledgment as he revved the 315-hp turbo four, slipped the clutch, and spun the front Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, launching us out of the pits. The deep baritone from the engine and exhaust sounded great from under a helmet, and he ran out the engine until it coughed at the redline.

In Verstappen’s hands, the Type R rarely tracked in a straight line as he kept the engine on full boil, stringing the turns together in a sinuous uninterrupted dance of slip angles and oversteer. He braked as lightly and as seldom as possible, allowing the tires’ lateral loads to scrub off speed—along with a healthy amount of tread, we’re sure. Max was well past the Type R’s performance envelope as he one-handed the steering wheel with the kind of nonchalance we’d adopt rolling up to the drive-through window.

We’re running the course in the counter-clockwise direction. Thanks to a significant bump in Turn 6, Max launches a few tires off the pavement—the Cup 2s will be optional, with Sport 4S rubber standard—but the Type R stays on target with only a slight steering adjustment from our somewhat-bored driver. He said it’s better to go full throttle, rather than lift off it, over that bump and the ensuing ruts leading toward Turn 5. When an F1 champion gives you driving advice, you’re wise to take it. After only two laps, the fun was over as Max coasted into the pits. It was a brief encounter, yet the afterglow remains days later.

Then it was our turn behind the wheel. Sadly, we weren’t allowed on the track unsupervised. Instead, we were required to follow behind a pro driver, one who drove with significantly less aggression than Mad Max. We managed to strategically create an interval between the lead car and ours, allowing us to briefly approach the Type R’s performance limit. That gave us a taste of its potential but left us jonesing for more.

As we venture out of the pits, the clutch has an appropriate amount of effort, and the engagement is as intuitive as it gets. The shift throws aren’t as toggle-switch short as a Miata’s, but the shifter is equally easy and pleasurable to row up and down through the gears. The ratios are well spaced to keep the power on tap, and in +R drive mode, the instrument cluster displays an F1-style rev indicator across the top to keep you from bouncing off the limiter.

We didn’t feel a hint of torque steer under hard acceleration, but there is a quick shimmy under threshold braking before the ABS kicks in. It’s a strong enough wiggle to keep you on your toes, but not so much as to feel out of sorts or to get you to dial it back. The rev-matched downshifts eliminate the finesse of heel-toeing the pedals since you only need to slam the shifter into gear and dump the clutch. If you’re like us and prefer to truly do the work yourself, rev matching can be disabled in the settings menu, and the pedals are placed perfectly for precise footwork.

In some of the higher-speed bends, there’s an initial whisper of understeer, but it’s easy to predict and manage with a minuscule lift of the throttle and a nudge of the steering wheel. In slower corners, trail-braking all the way to the apex gets the tail to subtly rotate and you can maintain some oversteer once you get back on the gas—no need for those silly artificial drift modes, and the tires surrender grip progressively rather than in an instant. Just as we were becoming one with the Type R, the radio crackled, instructing us to give it a cool-down lap before rolling back to the pits.

This brief tease bodes well for the $43,990 Civic Type R’s capabilities, and we’ll have a more complete picture in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we’re left with the satisfaction that despite the latest Civic R’s tamer styling, performance is edgier, more reactive, and thoroughly enjoyable. With the disappearance of the Subaru WRX STI and the Mitsubishi Evo, we’re glad to see Honda bringing back its hottest of hatchbacks for a glorious victory lap.

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com