Car Reviews

Back in 2017, the Honda Civic Type R set the front-wheel-drive production-car record around Germany’s Nürburgring, lapping the infamous 12.9-mile-long racetrack in 7 minutes and 43.8 seconds. About two years later, Renault showed up with its Megane R.S. Trophy-R and shaved 3.7 seconds from that time. Honda has a score to settle. Enter the 2021 Civic Type R Limited Edition (LE).
The Type R LE should be the quickest and fastest production Civic ever, and it’s a fitting swan song for Honda’s highly successful 10th-generation compact car, which will be redesigned for the 2022 model year. But make no mistake, Honda has created this lighter and more track-focused version of its celebrated hot hatchback to reclaim glory at The Green Hell. “There’s a reason we did so much testing at the Nürburgring,” a company spokesman said.

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Honda

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Honda says its development engineers logged 2500 miles at the ‘Ring, dialing in the Limited Edition’s chassis and steering, shaving its curb weight by a claimed 46 pounds, and substantially increasing its grip. After removing 28 pounds of sound deadening material from the Type R’s roof, hatch, front fenders, and dash, they tossed its rear cargo cover, rear heater ducts, and the rear wiper. The Limited Edition’s new 20-inch forged-aluminum BBS wheels are the same size as the standard car’s yet weigh a claimed 4.5 pounds less per corner. Each of its 245/30R-20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires—the same super-sticky rubber found on Ford Mustang Shelby GT350Rs and hard-core Porsche 911s—remove an additional pound of unsprung weight over the standard car’s Continental SportContact 6 summer tires.
Software changes have added a bit more effort to the Type R’s steering, and the chassis’s roll stiffness has been increased in each of the three settings for its adaptive dampers. But it’s the tire change that’s responsible for the majority of the Type R LE’s additional performance. With a treadwear rating of 180, the soft Michelins provide radically more grip than the Continentals with their 240 treadwear rating.

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Honda

During a morning session of back to back laps around the 1.8-mile road course at the Thermal Club in Southern California, the Limited Edition is clearly quicker than the regular Type R. Although the changes have purportedly increased the amount of weight resting on its front tires, the LE stops harder, turns in sharper, and has additional stability in quick left-right transitions. Speeds are higher everywhere on the track and its responses are more immediate, yet the Type R’s forgiving at-the-limit behavior has been retained.
With its greater traction permitting more corner exit speed, the LE carries more velocity down Thermal’s long back straight. Whereas the regular Type R could finish the straight with its engine redlining in fourth gear, the Limited Edition entered the braking zone in fifth. That’s without any changes to the Type R’s six-speed manual transmission or its 306-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four. Last year, Honda updated the Type R’s front brakes, fitting new fade-resistant pads and two-piece floating rotors that cut 2.5 pounds per side. The updates sync perfectly with the LE’s grippier Michelins. Brake fade is nonexistent.

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Honda

The quickest Civic Type R that we’ve tested hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and completed the quarter-mile in 13.4 seconds at 108 mph. With the Limited Edition’s additional grip and reduced weight, we’d expect those times to improve by a tenth of a second or two. We’d also be surprised if the LE didn’t improve upon the 1.03 g of stick on the skidpad that we’ve recorded for the standard Type R.
With the removal of so much sound insulation, we suspect there’s more engine, road, and wind noise inside the Limited Edition’s cabin, but our drive didn’t include time on the street to verify that. We will say that its suspension remains nearly as compliant as the regular model’s when you engage Comfort mode.

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Honda

Production of the Civic Type R Limited Edition will amount to just 1020 units, with 600 coming to the United States from Honda’s factory in England. The price is $44,950, which is a whopping $6500 more than the regular model. Since every example will wear bright Phoenix Yellow paint, they won’t be hard to spot. Its roof, mirrors, and hood scoop also are painted black, and the Civic badge on its rump is finished in darkened chrome. The only other visual tweaks are the new wheels, but you’ll likely only notice the slightly different shape of their spokes if a standard Type R is parked nearby. Inside, Limited Editions get numbered plaques on their center consoles with designated build numbers. And before you start thinking about upgrading your existing Type R with the LE’s rolling stock, know that Honda won’t be selling the lighter BBS wheels at its parts counter.
Had this been a normal year, Honda already would have made an attempt to reclaim the front-drive Nürburgring record with the Type R Limited Edition. But this hasn’t been a normal year. Sadly, both COVID-19-related issues and the arrival of winter in Germany’s Eifel mountains have delayed its return. But Honda seems determined. “Stay tuned,” said a company rep.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback
BASE PRICE $44,950
ENGINE TYPE turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 122 in3, 1996 cm3Power 306 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque 295 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm
TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 179.4 inWidth: 73.9 inHeight: 56.5 inPassenger volume: 97 ft3Cargo volume: 26 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 3050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 4.8 sec100 mph: 11.4 sec1/4 mile: 13.3 secTop speed (mfr’s claim): 169 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 25/22/28 mpg

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The Mach-E wasn’t always going to be a Mustang. It started life as a wagonized Focus EV. Somewhere along the way Ford executives realized that if the company wanted to sell EVs, it would have to build something people could get excited about. Ford’s now-CEO Jim Farley ordered the design team back to the drawing board two years before the car’s scheduled unveiling, a schedule not normally compatible with delivering a functioning product. His instruction: “Think Mustang.” The resulting car certainly looks the part of a pony crossover. But for the year between the Mach-E’s initial unveiling and our first chance to drive one, we’ve been wondering if it could deliver on the promise of that long hood. Now we know.
The answer is yes. And no. Whether you end up thinking the Mach-E is a valuable addition to the Mustang family will depend a lot on why you like Mustangs. It is the best-looking vehicle in Ford’s current lineup other than the actual Stang, and it’s also more attractive than the majority of crossovers. We haven’t tested one (yet), but Ford says the extended-range all-wheel-drive model that we drove will get to 60 mph in less than 6.0 seconds. That’s plenty quick for something with 29 cubic feet of storage in the back. Rear-wheel-drive models with smaller (and lighter) batteries should come in under 7.0 seconds—still respectable for the genre. Ford’s latest claim for the GT Performance Edition (480 horsepower, 634 pound-feet of torque) is zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

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Ford

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The extended-range all-wheel-drive model has 332 horsepower and 417 pound-feet of torque, and the instant availability of all that torque makes the Mach-E capable of stomach-churning off-the-line acceleration. There are three selectable drive modes. (Ford calls them Whisper, Engage, and Unbridled, but we prefer to think of them as Eco, Comfort, and Sport.) The sportiest allows one-pedal driving but is maybe too prone to wheelspin, as we discovered when our test drive coincided with some cold, damp fall weather. But all-wheel-drive burnouts strike us as on-brand for a Mustang in the Hoonicorn (and Mach-E 1400) era. We found it to be perfectly competent during a few laps of a parking-lot autocross course that Ford set up for us, although the car’s prodigious weight was evident, particularly in the slalom section.
So, if you like Mustangs because they’re attractive, quick, and not a total bummer to drive, the Mach-E should suit you just fine. Plus, it’s nice enough inside that the near-$50,000 starting price feels appropriate. But we’ve driven a lot of Mustangs, and we don’t like them just because they’re quick. The Mustang family includes some of our favorite engines, with intoxicating exhaust notes and more character than any electric motor. They are also thrilling to drive. The Shelby models, in particular, deliver steering and suspension that’s hyper-communicative, and the risk of getting bucked off the pavement due to your own inattention or lack of skill is quite real. Plus: those exhaust notes. Those cars aren’t for everyone (nor is a GT with Performance Pack 2, for that matter). But they’re amazing.

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Ford

Unlike the V-8 coupes, the Mustang Mach-E doesn’t traffic in barely sublimated danger. It’s quiet inside, and there’s not so much as a jostle or bump through the steering column no matter how bad the road. The ride is magic-carpet smooth, the isolation almost complete. This is its own kind of triumph in an EV, where the lack of a melodious engine can magnify wind and road noise. And plenty of drivers—especially crossover drivers—are perfectly happy to be isolated from the road. But when we think Mustang, hushed serenity isn’t what comes to mind.
Then there are all the other features that don’t jibe with our past Mustang experiences just because they’re new. The button-actuated doors are easy to use, feel novel, and seem less likely to malfunction than the perpetually frustrating pop-out handles employed by other automakers. There’s a massive 15.5-inch vertically oriented touchscreen, part of an infotainment system that is intuitive to operate and makes good use of screen space. Your phone is the car’s key, and an associated app will give you control over the Mach-E’s charge status, help with planning trips, and allow you to initiate certain vehicle functions, such as opening or closing the windows and lifting the tailgate.

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Ford

The Mach-E will also be an early test bed for Ford’s connected-vehicle technology. This will include over-the-air software updates and real-time data on charger availability at some EV charging stations. Charging stations in Ford’s network will accept payment via FordPass, which is the Blue Oval’s version of Apple Pay. Owners will have to pay the old-fashioned way at stations not included in Ford’s network.
Once at those charging stations, owners can expect standard range Mach-Es to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in 38 minutes with a DC fast charger. Ford says we should expect about 230 miles of range from a standard 66.0-kWh pack with rear-wheel drive and 210 miles of range with all-wheel drive. The extended-range version has an 88.0-kWh battery. Ford expects 270 miles of range for the all-wheel-drive version and 300 miles for the rear-drive variant. On our roughly 60-mile trip on a cold day, the Mach-E’s range indicator moved in step with the odometer, despite our free use of the heated seats and steering wheel and the climate control set at a comfortable 72 degrees.

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Ford

Ford is in the midst of launching three very important vehicles: the newest F-150, the revived Bronco, and the Mustang Mach-E. The F-150 is Ford’s cash cow and it’s important to get it right, but it would take a pretty big blunder to dissuade the throngs of truck buyers who would never consider owning anything else. The Bronco will test Ford’s ability to build a viable sub-brand, but its sales success is almost a foregone conclusion—at least at first. The Mach-E would’ve been the biggest risk of the three even if the word Mustang was nowhere on it. But the Bronco Sport—another crossover borrowing a hallowed name—is enjoying a favorable response thus far, indicating that loyalists might not reflexively hate a crossover offshoot as long as it’s worthy. And the Mach-E is the best electric vehicle Ford has ever sold. It doesn’t feel like a Mustang to us, but it’s a crossover we’d recommend to a friend. Only time—and monthly sales reports—will tell if that’s enough to make Ford a player in the EV market.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E
VEHICLE TYPE front- and/or mid-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger 4-door wagon
BASE PRICE Select, $43,995; Premium, $48,200; California Route 1, $50,900
MOTORS permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 255 or 282 hp, 306 lb-ft; 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 255 or 332 hp, 306 or 417 lb-ft (combined); 66.0- or 88.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION direct drive
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 117.0 inLength: 186.0 inWidth: 74.0 inHeight: 63.0 inPassenger volume: 100–103 ft3Cargo volume (front/rear): 5/29 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4650–5000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 5.5–6.2 sec1/4 mile: 14.1–14.6 secTop speed: 124 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 90–100/96–105/84–93 MPGeRange: 211-300 miles

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