Honda Civic Type-R

It’s the most exciting, capable and well engineered hot hatchback we’ve ever driven, but has lost some of the fluency that made the last Type R truly …

Acceleration times are about as fast as manual front-wheel drive cars get at 5.7sec, top speed a ridiculous 169mph.

The 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder is both incredibly linear and yet still happy to rev. Gearbox is beyond brilliant.

The Civic Type R makes full use of its stiffer, lower chassis and multi-link rear suspension.

Unlikely to be lost in a car park, the Civic Type R is one of those mad designs that either will or won’t work for you

The new WLTP 33.2mpg combined figure is achievable in normal driving, but like any turbo car the Civic can be thirsty when pushed.

Longer, wider and of much better quality, the new Type R benefits from the same ergonomic and technological upgrades as the standard Civic

The ultimate turbocharged front-wheel drive hot hatch, and arguably one of the greatest cars to ever wear the ‘hot hatch’ tag full stop

Another cracking Honda Civic Type R, and its extra civility doesn’t come at the expense of capability

Subtle tweaks have made the Type R an even more formidable hot hatch, but we’re keen to try one again soon to understand fully the changes to the susp…

The new Civic Type R is a huge step on from the previous car, mixing surprising refinement with genuine interaction and scintillating pace

Honda's new super-hatch outguns rivals on paper, but edgy +R damping means UK drivers can't exploit its most extreme settings