2023 Honda Civic

ALISTAIR WEAVER: Alistair Weaver here for Edmunds with the latest version of one of Edmunds' favorite cars. The last generation Honda Civic Type-R was tremendous, a slick manual gearbox, just enough power agile handling, and a price tag in the 30s. The only thing we weren't sure about were the aesthetics. It was so outlandish that every time you went to Trader Joe's, you looked like a wannabe Vin Diesel, and I only sometimes live my life a quarter of a mile at a time. Anyway, enough of a trip down memory lane. Here's the new car. [MUSIC PLAYING] So let's start with the obvious, the aesthetics. It is more sober than the outgoing model. Honda has got rid of the cartoonish styling and made it a little bit more mature, but don't think it's not distinctive. Every panel forward of the A-pillar, that's the A-pillar is unique to the type-r, and you get these more flared out fenders. You get a honeycomb grille, which echoes the interior, of course, a bright red Honda badge. And then if you follow me around the side, you get these black alloy wheels, which are perfect for curbing complete with Michelin Pilot Sport S-tires and the 265 3019. I love these little side skirts here with this little wind deflector here pushing the air over the rear wheels. Now, this is a really important point, these rear doors are actually unique to the Type-R. Now that's not a cheap solution and shows Honda's commitment to getting this car right. Also it has these pronounced rear haunches. But it's only really when we get to the back that it all gone properly Type-R. And of course, attention focuses on this rear wing, which looks like it was pinched from the race car. It also reminds me a little bit of Porsche's 911 GT3, but unlike on a GT3, it's not manually adjustable, sadly. Also at the rear, you get another Type-R signature feature, three exhaust pipes complete with an active one in the middle that you can adjust from the interior, more Type-R badging, and this black diffuser. Overall, it is a more understated vibe, but it's still very much a Type-R. Before we reveal what's under the hood, be sure to subscribe to our channel. Don't forget the bell. And if you're looking to sell your car, head to edmunds.com/sellmycar, but we'll make you a superb cash offer. Now, on with the oily bits. Honda is remaining frustratingly tight-lipped about the exact technical specifications of this car. This is very much one of those unrevealing reveals that we all love so much. So we're going to talk you through what we do know, what's official, and then we're going to speculate a bit based on our experience and, I hope, expertise. And this is the familiar 2-liter Turbo 4 that was used in the L model, but it has been tweaked a little bit to develop more power. How much more power? Honda won't say. We'll come on to that in a moment. Honda's also confirmed that this Type-R will only be available with a six speed manual transmission complete with rev matching, that system that automatically grips the throttle during downshifts. Now, there were lots of rumors that this generation would have a double clutch flappy paddle system, but apparently not. Honda says it's a proper driver's car, and proper drivers like to use a manual box. Hear, hear, marvelous. So that's what Honda will tell us. Now let's talk about what we think. The old model had 306 horsepower, 295 pounds feet of torque. And if Honda really wanted to probably squeeze quite a lot more oomph out of this turbo motor, but there is a balancing act here. Unlike the rival Volkswagen Golf-R, this car does not have all-wheel drive and there's only so much that you can ask the front wheels to do. Now with its combination of unique suspension, electronics, and a limited slip differential, the old Civic Type-R always did a pretty good job of combating torque steer, that's the tendency of the power to correct the steering and the trajectory of the vehicle, but there are limits to the physics. If I was a betting man, I'd be estimating this car would have something around 315 horsepower and around 300 pounds feet of torque, which would pretty much line it up alongside the Volkswagen. Performance, at the Edmunds test track, the old Civic Type-R was good for 0 to 60 miles an hour in a slightly underwhelming 5.7 seconds. With a bit more power, expect the new model to shave a few tenths off that. Will it dip under the magic five seconds? Well, time will tell. We won't be able to say too much about what it's like to drive until we actually get behind the wheel this fall. But the combination of a stiffer overall structure in this latest generation Civic, combined with a package that was already pretty great to drive, does bode well. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now a Civic Type-R interior that wasn't available in red is a bit like imagining your 9/11 with the motor in the nose, simply not going to happen. All the iconic Type-R features are right here exactly where you want them. You get a little aluminum gearstick, but the serial number plaque is moved from here, geeks will note, to right here in front of the passenger. And believe me, these super chunky sports seats feel terrific, at least, at a standstill. There's also a special plus R button for Maximus attackers mode. That stiffens up the dampers, it adjusts the steering, the throttle response, the sports exhaust, and even this digital dashboards, they get things like rev change lights. There's also, for the first time, on a Civic Type-R something called Honda LogR, which is a kind of onboard telemetry system that analyzes your driving and even allows you to share videos with your buddies to bore them ad infinitum, TikToktastic. The rest of the cabin is standard Civic with one important exception, that means good quality and decent practicality. It's an everyday car with a naughty side, and that's always been a big part of its appeal. But in common with every other Civic Type-R, this is a strict four-seater with two holders where you'd normally expect the middle passenger to be. Why? I don't really get it, to be honest. But then I also don't get why I can't have rear seats in the back of a 911 GT3. Honda also won't tell us how much this new model is going to cost, but we expect it to be slightly pricier than the L model, so reckon on just over 40 grand when it goes on sale later this year and it will only be available as a hatchback. Now at that price and with this kind of power output, rivals are few and far between. Things like the Hyundai Elantra and the Subaru WRX, the VW Golf GTI are all cheaper and less powerful. The most obvious rival is probably the Volkswagen Golf-R, but that's all-wheel drive and has a slightly more sophisticated vibe, different kind of car really. The Type-R remains a bit of a unicorn then, but maybe that's no bad thing. Unless something has gone weirdly awry in its development, this should be a slightly faster, slightly more capable version of the old car in a slightly more sober suit and that's OK with us. I can't wait to drive it. Thanks for watching. That's all for now. [MUSIC PLAYING]