Is The New Honda Civic Type R Actually Better Than The Focus RS And WRX STI?
The newest Honda Civic Type R has promised so much after the short and successful run of its shouty FK2 predecessor, and it’s safe to say CT’s own Alex is a fan, calling it the best front-wheel drive car ever. But Doug DeMuro thinks it still falls short of the Ford Focus RS and the Subaru WRX STI in some crucial areas.
306bhp might sound like a lot, especially for a front-wheel-drive hatchback, but it loses out to the Ford by around 50bhp. Both the Ford and Subaru also come with four-wheel-drive, and 0-60 times of just over 4.5 seconds, whereas the Civic is roughly a second slower.
Doug says that he wants the Type R to have more noise and for the styling to be toned down a tad. Most of us at CT like the bonkers, aero-led aesthetic, but maybe we’re weird.
Give the video above a watch and let us know what you think of the conclusions made.
Comments
Must of been a TYPE O saying it could be better than the RS and StI.
No.
Then go watch former Subaru Impreza owner Engineering Explained explain it to you why he thinks the Type R is better than his former car.
Hammond arguing why the STi is better:
110% agree with him.
The problem with with Civic is that it may very well be the best front-wheel drive car ever, but its playing in the segment where AWD reigns supreme. While you could make the arguement that youre saving money buying the Civic, I have to agree with doug and say that isnt it worth it to pay the extra $2000-$3000 for the superior vehicles?
As a track car, the FK8 is better. The AWD cars are much heavier and slushier around a track.
BTCC Civic beats more powerful BMW, Mercedes amongst other RWD and AWD rivals. Please stop being ignorant and test drive one of these before you pass a review. Engineering Explained has driven one and he as a former Subaru Impreza owner says the Civic is far more fun to drive than his former car.
It boils down to, if all you care about are traffic light drag races on a wet night in Stoke, go for the Golf R or Focus RS. If you want something that faster and feels like a race car, but the Honda.
The previous CTR (2015 FK2) manages to beat the Golf R/ Focus RS around every track they’re pitted against. Not bad for the inferior FWD + torsion beam platform. Makes the AWD system look a bit… pointless.
First they want 35000 more for this piece of fluff fwd . Second a GTI would wash this thing .
Agree with him on every single point, especially on the design critique. In case you missed it, I featured this car in my Top 10 Ugliest Cars Of 2017 post…
Yes yes yes!! The back of this car makes me want to vomit, yet all these hype-beasts think it’s amazing!
Why so?
Normally, I never watch this guy because he annoys me but since it’s the ctr I decided to give it a try. By 3:51 I had to stop, this guy is a blithering idiot. He complains about the wing moving when he shuts the hatch? Really? Why doesn’t he just call Airbus and lockeed Martin to complain about the improved efficiency of composite wings? DougDeMuro
He complains about it because it’s the top trim of the civic, and as such you would expect quality
Agree. It’s not horsepower wars. Doug is entertaining but more of a cosmetics and quirks guy. I’d like to learn more about the suspension, factory swaybars and spring rates. Also no mention of the audio system.
Man the Civic fanboys are really mad with him on YouTube comments.
We R getting lots of news today on CT.
These R a lot of effort to Type.
They must have been Honda computer for a long time.
I guess the type R has respectable power but theres just no way around the hideous design.
I like it. It has a design every hatch should have
I would still have the RS, but Type R is my second choice