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EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 22/28/25 MPG BASE PRICE $35,595 PRICE AS TESTED $35,595

We fell in “enthusiast” love with the Type R in the first moments we drove it in Montreal last year. During its First Test, features editor Christian Seabaugh, who is never at a loss for words, said, “Thinking of clever ways to describe cars pays my bills, so rarely does a car leave me struggling to find words to describe it—yet that’s the situation I found myself in after driving the Honda Civic Type R. I settled for three: ‘Holy s---. Wow.’”

A short time later, the Civic Type R earned Finalist status in our rigorous and comprehensive 2018 Car of the Year contest where our international bureau chief, Angus MacKenzie, wrote, “This is the most impressive new Honda I’ve driven since the original NSX.” Riding that impressive endorsement, we then pitted the Type R against its closest performance analogues: special edition versions of both the Ford Focus RS and Subaru WRX STI Type RA plus a VW Golf R. Again, the Civic Type R shined brightly, and handily—and unanimously—won that comparison test. With all of those exuberant endorsements, clearly we had to have our own Type R—for a year. Would daily life with the all-conquering Civic hailing from Swindon, England, tarnish its legitimate performance credentials?

In case you aren’t familiar with it yet, the Civic Type R (aka CTR) is built alongside other Civic hatchbacks, but it benefits from additional adhesives in key areas to enhance the unibody’s strength. It also receives specialized Type R–only suspension components: unique rear multilink setup and bushings and dual-axis struts up front that effectively separate the steering from the suspension. This clever and expensive mechanical solution effectively eliminates the power-induced torque-steer effect that often plagues powerful front-drive cars. Three-way adjustable solenoid-valve adaptive dampers round out the chassis.