MOTORING
A lively engine doesn
’
t have to cost the Earth.
By Peter McKay
IN a changing motoring landscape, performance and caring for the environment are not necessarily mutually exclusive in modern motor vehicles.
Okay, many of the big and powerful four-wheel-drives and V8 blunderbusses are hardly the last word in eco-friendliness. But some car makers, including Honda, have managed to straddle the great divide between being green and economical and being mean and fast.
Honda’s new Civic Type R is a brilliant example of environmentally friendly engineering meeting hot handling and lively acceleration in a functional, safe and eye-catching design package.
Described as petrol-head nirvana by one car magazine, the UK-made Civic Type R (it’s built to Honda’s exacting global standards) is the successor to the cultish two-door Integra Type R of a few years ago.
It’s not as raw as the Integra —the tertiary educated customers (most buyers, we’re told) demanded a more refined hot hatch this time — but it still revs like a banshee, goes like dog after a cat, grips like it’s on Velcro, and has all the expected comfort and safety features. All with low emissions.
Honda says its philosophy with the Type R is not about building the most powerful or fastest car in the world, but creating a vehicle that provides a well-engineered, exciting driving experience.
The engine is a high-revving non-turbo 2.0-litre twin cam i+VTEC (intelligent variable valve timing) with 148kW of power and 193Nm of torque. Reassuringly, there has never been a reported failure of a Honda VTEC system even though they scream all the way to 7950rpm. That’s impressive.
Using the obligatory close-ratio, slick-changing six-speed manual gearbox, it rockets from rest to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds to a top speed of 235km/h.
It uses 95RON fuel so you’ll pay a few cents more per litre. But in a sensible yet spirited highway run, we eked out consumption of just 7.6 litres/100km from the Type R, rising to about 10-11 litres/100km around town. It’s a good outcome for a car weighing all of 1345kg.
Safety equipment includes a polygonal front structure for better crash absorption, stability control, dual front, side and curtain airbags, big ventilated anti-lock brakes and rain-sensing wipers.
The steering is sharp and positive, and any driver would be impressed with the Type R’s ability to change direction without any slip or any pronounced body roll.
The ride too is comfortable given the Civic’s sporty aspirations. One thing we did note, though, was a smidge of tyre roar on coarse-chip tarmac.
Standard gear extends to 18-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, stereo with CD, multi-function steering wheel, tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, automatic headlights with light sensor, power folding door mirrors, sports seats, central locking, remote keyless entry and dual-zone climate control.
There’s a split-fold rear seat that, when flipped forward, opens a cavernous cargo area.
Inside and out, the three-door hatch looks rather snazzy. Its aggressive wedge shape won’t get lost in the crowd, that’s for sure.
Honda has probably achieved its aim of making the Type R attractive to young and mature drivers and both genders.
The Civic Type R retails for $39,990 and comes in red, silver or black.
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