The 2023 Honda Civic Type R Shares Our Faith
Are you a true believer? Do you understand what summer tires can do for you, why a sunroof hurts performance, and that speed limits are just a starting point for negotiations? Do you feel persecuted by law enforcement for your beliefs? Well, Honda just built a car for you in the new 2023 Civic Type R. Go forth, spread the gospel of compact performance, and live by the Type R’s code of conduct.
I. Thou Shalt Not Understeer
This commandment is impossible for a front-wheel-drive car to follow, or so we thought. And yet, this 11th-generation Civic follows the directive from on high despite its 315-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four hanging ahead of the front axle and 61.4 percent of its weight on its nose. On the street, front-end grip seems inexhaustible as the Type R ducks left and right, forcing you into the seat bolsters.
Go ahead and dive into an apex, because the steering is a mere 2.1 turns lock to lock and the Type R slips in without any drama. Corner exits, which usually require the patience of Job in a front-wheel-drive car, are masterfully orchestrated by the Type R’s limited-slip differential. That unit, coupled with a very crafty anti-torque-steer front strut, puts the engine’s power to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and allows you to empty the 2.0-liter’s magazine without widening the cornering line. Next corner. Try again. No understeer, just more exit speed. As if some invisible string is holding the car, keeping it from leaving the road. It makes no sense that a front-driver can do this, so let’s just add it to the list of things that don’t make sense in 2022.
Not in the carnal sense; go crazy there. Here, it’s hooking up as in launching hard from a stop. Boost arrives after a beat or two, but the torque surge at about 3000 rpm—310 pound-feet, available from 2600 to 4000 rpm—will have you on the phone to Tire Rack. Turn the wheel slightly while hitting the gas in first and the front end eagerly hunts for the ditch or the oncoming lane as the differential tries to make the most of available grip. The solution is to keep the wheels pointed straight in first.
Honda’s manual gearboxes are special. Light, direct, precise, and a joy to operate, the Type R’s mostly carries over from its predecessor and has the same tight throws and positive action. In more than 500 miles of abusively fast shifts, we never heard a crunch from the synchros as we upshifted just shy of the 7000-rpm redline. Nor did we flub any downshifts. A lighter flywheel makes the throttle slightly more alert than before, and a mere tap of the right pedal spins up the engine to match revs on downshifts. For those who want Honda to do it, there’s a retuned automatic rev-matching program. It technically works but could be quicker to respond, something more noticeable on the track than on the street.
Gone are the old Type R’s fake vents and bodywork creases to nowhere. Function wins out over form in this round. Vents in the front bumper direct more cooling to the 13.8-inch front rotors, which are unchanged from the previous Type R. Revisions to the brake booster reportedly improve feel, but the pedal doesn’t seem any different. Real vents work. The only fade you’ll find in a Type R is in the driver’s hairstyle.
