Bonding Time

Three months in, what were loving & loathing

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YOU’VE READ that the Honda Civic Type R drives brilliantly, but what is it like to do 5000km in one? Let us regale you in the things beguiling and bugging.

Broadly speaking, it’s a case of so far, so good – to the point that, despite personally being neither a Honda nor a hot hatch person, I would easily buy one. Seriously. The bulk of kilometres have been urban and no complaints there, as the Type R rides very nicely with its adaptive dampers in Comfort mode, somewhat of an achievement with 20-inch wheels and 30-profile tyres. The manual gearshift is a joy; in fact, it’s so forgiving and enjoyable to use, clutch included, not even in the heaviest of congestion have we longed for an auto. Part of that has to do with the rev-matching software (which can be turned off), also matching revs up gears for spooky smooth changes.

It’s with the gearbox we encounter the first of our gripes; on a couple of occasions we’ve encountered an odd crunch with a quick gear change, even when warm, as if the synchros are tired (which surely is not the case). It’s an experience reported by other owners.