Thinking of getting a Honda Civic Type R, 2010
Discussion
Firstly, my background since it may be relevant to my opinion. I am mid twenties age and have owned 3 Civics to date, the most recent being a 2011 Type R (60 plate).
Reliable ? - 15 million iVtec engines without any failures is saying something. Check Type R oil regularly if driving it hard, and you will be fine. I've had zero engine and transmission issues. Only changed a battery on an older car.
Decent for what they are ? - I bought my Type R with 22k on it for £13k. It's a GT model with limited slip diff & HID headlights. There are probably cheaper cars out there, but it's down to how much YOU want the car.
Running costs ? - standard Honda service (12k) is around £265. Every 3rd service requires valve clearance checks that adds £100 onto the bill.
My car averages 29mpg. That is mostly town commuting with occasional long run, plus some back road blasts. The best I've seen on a long run is 34mpg, on std 95 and super unleaded. If you drive it hard it does rapidly decrease to 25mpg.
I've only done 9000 miles in my Type R so far, so haven't needed tyres. I have looked a Bridgestone RE050 for 18" wheels....these are around £160 each.
To drive ? - I personally love it, the engine dominates the whole experience. You have to put a fair bit of effort in, but the rewards are excellent. It sounds brilliant as standard. Brakes seem perfectly adequate IMO. The ride is stiff though, and can be irritating for commuting in town - this is why I would opt for 18" rims and keep away from the 19"'s
Gearshift is slick and precise, steering is reasonably accurate, but electic so lacks some feel.
Seats I love ! Interior is a nice place to sit, plus the VTEC light lets you know when you are in the zone.
I hope this is of some help to you
Stuart
Reliable ? - 15 million iVtec engines without any failures is saying something. Check Type R oil regularly if driving it hard, and you will be fine. I've had zero engine and transmission issues. Only changed a battery on an older car.
Decent for what they are ? - I bought my Type R with 22k on it for £13k. It's a GT model with limited slip diff & HID headlights. There are probably cheaper cars out there, but it's down to how much YOU want the car.
Running costs ? - standard Honda service (12k) is around £265. Every 3rd service requires valve clearance checks that adds £100 onto the bill.
My car averages 29mpg. That is mostly town commuting with occasional long run, plus some back road blasts. The best I've seen on a long run is 34mpg, on std 95 and super unleaded. If you drive it hard it does rapidly decrease to 25mpg.
I've only done 9000 miles in my Type R so far, so haven't needed tyres. I have looked a Bridgestone RE050 for 18" wheels....these are around £160 each.
To drive ? - I personally love it, the engine dominates the whole experience. You have to put a fair bit of effort in, but the rewards are excellent. It sounds brilliant as standard. Brakes seem perfectly adequate IMO. The ride is stiff though, and can be irritating for commuting in town - this is why I would opt for 18" rims and keep away from the 19"'s
Gearshift is slick and precise, steering is reasonably accurate, but electic so lacks some feel.
Seats I love ! Interior is a nice place to sit, plus the VTEC light lets you know when you are in the zone.
I hope this is of some help to you
Stuart
I have the FN2 CTR. The above post is on the money. I get about 24mpg but I do lots of slow/traffic. It doesn't feel fast vs the other competing turbo'd hot hatches, you have to work it to get it to go but that's the whole point of the type R.
The star trek interior is marmite, you'll love it or hate it. I think its great (as do my kids!). The ride is a bit on the harsh side but it doesn't roll at all as a result. Compared to something like the focus ST the ST as standard feels like a boat with jelly suspension vs the FN2.
Best mods for the car are a flashpro remap which opens up the midrange nicely to make the car easier to live with day to day, plus Eibach springs and fast road setup (geometry adjustment). The springs take the harsh ride out a bit and the FRS improves the overall grip and handling.
EDIT - For a 2010 check it has the diff. Mines a 2010, 60 plate and it doesn't. The diff is a great bonus if the car has one.
The star trek interior is marmite, you'll love it or hate it. I think its great (as do my kids!). The ride is a bit on the harsh side but it doesn't roll at all as a result. Compared to something like the focus ST the ST as standard feels like a boat with jelly suspension vs the FN2.
Best mods for the car are a flashpro remap which opens up the midrange nicely to make the car easier to live with day to day, plus Eibach springs and fast road setup (geometry adjustment). The springs take the harsh ride out a bit and the FRS improves the overall grip and handling.
EDIT - For a 2010 check it has the diff. Mines a 2010, 60 plate and it doesn't. The diff is a great bonus if the car has one.
Ali_T said:
Stuart0688 said:
Reliable ? - 15 million iVtec engines without any failures is saying something.
They are reluable, but this isn't strictly true. Tge way Honda worded it is there have been no failures dute to the VTEC system. But there have been occasional engine failures.
K20's in particular have been known to go pop when short of oil...
OP - depends what you're after. As a "Type-R", the FN2 is compromised and fairly lacklustre compared to its brethren. As a 'rounded' car, it's better...except for the ride-quality, that is.
BUT...as a 'rounded' car, the aforementioned ST and the Golf GTi are both better than the Civic. So it depends where on the scale of "boring...accessible...interesting...hardcore...lunacy" scale you want to live.
I'm 6 weeks and 4,000 miles into FN2 daily driver ownership.
I looked at Golf GTIs, Mini Cooper JCWs, Seat Leons etc etc and the first drive on an FN2 made me giggle like a kid (I'm 35 and a customer facing suit for reference). I love it. The others were better cars for touchy plastics, turbo torque, badge snobbery, daily ride blah blah blah but me and the Civic just clicked and the others were soon relegated to also rans. There are loads on the market so set your budget and go look at as many as you can. I saw loads of over priced examples that showed signs of abuse and lack of proper care. In the end I bought one from a forum user over on Civinfo.
My Reader's Car thread is here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I looked at Golf GTIs, Mini Cooper JCWs, Seat Leons etc etc and the first drive on an FN2 made me giggle like a kid (I'm 35 and a customer facing suit for reference). I love it. The others were better cars for touchy plastics, turbo torque, badge snobbery, daily ride blah blah blah but me and the Civic just clicked and the others were soon relegated to also rans. There are loads on the market so set your budget and go look at as many as you can. I saw loads of over priced examples that showed signs of abuse and lack of proper care. In the end I bought one from a forum user over on Civinfo.
My Reader's Car thread is here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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