2021 Honda Civic Type R Sport Line UK review Car News

Are you having a problem with the appearance of the Civic Type R?

Honda thinks you could, which is why it added this Sport Line version. It exists primarily to tone down the warzone aesthetic of what is arguably the best senior hot hatch of the current crop.

The big victim is the high-level rear wing – that id to see a mile from the Type R-ness. It’s been replaced with something more subtle, although if you inspect the undersides at its ends, the new part still features vortex-generating fins.

The wheels are also reduced from 20 inches on the Type R GT to 19 inches, although there is room for the car’s 350mm MMC brake discs full of grease. These wheels carry what is now the third different tire Honda has installed on rival Ford Focus ST, having used Continental Sport Contact 6 rubber on the original Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 and semi-slicks for the hardcore limited edition released. Last year. It was Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4 S compound that was called this time – in our experience just about the best road-focused tire, with soft sidewalls but also a lot of precision and support.

Finally, the red exterior stripes of the regular Type R were gone, as was the red fabric of the otherwise unchanged bucket seats, and some of the soundproofing from the regular Civic, removed from the regular Type R to save weight, was put back into place.

That said, the Sport Line’s curb weight is the same as before, at 1,380kg – a class-leading figure.

And the results? Well, visually you can judge for yourself. Even the regular Civic is a pretty punchy and aggressive thing, and the Type R raises the temperature considerably, so even with its tail docked, the bulldog-ish Sport Line was never going to blend in like the Volkswagen Golf GTI does. You still have the triple-tailed exhaust, domed wheel arches, the must-have hood scoop and grill galore at the front of the car.

However, what’s really worth considering in the Sport lineup is the combination of 19-inch wheels and NVH upgrades, as after spending a lot of time in the regular Civic Type R over the past few years, I can’t remember that one has ever been so flexible calm or generally well behaved in everyday use.

Add the RPM matching feature for short-stroke shifting and you’ve got something that’s really easy to buzz, but which, when you want it, exhibits the same sense of occasion and driving integrity. . controls like the appropriate R type.