Honda's Biggest Mistake? Is The FK2 Civic Type R Really That Bad?

A Type R goes down the road, you notice it. A Golf R goes down the road, don't notice it!!!

Just sold my 17 plate Fk2 had it from new done 45.000 miles in it best car i ever had just brought a brand new Seat ST300 estate over 300hp 4 wheel drive and I'm starting to regret selling the honda it was the black edition only 100 ever made i test drove the new TYPE R but to many things i did not like about it so got the seat its a very good car but my honda was better I'm 59 years and have had a lot of car but nothing comes close if you have an FK2 love it and keep it

I dont understand the title, I've never heard anyone say the FK2 isnt a brilliant car.

No gearbox issues with this car , simply people who don't warm them up. Worst bit about this car is the infotainment !

More or less utterly pointless to review a heavily modded car as if it's representative of the breed. It isn't. The world is full of non-standard cars that have been "improved" and most of the time they haven't. I had one of these for a year and I don't recognise much of what you say about the way it drives.

I took one of these on track when I worked for Honda before they hit retailers. It was immense. Handling was superb for a FWD. The standard exhaust was much quieter than this... this sounds horrible. I think the mods that have been done here have potentially ruined the experience. It's a brilliant car.

I loved my FK2. Great chassis, huge grip, sharp steering, no torque steer that I remember (it was stock) and the ride felt just right. Firm but plush. Felt very stable at high speed (70 mph of course). It felt like Honda's FWD response to the demise of the Mitsubishi EVO. It had that JDM boosty nature coupled with the obligatory bucket seats and huge wing. A little unrefined, you could feel the engine vibrations through the seat which added to its character. It also had an almost completely flat underside with a proper diffuser. My only complaint was rev hang and difficulty seeing the speedo.

Would like to hear what a standard car is like. It’s easy to say lowering springs are a “light” modification but in reality the the car has lost its roll centre, anything Honda did to help reduce bump steer is now gone thanks to the lower arms being at some new random angle, dampers are operating outside the nominal range of travel. The fact you seem to imply it’s a bit darty just confirms it. On the invisible sidewalls that car has I can only immagine how bad those springs have made it.

I currently drive a fk2 and apart from a k&n filter its completely stock. I'd have to totally disagree with you regarding it being poor in the wet. Mines absolutely grips to the road like glue, the only time i get any wheelspin is pulling away fast in the wet. No gearbox issues or torque steer either. Best "hot hatch" i've owned, its a hoot to drive.

I bought one of these new from the Honda dealership in 2016, had it for two years, it was a riot, loved it. Won't have a bad word said about it, only when I wanted to change to a 911 did it have to go and they're not in the same price bracket so what ever.

This is the coolest honda ever in my opinion. Maybe because we didn't get it here in the states, but I absolutely adore the look of this car 😍😍😍

I had one.....yes it had a torsion bar but it pretty much out handled anything out there. Indeed it is a proper Type R!

Underrated car, the FK8 was just a perfected version of the FK2. These also hold their value extremely well due to their rarity

I currently owen a FK2 and have done 30k miles and don't recognise any of the driving issues you talk about, steering is sharp and precise and always know what the car is doing.. zero talk steer at full throttle is god like.. holds the corners with ease. R button turns the car into a track focused beast hence holding the Nurburgring front wheel drive world record at the time of release, super smooth gearbox. Extremely comfortable, seats are probably the best seats I've ever sat in. Paid £25k for mine and with my spec and colour they are still holding around £17-£19k after 4 years of driving with Zero issues.. the FK2 is only second to the EP3 imo... Did I mention 40 to the gallon....

The gearbox issue apparently can be easily prevented by replacing the clatxh fluid with something a bit more resistant to heat like Motul rbf660 and fitting a little aftermarket heatshield where the clutch hydraulic circuit is close to the exhaust.

In the flesh a cracking looking car

Hmmm not sure about what he's saying about this car is entirely accurate.

Honda just needed to replicate the formula of the EP3 Civic type r, integra and S2000. Low weight; simplicity, discreet styling, close ratio manual box, no stupid touch screens, loads of steering feel, and an innovative fantastic naturally aspirated engine that revs to 8-9k. Thats it really, imagine what that kind of car would be like today?

I like this Type R better than the newest model actually lol. Its still no FD2 but its pretty dope in my opinion

PLEASE do a DC5 Integra Type R review. I think those were probably one of the last great cars Honda came out with before they did an overhaul of their lineup of what they offer today.