2018 Honda Civic Type R ‘carbon accessories’ review

Fourteen thousand dollars. That’s how much the wheels on this Honda Civic Type R cost.

They’re part of an option Honda Australia calls the ‘Type R Deluxe Pack’, and there’s another $10,000 worth of carbon fibre styling fitted. On a car that costs $52,000 before on-roads.

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So, what does paying for an extra half-a-Honda get you? The 20-inch wheels, which are 2.1kg, lighter each than the stockers, plus a carbon wing spoiler, mirror caps, sill trim, diffuser, and interior accents.

We took this BMW M240i-priced Honda to the Bryant Park hillclimb track, a.k.a Haunted Hills, to film a television segment. While we were there, a few test lap were conducted.

Not only is the Civic Type R still as good as we remember it being at Performance Car of the Year 2018, which it won, but the track is an excellent fit for the sharp-nosed front-driver.

Wide tyres grip for as long as you could need them to, or want them to, and the steering is excellently weighted to turn hard without needing to cross arms too far. Not to mention the incredibly willing 228kW/400Nm turbocharged engine pulling out of corners harder than a front-driver feels like it should.

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But we could say all of this about at standard Type R. In fact, we have many times in the past.

While the lighter wheels should provide, at the very least, a slight improvement in performance for the almost eight-and-a-half fewer kilograms, you’d need to drive this car back-to-back with a standard Civic on the same road or track to notice.

Even the ride isn’t affected, as the stock wheels are the same size.

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The point can be made that, if you’ve got the money, the Civic looks better with the DC2 Integra Type R-inspired wheels on a white car. You could also say you really like carbon fibre. But enough to pay the price of a Suzuki Swift Sport? We’d rather a second car in the garage.

2018 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four, DOHC, 16v, turbo
Power: 228kW @ 6500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2500rpm
Kerb weight: 1380kg
Top speed: 272km/h
L/W/h: 4557/1877/1434mm
Brakes: 350mm ventilated four-piston calipers (f); 305mm solid discs four-piston calipers (r)
0-100km/h: 5.68sec (tested, Oct ‘18)
Price: $76,920 (car and options)