Type R is "hopeless"

[ChillTypeR]

I have just watched the top gear review of the type r and clarkson really slates the car as I am sure many of you are aware. I shall be placing an order for mine in a few weeks. I have test drove it and loved it. However, does the torsion beam really make the handling that bad and is the ride that harsh. I have been reading many reviews over the past few months. I am a weekly subscriber to auto express and hold that mag and high regard and they love the type r. Would honda take on these negatives and create a new version with independant suspension at the rear?

Thanks

[NEEMSTAR]

been done to death mate

if you want some kind of reassurance then i have had a play with a few EP3's and the FN2 with none of us losing each other on a consistent basis and i find the handling to be immense. (all on my private track officer )

the ride can be hard on rubbish roads but i find it normally is fine.

you will LOVE it

regarding if Honda will do that, i doubt it.

[teletxt]

The rear multilink suspension is just in the (fa,fg,fd) civic. In the fn,fk civic the big trunk vs multilink suspension was a question . The big trunk won. The fk, fn civic 415 L vs fa,fd 350 L .

[teletxt]

The 5th gear test , fn2 vs fd2

[teletxt]

But what I heard the biggest problem is the understeering ,in fn2 civic , the fd2 has the lsd which makes more controllable the car.

[BigBud]

If you are not going to a track...just buy the fn2...understeer...on a daily basis...you won't notice it unless you are an idiot on the road...

[angie4m]

And you'll also know that Top Gear Mag Loved the car and made it their hot hatch of 2007. Clarkson isn't Honda's biggest fan, he even recommended the Golf GTi over the EP3 which thrashed it round the track, so the FN2 was never going to get a great review from him, also see his Times review.

But you've test drove it and you've ordered it so the point of this thread is really? Do you now think you've made the wrong choice based on one review from Clarkson? If so do you not think for yourself?

[w.car]

go whsmith have a look at the top gear mag won the top gear hot hatch 2007 nuf said

[R-2]

If you loved it on the test drive i'm sure you won't be disappointed.

If you intend to use the car for everyday driving like 99% of people who buy one, you won't be bothered by the understeer and the hard ride is no worse than you would expect from a sports hatch.

btw when i say everyday driving i don't mean pootling around like a grandpa
It loves to be driven hard and handles superbly

I think it highly unlikely that Honda will make any significant changes to the type r in the near future

[philip3600]

Originally Posted by angie4m

And you'll also know that Top Gear Mag Loved the car and made it their hot hatch of 2007. Clarkson isn't Honda's biggest fan, he even recommended the Golf GTi over the EP3 which thrashed it round the track, so the FN2 was never going to get a great review from him, also see his Times review.

Saying that Clarkson is not a Honda fan is wrong. The s2000 is one of his favourite cars!

[ChillTypeR]

WOW....just read the top gear review and its amazing. They are very impressed. Autoexpress also gave it hot hatch 2007. What the **** was clarkson on about. Will be ordering soon!!!

[illegalhunter]

Now that was a quick change of mind. lol

[angie4m]

Originally Posted by philip3600

Saying that Clarkson is not a Honda fan is wrong. The s2000 is one of his favourite cars!

Right then Clarkson is not a fan of any other Honda than the S2k, but you woulds have thought by the comments about the EP3 in the FN2 review that he loved the EP3 when infact he slated that too when reviewed against the other 'hot' hatches at the time (which it caned).

He also loves to have a dig at Honda and say negative comments at any oppertunity he can so in my opinion thats not what someone who likes Honda.

I love JC but I wouldn't base my car choice on what he says.

[gjackson]

Top Gear the TV show is entertainment rather than factual these days. All the hot hatches are very similar therefore stating that on TV would make the programme boring. Just watch it again and notice how he really tugs on the wheel in the rain.

He was really forcing understeer for the cameras. Do that in any FWD 200+ car with your foot on the gas and it will understeer like a dog.

[uncler]

Originally Posted by ChillTypeR

WOW....just read the top gear review and its amazing. They are very impressed. Autoexpress also gave it hot hatch 2007. What the **** was clarkson on about. Will be ordering soon!!!

Good choice, I doubt you'll be disappointed. One thing I find annoying though, is that Clarkson's CTR review is the first thing on the list when you Google Civic Type R...

[lloeki]

yeah and many youtube videos of this clarkson review are cut before the end, with the race track entries shown and more chatter, where the FN2 makes an interesting lap time. also he tested a GT Navi, which is so unfair IMHO. to have a fair comparison he could have at least tested the 'Race' one...

you can see more lap times at fastestlaps.com if you're interested in comparisons.

as for the fn2 vs fd2 here's food for though:

data: fn2 vs fd2
LSD: no vs yes
redline: 8000 vs 8400 rpm (hence more power and shorter gears)
rear susp: beam vs wishbone
wheelbase: 263 vs 270 cm
tyres: potenza re050a vs re070
brakes: honda vs brembo
weight: 1355 vs 1270 kg
trim: gt navi vs bare
drivable everyday: yes vs no

in this situation, fn2 conceding only three seconds to fd2 seconds makes it perform just as awesomely. just tyres and wheelbase could be accounted for that difference! see what a mini clubman is able to pull out as a time on the nurburgring solely thanks to the wheelbase...

oh and by owning one, I swear that you won't regret it, this car is so much loads of fun. besides, I don't know what the hell they did to the rear torsion beam but it sticks to the road like glue! as for harshiness, well I drive it for hours and don't feel anything but the road itself though I agree harder would begin to be a pain (e.g with 19"). I don't know others, but in this car I really feel a connection between the driver, the car and the road. just pure fun.

[x Dr Vodka x]

If Beethoven was alive he would incorporate the FN2 sound track in a symphony

[Robbieee]

The Clarkson comments have been done to death on here. Why open up a can of worms again?

Clarkson on Type R
ITMA - Jeremy Clarkson
type R panned by Clarkson

[R-2]

Originally Posted by lloeki

oh and by owning one, I swear that you won't regret it, this car is so much loads of fun. besides, I don't know what the hell they did to the rear torsion beam but it sticks to the road like glue! as for harshiness, well I drive it for hours and don't feel anything but the road itself though I agree harder would begin to be a pain (e.g with 19"). I don't know others, but in this car I really feel a connection between the driver, the car and the road. just pure fun.

Sums it up beautifully

I particularly agree with the red highlighted part

[Duecut]

You'll always get those saying the EP3 is better than the FN2 (and visa versa), the plain and simple fact is unless your a driver of professional calibre you wont notice the slightest difference between the two (wrt performance)

I have friends with EP3's, we recently had a track day together and our best lap times were very close (out of the 4 CTR's my FN2 was 2nd). The arguement of which is better suddenly stopped (especially since the one CTR that had the performance exhaust and a induction kit came last well there was £600 well spent )