Which magzine is a load of crap

[ChillTypeR]

I like reading reviews of the type r and 99% of them rate the type r very high. However I have just made the mistake of signing up to which online and paying 1 pound ( I have now cancelled it) to read the review of the type r. What a terrible right up. The person who wrote the review clearly nos nothing about cars. They really criticise the ride comfort, a car that handles aswell as the type r is never goin to win any awards for comfort. This so called car expert doesnt seem to understand this. Its proably written by a person who is rather large who preferes driving comfy jags and doesnt understand a true great handling car needs to be stiff etc. They even rated the mazda 3 mps ahead of the type r. Autocar is another magazine which annoyed me with there long term review again critising the ride...what did they expect!!!! However autoexpress magazine gave a excellent and professional review and understood that great handling cars never have soft suspension etc. Sorry to blab on but it has really annoyed me. I just think the whole right up is very amateur and not written by a true petrol head!

The review from which:

Honda has succeeded in creating a rarified atmosphere for its Type R products and you can tell that this is the raciest Civic on your first approach to the driver’s door.
It’s liberally covered in spoilers and graphics, while the big wheels leave barely a finger’s width of clearance in the wheelarches. Some say it looks like a running shoe – clearly no coincidence with a younger target market in mind.
One area where style really seems to have triumphed over substance is the spoiler across the middle of the rear windscreen, which seriously limits rear visibility. When driving at night, following headlights also seem to ‘flicker’ as they bounce above or below this line, which is irritating, to say the least.
Inside, you’ll find body-hugging sports seats to hold you steady through fast corners. The more generously proportioned driver may find them a little too ‘hugging’ – they don’t leave an awful lot of thigh room, which can feel uncomfortable after a while.
This feeling of no-compromise is continued on the road: the Type R delivers a bone-jarringly stiff ride, especially over potholes and speed humps. You could probably tell if the white lines painted on the road are gloss or matt, such is the feedback from the road surface.
Some would rightly point out that the Civic’s harsh ride is a result of racetrack-honed suspension settings, and they would probably be the same people that were capable of living with it on a daily basis. Others would soon tire of the vertical pitching caused by even the tiniest lump in the road – and it doesn’t get any better with speed.
Luckily the engine has a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ split personality. Below 5,400 RPM, it’s largely like any other four-cylinder family hatchback. In fact, the performance feels very underwhelming until you wind the engine up beyond this figure.
The first indication of extra activity is a big red light on the dash, labelled ‘i-VTEC’ – this signals that the engine has switched to high-performance mode. At this point the Civic really does come alive – the engine revs beyond a scarcely credible 8,000 RPM – well into specialist racing car territory.
Living with it

You must take a test drive, to see if the ‘snake-hips’ seats and racing-car ride are viable for everyday use. And you have to be quite determined to wring the best out of it – most of the power arrives only at very high revs, so if you’re used to a more lazy style of driving it might become irritating.
What’s more, despite the presence of a six-speed manual gearbox, cruising revs are too high so there’s a lot of engine noise on motorway runs. Relaxing it isn’t, although quick gearshifts are made easy by the handy dashboard-positioning of the gear lever.
The steering is very positive and unusually highly-geared (small turns deliver significant changes of direction), giving it a fairly meaty feel – reinforcing the ‘racetrack’ feel of the Type R.
In the right conditions, this Civic is a seriously quick car – but it demands single-minded concentration to ensure you’re in the right gear. This applies when overtaking, too – your instinct is to drop one gear, but in many cases you need to shift down twice.
According to our 2007 Which? Car survey, the British-built Civic isn’t the paragon of reliability we’ve come to expect from Honda. So far, owners have reported problems with the fuel system, steering, suspension and exterior trim. Furthermore, the Civic achieved only four out of five stars in its Euro NCAP occupant protection crash test – the Golf and the Astra achieved the full five-star rating, while the Mazda also scored four.
And the Type R seats only four people – there’s no central rear seat belt, so don’t expect to give any more than three people a lift. The folding seats don’t feature the clever drop-tilt mechanism (‘Magic Seat’ as Honda calls it) found on the five-door car, but the 485-litre boot capacity is still quite impressive for such a sporty car.
Value

List prices for the Civic Type R start at a pretty reasonable £17,627. But that doesn’t include the ‘GT’ pack which costs a further £1,000 to add cruise control, dual-zone climate control and front fog lights. Specifying sat nav costs a further £1,400, while bigger 19-inch alloy wheels are £950 (the standard wheels are 18-inch).
Although fuel economy wasn’t too impressive (about 25mpg in our time with the car) the overall running costs are kept low by the excellent resale values. Buyers are queuing up for a used Civic Type R, and if you look after yours it could return up to 64 per cent of its list price after three years and 36,000 miles – almost unheard of for a small family car.
The high CO2 emissions and insurance grouping don’t do running costs any favours, although this is par for the course for hot hatchbacks.

[Sivad]

I think we've all come across reviews like this and to be fair for a casual driver who might be tempted by the Type R I'd say it's fairly accurate.

Put it in pesrpective - it has a harsh-ish ride, can be a bit noisesome, the seats are huggy (being a rather large ex rugby playing guy), the spoiler will irritate some people, build quality is a wee bit off etc....

But owners will tell a different story......well of the drive anyway.

It's also fair to say that if your driving mojo is having an off day it can be a bit of a bugger (you know when you are just off with every change and then lose a gear as you pass the spotty prick in his pimped up corsa on the A1)

But if you really want it you'll not take much notice of this kind of review.

Although you could argue some might read this forum and never buy a Civic.....

[NEEMSTAR]

It's his opinions of the car, just we like we all have our own.

I wouldn't say there is anything in that review which is "wrong".

Maybe just a little exaggerated by his own opinions.

[-=Stella Artois=-]

Originally Posted by ChillTypeR

Living with it

You must take a test drive, to see if the ‘snake-hips’ seats and racing-car ride are viable for everyday use. And you have to be quite determined to wring the best out of it – most of the power arrives only at very high revs, so if you’re used to a more lazy style of driving it might become irritating.
What’s more, despite the presence of a six-speed manual gearbox, cruising revs are too high so there’s a lot of engine noise on motorway runs. Relaxing it isn’t, although quick gearshifts are made easy by the handy dashboard-positioning of the gear lever.
The steering is very positive and unusually highly-geared (small turns deliver significant changes of direction), giving it a fairly meaty feel – reinforcing the ‘racetrack’ feel of the Type R.
In the right conditions, this Civic is a seriously quick car – but it demands single-minded concentration to ensure you’re in the right gear. This applies when overtaking, too – your instinct is to drop one gear, but in many cases you need to shift down twice.
According to our 2007 Which? Car survey, the British-built Civic isn’t the paragon of reliability we’ve come to expect from Honda. So far, owners have reported problems with the fuel system, steering, suspension and exterior trim. Furthermore, the Civic achieved only four out of five stars in its Euro NCAP occupant protection crash test – the Golf and the Astra achieved the full five-star rating, while the Mazda also scored four.
And the Type R seats only four people – there’s no central rear seat belt, so don’t expect to give any more than three people a lift. The folding seats don’t feature the clever drop-tilt mechanism (‘Magic Seat’ as Honda calls it) found on the five-door car, but the 485-litre boot capacity is still quite impressive for such a sporty car.

That reviewer should have actually driven the car. As he's describing an EP3. ******.......

[Palindrome]

Originally Posted by -=Stella Artois=-

That reviewer should have actually driven the car. As he's describing an EP3. ******.......

Some so called professional journo should have tried driving the car he's actually reporting on!

For an influential glossy like Which, they should know better!

[Munro]

Originally Posted by ChillTypeR

...............Buyers are queuing up for a used Civic Type R, and if you look after yours it could return up to 64 per cent of its list price after three years and 36,000 miles – almost unheard of for a small family car.

The customers rate the car and thats what counts

[Kremmen]

I don't think the above review is too negative. They are just telling it as it is. They are reviewing a hot hatch and explaining that it may not be for all, don't just go out and buy one with testing it first.

It does have hard suspension so they advise a test drive - what's wrong with that ?

They also mention the poor reliability (as reported to them by owners), nothing wrong with that either.

It's not nice when your pride and joy gets bad press- live with it.

The comment suggesting they should have driven it - they must have otherwise they wouldn't have known about the headlights bobbing above and below the spoiler !

[Stephen B]

Originally Posted by Kremmen

The comment suggesting they should have driven it - they must have otherwise they wouldn't have known about the headlights bobbing above and below the spoiler !

Seems to me he's an armchair tester and just cribbed off a couple of other reviews

[Topcat]

Why get so wound up over a review?

Everyone is entitled to an opinion as long as your happy then what does it matter? Unless of course it has given you some home truths your not comfortable with.

[illegalhunter]

Rviews are all a matter of opinon , & opinons are like @ss holes weve all got one

[Stephen B]

Originally Posted by Topcat

Why get so wound up over a review?

I thought we were picking holes in the contradictory content, as opposed to getting hung up on a bad review

No car is perfect and I still know I made the right choice, there isn't another car in the same class I secretly long for.

[Chalks]

I just hate 'Which?' as a publication. They're so bloody righteous. My Dad won't buy anything unless they tell him to. It's incredible that they have so much power. Whether it's a toaster, camera, lawnmower or car he relaxes in the knowledge that someone in a white coat has spent an hour or so testing whatever it is he's thinking of buying. No emotion, no brand awareness, no bigger picture.

I'm rather glad they don't rate the Type R. In my mind the people who buy Which? drive the Toyota Avensis. Sweeping statement I know, but you get my drift.

[Kremmen]

The thing with Which? is that they test items sde by side and give their opinion one against another.

You don't have to take it but if they advise against buying something because it just doesn't do the job, like the Hoover ONE for example then it's useful advice.

[Dimplyred]

Originally Posted by NEEMSTAR

It's his opinions of the car, just we like we all have our own.

I wouldn't say there is anything in that review which is "wrong".

Maybe just a little exaggerated by his own opinions.

Originally Posted by Kremmen

I don't think the above review is too negative. They are just telling it as it is. They are reviewing a hot hatch and explaining that it may not be for all, don't just go out and buy one with testing it first.

I didn't think it was that negative either. I get the impression that the reviewer is the type of person that wouldn't buy a hot hatch.

[Mr JP]

At the end of the day it's been said already "Which" tests range from cameras to cars and so they are quite clearly "a jack of all trades, and master of none". I drive a Type-R GT and although the comments are not incorrect they are opinionated strongly. I would rather take advice from renound car publications such as "Top Gear" who gave it their car of the year award or "Autoexpress" which also give it an impartial review mentioning weaker points about the car but recognising that the design, the style, the engine, handling, and ownership i.e residuals are all ahead of any of the rivals.

I don't get too bogged down with negativity or too hyped about positivity either. The truth is magazines have their favourites anyway, I mean "CAR" magazine might as well be called "renault" magazine, so it's clear half of them are on the payroll of manufacturers anyway!

And once one reviewer states something they all say much the same. It's like someone once said the Ford Focus is the best handling hatch - well after driving lots of them and my dad being a mechanic driving them all the time I can tell you that it is NOT the best handling at all, Ford probably just gave em' a few quid to say it!

RANT OVER lol

[civicfan]

The old Romans used to sum it all up in 2 words:
caveat emptor!
(may the buyer beware)

and they haven't even heard about "Which"...

[x Dr Vodka x]

My CTR makes me feel alive every time I drive her ! NUF SAID

[Sivad]

Mine makes me cry whenever I wash it........

I kid you not today = 178 stone chips on the bonnet when I gave up counting!