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Sum up your ownership so far

13K views 78 replies 30 participants last post by  Parman192 
#1 ·
Hi guys

The FK2 is fast approaching what I decided I'd pay for one, so I'll be seriously looking in the new year.

I've had a couple of test drives, but these never really give you a true indication of what it's like to live with one.

So for those who own one/have owned one, how would you sum it up? I'll be going from a daily driver FN2 to a daily FK2 as I know a few have - how was this change?

I know there's loads of opinions in other threads, but it'd be great just to have a list of opinions in one thread.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I don't think you will be disappointed going for the FK2 ;) I came from an DC5 then went on to the FD2, the FK2 is a great all rounder full of gadgets that are very useful :) The fk2 can pootle about then can change into it's Type R mode as you like ;)
Was going for a newun with scratching around finding the dosh but found my FK2 that had less than three thousand miles and only three months old for sale, it was the right colour with 5 years service plan.

In my opinion the FK2 is best best Type R to date....So modern....So up to date.....So easy to live with....Very economical for the power available....I could go on for ever LOL
Just do it ;)

T.G.
 
#3 ·
With out doubt the best Honda I have ever owned as an everyday car, and I have had a few in the last 15 years. So practical being a 5 door. Big boot, GT spec has lots of toys as standard. No problems can just use it round town 20-30mph so civilised but then the performance is there when you need it and then some. The car feels so stable and planted at speed it is scary, The styling you will either love or hate. I personally love it the fact it looks different and not bland like some other manufactures performance models. Running costs are very good I think considering the performance on offer. Just budget for tyres on a yearly basis, well depending mileage but I am having my second set in the space of a year in the next couple of weeks. My opinion but this is the second best type R from the factory Honda has ever made.
 
#4 ·
As above, great car. Not perfect though so here's my niggles that you might like to know about:

Dash rattles (in for fix again tomorrow) - it's the cable going to filler flap every time.

Rear visibility when parking is zero. Trust the camera at your peril.

Sat nav has yet to report one traffic jam I've ended up in.

Paint is thin. Rear arches get battered.

Infotainment is clunky at best. No separate sub woofer control. You get used to it though.


I had a diesel FN2 EX-GT. Mate has the type r. The FK2 is in another league. FN2 owners will tell you different obviously. This is my 4th type r (previously ep3, dc2,DC5) and it's by far the best. I use it to commute Bristol to Swindon most days. It does this job without complaint and is nowhere near as noisy as some say. You would think you were in a regular Civic at 70mph. And trust me, at that speed if you hit the throttle you are gone!

Of all the things I love most about the car it's the looks. Mine is grey so not so in you face as red or white, but each to his own. Everyone who sees it loves it and comments on it. So you get a real sense of pride. It's also very exclusive. I've seen one other since launch. And I've been looking.
 
#6 ·
i agree with all thats been said, so instead of repeating the praise, here's my niggles...

this CTR is the first typeR i've owned. a '00 S2000, '95 prelude vtec are the other fast hondas i've owned. Owning the s2k for 8years has given me a very high standard and specific feel to compare to.

lack of noise and lack of steering feel are the biggest issues for me on the CTR.
noise is easily fixed with a cat-back. steering is just something to get used to and live with coming from the s2k. any car i was looking at (civic and the lexus CT220) would of meant an entirely new car dynamic to get used to. That said, it's a lot less effort to drive and refinement/civilization of everything favors the civic. I knew anything i seriously looked into as a replacement for the s2k would be a major change.

do not expect it to be an old NA civic. there is no vtec pronouncement, or obvious change over point.
personally, I bought the s2k for the engine and falls into the specialist/focused driving category. The CTR was bought for the entire package and fit as a great all-rounder daily car. far better suited to my requirements than the s2k did.

i have no regrets buying the CTR and forsee me still having it in another 5-10years.
 
#8 ·
Go on Welshy you know you want one! :)

I have covered 7k miles in the 5 months I have had mine. The journey to work is a long one down the M6 at all times of day in some of the ****ist traffic known. And I wouldn't change it for anything. Compared to the CW Type R, it is far more comfortable, the ride is so much better. The clutch is no where near as heavy and uncomfy in traffic, and the gearbox make it a joy to drive even in the traffic. I actually find the rear visability far better than the FN2 and have no issues going backwards in it. The front pillars are a little bit large and some times have to move to use both side and front widows going around long bends.

The headunit is a bit naff and the satnav/traffic I find not very good, I prefer to use Waze on my phone for help finding back roads to work. And my only other complaint is the throttle response, I really would like the R+ mode one without the hard suspension. Oh and the brakes have started to squeal, just turn the music up louder in slow traffic. :grin2:

But saying that, would I buy a comfy derv to commute in.......not on your life!
 
#34 ·
I dont regret getting mine at all.

The looks have grown on me, it looks better in the flesh, but at least it looks different. Some cars now I feel the manufactures at getting lazy. I mean Ford just didnt bother with the RS. I went into the showroom to look at one before the R, and walked right past it!

Use its performance all the time, and it will eat tyres!

I have had the odd rattle, but the local dealer sorted it. Just watch with items around the service packs, as some dealers may get grumpy servicing when the car indicates, rather than 12 months/12500 miles.

Go on Welshy you ... Oh and the brakes have started to squeal, just turn the music up louder in slow traffic. :grin2:

But saying that, would I buy a comfy derv to commute in.......not on your life!
Brembo brakes are known to squeal when not fully utilized for a period of time. When safe take your car to a reasonable speed, and brake with moderate force.
 
#9 ·
Since this is my firs Honda, I can compare it with my Fords, from which the best one is '10 zetec s 2.0tdci 136hp (mine is 170hp(remap))
My focus has all the optional extras so it's the best you can get from mk2 focus except the RS (never liked the mk2 ST and never will)

-Fk2 is noisier(engine noise in the cabin which is always bad)
-fk2 is hard on ride but if you want soft ride just buy cr-v it's same money so hard ride is not a con
-ride hard but only when tarmac is bad. ride is perfect on good roads (except the engine noise but I will fix that with extra layers of sound proofing around the firewall a guy from Spain did it and he is VERY satisfied with the improvements)
-You don't need all the optional extras and good stuff in the fk2 because when you drive you DRIVE and nothing else. You forget about everything. I couldn't believe how different and how much race car this road legal family hatchback is! And trust me my focus is no slow - changed suspension, wheels and remaped
-garmin navigation (in GT pack) is useless, everything else from the optional extras included in the GT pack is actually useful and ok
-very good MPG both urban and extraurban for this power and speed. And I don't drive slow
-amazingly spacious in the back seats and boot ( I have 8 month baby and a lot of luggage around him when we go outside our hometown ) if you had Audi or something like that you will feel in a whole different world with Honda's practicality and space. In the front it's not spacious but than you don't need any because you have road ahead, +R button and amazing seats that's enough.
-when you have good tarmac, closed road and zero traffic, hit +R and have half a tank, the World stops turning, the car goes straight into your hands and heart. It's just so out of space car this last but sums it up in the best way.
-driver position is very good but keep your back straight up and seat close to the steering wheel (wrc style).
-your car is out of space cool and angry so everybody will love it and stare at it. take care of her with care and love and she will do the same with you and make you feel special 10 ot of 10 and happy human being 10 out of 10
 
#10 ·
Wow, what a great response! Thanks so much everyone, really appreciated.

Reading the stuff about the niggles and commuting is great as these are the things you can't pick up on a test drive and certainly doesn't put me off.

The plan is to get a polished metal GT in Feb/March as the new registrations should drop used prices a touch more and the worst of winter will hopefully be over (maybe!)

Whether I can wait that long is another question...
 
#13 · (Edited)
£22K - £24K was what I allowed myself after the initial test drive. I absolutely loved it and other than the engine note, there was nothing I didn't consider better than mine.

The question I asked myself was "is it £20k better than my M200". I'd had a remap on it, along with upgraded brakes, plus already having a LSD, the intake roar and an element of exclusivity just tipped me into waiting until that gap was roughly £10k.

It has happened sooner than expected I must say, but as you say Reeves, when you buy new you do it because you want to, not to worry about depreciation.
 
#15 ·
It's always tricky deciding when to make a move isn't it? I think waiting a year will make mine depreciate more as I do a fair bit of mileage, so whilst it's low for the age now, it wouldn't be in 12 months.

Plus as the 10G looks awful, I'm hopeful the limited run of the FK2 may see prices stabilise.

Or I could be completely wrong, which is far more likely!
 
#20 ·
I came from a Civic Type S GT. Overall, I love the FK2- it's difficult not to love it. It's fast, turns head, chops GTI's and doesn't ruin you financially to run. As with most cars, has a few niggles:

- lane departure warning system makes me jump out of my skin and is overly sensitive.
- the heating/ aircon control layout is stupid. all the buttons are behind the gear stick, meaning you have to physically look at the shifter and wiggle your hand in front of it, just to de-mist the screen. Try doing that with confidence whilst plowing down the motorway, or along a winedy B road. (this is a 9G gripe in general).
- as some have said before, the paint is not at all durable. this car would suffer from road rash even if it was garaged for it's entire life.
- the brakes are phenomenal, but squeal like a pig, especially in the cold weather.
- the Conti's SC6 are god awful and need replacing every 6k miles or so.
- the exhaust note is a bit tame.

Just nit-picking really and every downside is worth it because the car never fails to put a smile on my face!
 
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#23 ·
Rear does look a lot nicer than the prototype. This is a standard EX model though, so would have to see what they come up with for the Type R.

Either way, FK2 looks better to me.
 
#24 ·
hhhmm I am not sure what to write here, Love/hate relationship, I loved my Champ white before hand and was expecting the same relationship with the FK2 but the small things annoy me, paint is terribly thin, not only on the car but also on the wheels, stone chips on the rear arches and wings also, steering wheel showing signs of leather defects, squeaky clutch now and again. Don't get me wrong it is a good car, my base has now changed location at work and I am doing mostly motorway miles, I went to look at an AMG A class on Sunday, Beautiful looking car but boring as ****.

This morning on a sensible run got over 50 MPG on the computer so it is capable of being a m/w car also.

Sum it up

6 months ownership = "4 tyres and a service, tank of fuel every week, fast fast car that cant really be used for what it should be on the road, I think its comfortable others would disagree"

As said at the start, I am genuinely not sure how I feel about it. After a spirited drive I will be smiling ear to ear but daily I feel there is something missing.
 
#25 ·
What's missing is it's to good for daily rd use & at the back of your mind you know you're no way near getting the cars full potential.
I've always said it does the same job as my 15yr old focus, but with a lot more vroom. Even though my feelings have been up & down I still love owning one.

Winter niggle at the moment is the automatic dipping headlights, you're in a hollow they won't detect oncoming vehicles, vehicles in front in the distance it doesn't detect them soon enough for my liking & for some reason lorries or buses it has trouble detecting them early, oh & not forgetting the instant switch over so on coming vehicles think you're flashing but you're not
 
#26 ·
Sold mine after 6 months, traded in for an e class coupe, different car I know!
Fk2 was great, fast practical and comfortable. The one thing that always annoyed me and it has annoyed me since day one is the vibrations that filter through to the cabin, I use the car as a daily, being stuck in traffic after a long day vibrating away is just not pleasant anymore.
The one thing I miss though is the handling, Probably should have gone for a M235i or something but waned to see what Merc comfort is all about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
The last few posts have echoed what I went through. Great on a track day but doing 70 miles a day, not getting a week from a tank and just not using it as was intended got to me.

I lasted 10 months and sold privately and bought a facelift F30 330d xDrive ZF8 trip-auto, which is the perfect car for what I use it for.

I occasionally miss the Civic but on the whole I don't.

Is posted this to the same question on another forum:

It felt like going into a pre-modded Turbo FN2 to me, so not a huge step up from an FN2 in term of feel, fit or finish which for a £30k car (as I paid for it) was a bit of disappointment once you get over the new car feeling.

It's a cracking car don't get me wrong and I'm sure you'll be happy with one, but it felt like a missed opportunity. I eventually felt like I was living with it and making do, rather than enjoying it.

I said on the mini reviews and the aftermath with my first order and its subsequent cancellation at the time that it felt like the boggo 1.8 when you aren't pressing the accelerator and in many ways it did. So in that respect you don't feel like you are in a premium product. Then you have the suspension you have to live with, which isn't overly stiff but still firm. Then there is the hum on the motorway that you get even from the standard exhaust system. (Those that say it doesn't drone either have tinnitus to start with or have noise induced hearing loss.) The clutch gets very tiresome in stop start traffic too. It's not bad at first, but if you do any decent amount of a commute it will start to grate. Honda also linked the throttle map of +R with the harsh suspension settings, which to be honest was a dick move because you want the quicker throttle response most of the time but you don't want the hard suspension anywhere else apart from track. I hope Honda are reading this and address that with the next car.

Demon on track. Great as a very expensive weekend car. Average for the commute.

As a package you've got to admire what it does, but there will always be compromises about trying make a 300bhp car cope superbly with a track day but then liveable on a daily basis. For me it doesn't quite pull it off. I was happier with my modded FN2s to be honest. Perfectly liveable as a daily and you don't need the extra performance of the FK2 on the drive to the shops or work, plus you save about £15k at the minute.
 
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