Honda Civic Type R is the performance edition of the Civic. The first-generation Civic was introduced in 1997.

In 2017, Malaysia’s largest non-national carmaker Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd introduced the fifth-generation Civic Type R, priced at RM 330,002 excluding insurance and tax exemption.

The fifth-generation FK8 Civic Type R is based on the 10th generation Civic. The pre-production Type R managed to clock a lap time of 7:43.80 on the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, which was approximately 7 seconds faster than the previous generation.

FK8 Civic Type R body dimensions are 4,557 mm in length, 1,877 mm in width, 1,434 mm in height, and weighs 1,391 kg. It has a wheelbase of 2,700 mm and a fuel tank capacity of 47 litres.

From the front, the Civic Type R looks fierce and sporty, with the red Honda logo and air intake side grilles to show off its racing roots.

The Honda Civic Type R looks like a spacecraft from the back, with a tall rear spoiler and aggressive styling, coupled with the LED tail lamps and the unique triple exhaust.

It features the LED Automatic headlamps with LED daytime running lights.

The tail lamps are bulb reflector unit, that forms a C-bracket shape when the lights are on.

The side mirrors are electrically adjusted and folded with a turn indicator.

To help the Honda Civic Type R to come to a stop, the Brembo four-piston callipers, will grab the 350 mm front ventilated discs, while the rear is fitted with the 305 mm solid discs.

It sits on the 20-inch black alloy wheels, wrapped with the 245/30R20 tyres.

It gets a modern and sporty design dashboard, with red and carbon fibre trims. The instrument cluster is a Type-R specific digital unit and the steering’s logo has the legendary red H logo emblem.

It features the Type-R specific digital instrument cluster that gives a futuristic touch.

The Type R sport seats were developed with the idea that this car is suitable for everyday driving as well as performance on the track. The red coloured seats are 10 percent lighter than the normal seats and have extra padding for everyday comfort.

It has ample headroom, legroom and shoulder rooms for the front occupants. Unless the front occupant extended it seats to its maximum, the rear occupants will not have any shortage of legroom and headroom. However, if three adults sat in the rear, they might find that it lacks of shoulder room.

There are a couple of places where you can store your items, which include a decent size glove compartment that can fit in your racing gloves, and your sunglass, an armrest compartment to keep your wallet and smart tag, as well as a clever design platform behind the centre console, to hide your devices, in case you forget about it upon leaving the car.

The steering wheel buttons includes audio controls, voice command, phone call and cruise control.

Two cup holders available near the front armrest. There are also four bottle holders, each located by the door panel.

There is one 12-volt power socket and 1 USB port to charge your devices. It is hidden below the centre console.

The built quality of the Civic Type R is rather solid, with Type R specific finishing and Nappa leather touches all over the car. Giving the occupants an exclusive and comfortable feel.

With 420 litres of boot space, it can fit in two to three 24-inch luggage.

Active safety features such as the vehicle stability control, electronic brake distribution, anti-lock braking system, auto brake hold, brake assist, and hill start assist are available onboard.

Passive safety features such as six airbags, three-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, and ISOFIX points.

The Civic Type R comes with 3 drive modes – Comfort, default (Sport) and +R.

Its instrument cluster is a 7-inch touchscreen that is straightforward to operate.

At the heart of the Civic Type R houses the 2.0-litre VTEC turbocharged engine that generates 306 hp and a maximum 400 Nm of torque.

The Civic Type R has only one transmission option, which is the six-speed manual transmission.

Civic Type R has the front-wheel drivetrain.

Zero to 100 kph can be achieved in 5.7 seconds and the top speed is recorded at 272 kph.

It was reported that the FK8 Civic Type R has a fuel consumption rating of 7.0 l/100km.

The FK8 Honda Civic Type R comes with a keyless entry with a push-to-start button and dual-zone air-conditioning system.

Surprisingly this performance hatch is quite comfortable, compared with most performance cars. Although the suspension setting is slightly on the stiff side, it is comfortable for everyday duties.

Sound insulation is rather good in terms of avoiding the wind and tyre noise penetrate into the cabin. The writer could still enjoy the engine sound at high revs.