Civic Type-R (sedan) Probably Headed to American Shores

[YSSMAN]

Well, is it really all that surprising? Lets hope they put the right suspension beneath it...

Honda is considering bringing its European market Civic Type R to the United States for the 2010 model year, according to a published report. The Type R is equipped with a 2.0-liter iVTEC engine delivering 220 horsepower. It also features sportier suspension and an appearance kit.

An assistant chief engineer from Honda told Winding Road magazine during a recent press event that the automaker is planning to send the Japanese-market Type R with a horsepower boost and a limited-slip differential to America.

The Type R sedan is more likely to come to the U.S. than the angular Type-R hatchback, since the latter model was not designed with the North American market in mind.

Cool? We don't even have the Si sedan yet and we're already getting amped-up over the Type-R version. Wow.

I dunno about this one. On the one hand I like the idea, and the extra power is nice, but I have my doubts of this car when put against the Jetta GLI, and heck, I may even have issues with it even in comparison to the Acura TSX (Euro Accord). Meh, we'll see I suppose. "Probably" is a good way to describe it happening, since so many Americans have been up in arms over how we have gone without Type-R products for so long.

...But I think we can all agree, this car is certainly better than the Sentra SE-R Spec-V. Nice try Nissan, but you've managed to screw up what used to be a good car...

 

[franz]

It looks like Acura CSX Type-R
the front looks interesting enough
but 2010? sounds like they spending too much time

 

[Frizbe]

So will it be Euro or Japanese spec car coming?

 

[bennyrrr]

Ive seen a new dark blue Civic Si Sedan around my town. Its pretty neat looking, this one does look better though.

 

[YSSMAN]

So will it be Euro or Japanese spec car coming?

My understanding was that it would be Japanese-spec, as the Euro model is 'too advanced' for America. (eh?)

Meh, I'd just say build it yourself. Adding the extra BHP can be done easily, and to get the suspension tuning right, I'm sure Eibach or Koni would love to sell you a suspension that would perform similarly.

...I guess the only plus-side is the new styling, but even then, it isn't that special...

 

[niky]

In other words, they're admitting that a torsion-beam Type-R wouldn't tickle our fancy quite as much as a full-IRS one?

I wish to God they'd send a few over here. Paying out the back end for gray imports means that new Civic Type Rs are rarer here than Ferrari Enzos.

 

[Kent]

We don't even have the Si sedan yet

You're kidding right?
I've been driving by my local honda dealer (covington, LA) for several months seeing current generation SI sedans.

 

[Jim Prower]

I wonder...will the coupe be offered as the Type-R, too? it'd be a great Integra replacement...

 

[ND4SPD]

I always thought that the new CSX looked a hell of a lot better than the new civic. Looks like they just rebadged the CSX as a Civic and gave it Type R goodies.

 

[Kent]

I must admit, that does look a whole lot better than the current SI sedan. Does the interior of the Japanese Type R have the odd display of the current American Civic?
The exterior is no contest in my opinion...
(US SI Sedan)


Compare that to the picture up top and I think you've got an improvement. Now if the display and windshield aren't "odd" (which I'm not a fan of) then I will most definately go to a Civic in early '08 on a trade-in (hopefully ).

 

[Appie]

the car looks hot, the car reminds of the Honda legend:tup:

 

[1X83Z]

You're kidding right?
I've been driving by my local honda dealer (covington, LA) for several months seeing current generation SI sedans.

You're going to roll your eyes at him for that?

 

[Kent]

I apologize YSSMAN.
My eye rolling was rude and uncalled for.
I did not mean for my comments to be insulting.

 

[ND4SPD]

Anyone got a rear pic of this car? If there is one than we can definately tell that it was just a rebadged CSX.

 

[misnblu]

They've been promising the TypeR for years to come to America.
First, it was supposed to be 2008 and now 2010.
Like was said earlier, true Type R's are extremely rare although I can vouch for a few of the red top Type R engines in a couple of hatches locally. 👍

I hope it happens.
The market is there and Honda just doesn't see it.

 

[Tornado]

I wonder if there is any particular reason why it makes any difference to sell the car here now. Though I'm not complaining.
​

 

[Keef]

I'll agree, YSSMAN, that the new SE-R V-Spec is a piece. I hate it.

I also believe that the Japanese Type-R sedan will handle noticeably better, at least in the numbers, than the Si sedan. If they bring it here it'll be the hot Honda for some time. And that engine... AWWWW, that engine...

But this car will inevitably be compared to the Spec-V and the GLI. I'm not sure how nice this Type-R rides or how quiet it is inside, but Type-Rs of old weren't ment to be comfortable. They sacrificed comfort for light weight in order to make the best of the "lite" hardware they had compared to the competition. Hopefully this car will be the same, and hopefully people don't bitch about the fact that an 8 hour cruise down the freeway is uncomforatable, unlike the GLI.

 

[YSSMAN]

I apologize YSSMAN.
My eye rolling was rude and uncalled for.
I did not mean for my comments to be insulting.

No problems. I have yet to see an Si sedan anywhere, as they either haven't been called for yet around these parts, or I'm not looking hard enough. I've seen quite a few Si coupes, those are rather noticeable, but the sedan has been a specter on the automotive landscape.

...Funny enough, the GLI is just as rare. I've probably seen two or three GTIs to every GLI, despite the fact that I see more Jettas than Rabbits...

Either way, it should be interesting in a comparison against the GLI and the, well... There really aren't any other high-performance small sedans worth comparing it too outside of the SE-R Spec V, and we all know how not-good that will be...

Too bad Chevrolet hasn't dropped the LSJ in the Cobalt SS Sedan, Toyota doesn't seem to be planning a sporty Corolla, and Mazda has yet to plan a sedan version of the Mazdaspeed3...

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Meh, we'll see I suppose. "Probably" is a good way to describe it happening, since so many Americans have been up in arms over how we have gone without Type-R products for so long.

...But I think we can all agree, this car is certainly better than the Sentra SE-R Spec-V. Nice try Nissan, but you've managed to screw up what used to be a good car...

Funny, since now there's nothing left of the Type-R badge except the Civic (and the rumoured S2000). Honda needs to bring it back and work it, because it definitely has a following, and I personally wouldn't mind a Fit Type-R built like a modern day first-gen CTR 👍. Couldn't agree more about the SE-R, I saw one at the Autoshow and died a little inside.

Anyone got a rear pic of this car? If there is one than we can definately tell that it was just a rebadged CSX.

They really did send us the Japanese Civic when we got the CSX. When the new Civic was released over there, I remember checking the site and seeing the taillights, only to see them a bit later down at the dealership. I think it's better than the droopy-looking Civic as well 👍

 

[niky]

I suppose it's a big case of "The grass is greener".

I prefer the US Market headlights a little more, because the Asian/JDM headlights tend to over-emphasize the wings, making it look like a huge anime-face stretched over the front of the car.

With the new Sentra based on a shared Megane platform, handling should improve, but yes, that particular car looks so bad it'll probably tank until they do a face-lift.

 

[YSSMAN]

Couldn't agree more about the SE-R, I saw one at the Autoshow and died a little inside.

The thing is, it has all of the right parts that it needs to be an awesome car, but it is about 600-800 lbs too heavy, and far too large to really seem like a reasonable sports model anymore. Certainly the Jetta GLI is a big car, but the thing handles like it is on rails, and the performance from their 200 BHP engine is stellar...

...I'm guessing that the SE-R Spec-V will be fast in the straights, but will roll like the Titanic through the corners. That is assuming that they even addressed the suspension issues from the "standard" Sentra...

And by God, I hope they do something about that interior... Bluetooth or not, it is hideous!

For the first time ever, I'm actually longing for the old, ugly Sentra...

BAD!

GOOD!

BEST!

 

[Tornado]

BAD!

GOOD!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe those two cars are essentially the same thing.
And niether of them were really any good.

 

[1X83Z]

I don't get why people think the Sentra SE-R or SE-R Spec V weren't any good. They were both such incredible bang for the buck.

 

[Tornado]

I don't get why people think the Sentra SE-R or SE-R Spec V weren't any good. They were both such incredible bang for the buck.

Oh sure, they were fast going straight. They also had nearly as much torque steer as Saab 9-5s, and were about as fun to drive as a pedal car mising a wheel. Nissan didn't engineer the car well enough, and the SER was killed by most of the cars it competed with at the time, from the Focus SVT to the Mazdaspeed Protege.

 

[1X83Z]

Oh sure, they were fast going straight. They also had nearly as much torque steer as Saab 9-5s, and were about as fun to drive as a pedal car mising a wheel. Nissan didn't engineer the car well enough, and the SER was killed by most of the cars it competed with at the time, from the Focus SVT to the Mazdaspeed Protege.

I agree it wasn't as good as it could've been, but the value was really good in my view. Why didn't the MazdaSpeed Protege sell better? I love those things. I can't even remember the last time I saw one.

 

[Keef]

Mazdaspeed Proteges are pretty rare. I'd love to own one of them and an SVT Focus, as both cars were awesome fun to drive, handled like go-karts, and were satisfyingly quick.

 

[1X83Z]

Mazdaspeed Proteges are pretty rare. I'd love to own one of them and an SVT Focus, as both cars were awesome fun to drive, handled like go-karts, and were satisfyingly quick.

The SVT Focus was okay, but the MazdaSpeed Protege was not just quick but a go-kart in the handling department. Looks like the average MazdaSpeed is running $13200 these days - that's pretty high, but not when you consider what it's offering.

 

[niky]

The Mazdaspeed Protege didn't sell very well because Mazda didn't make very many of them... between 2000-3000, I think. That said, I believe all were sold.

Even the MP3, which was "less" special and generally panned for its admittedly pathetic choice of engine, was limited to not much more than that.

That said, the MSP was a parts bin special in the engine department... small turbo... intercooler from the European diesel Protege (supposedly)... and basically the same engine as the regular Proty (no special rods or valves... nothing!)... that's what made it so pathetic at making power.

The one special thing it did have was the LSD and the suspension and swaybar tuning. Those two factors, more than the turbo, are what made it a riot to drive.

The previous SE-R Spec V had about the same things going for it. The helical LSD and stiffer suspension made the Spec V a pretty good track weapon, despite the torsion beam rear-end, the near-legendary torque steer and the rubbery gearshift...

I don't doubt they could find ways to tune the SE-R Spec V version of the "New Sentra" (ironic calling it that) to handle just as well or better. But the previous SE-R was a porker compared to the "Classic", and I don't expect this to be any different... and I don't have much hope of them putting any feel into the steering on this one...

 

[YSSMAN]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe those two cars are essentially the same thing.
And niether of them were really any good.

They were essentially the same in most cases, but the yellow one just looks so utterly hideous compared to the Skyline-influenced model that I just have to question the people's judgment at Nissan.

...I always thought of that generation of SE-R as pretty decent performers, especially when you would consider how cheap they were. I think the only car that could have beaten them on performance per dollar would have been the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, but given how rare those were (and probably will be in this generation too), good luck finding a decent one.

The SE-R Spec-V will always go down as one of those unruly FWD super-sedans that really didn't give a damn how "simple" or "coarse" the overall fell was as long as it was rather quick. The old Dodge Neon R/T and ACR come to mind there as well...