Glendal's Favorite Reviews
This means the car is now square in the sights of the hot hatch that鈥檚 left a trail of fast family five-doors in its wake: the Ford Focus RS. Both models use four-cylinder turbos and six-speed manual gearboxes, making them two of the most overtly sporty cars on sale today; just look at their muscular styling and aggressive stances. There鈥檚 only 拢730 difference between these two challengers鈥?list prices, too. However, one major point divides them: while the newcomer from Honda is front-wheel drive, the Ford is four-wheel drive. These cars cater for the same market and offer hardcore driving thrills alongside enough practicality to make them usable day-to-day propositions. But which has the broader range of ability to take the honours as our hot-hatch champion? The previous Civic Type R was on sale for only two years before Honda went back to the drawing board and came up with this new, ultra-hot version of the 10th-generation Civic. The latest car comes in two flavours: standard and the 拢32,995 GT we鈥檙e testing here, which gets more equipment. VTEC works alongside the turbo here to boost low-end performance, and there鈥檚 plenty of muscle on offer.
While the 400Nm of torque is some way down on the Ford鈥檚 470Nm on overboost, the Civic weighs only 1,380kg next to the 1,524kg Focus RS. Despite a limited-slip diff, the Type R struggles for traction off the line, covering 0-60mph in six seconds flat on test. But this was still a second slower than the more powerful, four-wheel-drive Ford, which has launch control to manage slip from a standstill. The cars are much more evenly matched once the wheels are turning, however. On test, 30-70mph took 4.3 seconds in both models, and the Honda was two-tenths faster from 30-50mph in third gear than the Ford, taking only 2.2 seconds. The Civic also hit the rev limiter in second just before 60mph, so the figures don鈥檛 tell the whole story. In-gear performance is exhilarating, with a wonderful blast of torque through the mid-range that gives a greater sensation of speed than the Ford鈥檚 more linear power delivery. Where the Honda really takes off is with its breadth of ability. R on track. Both of these settings sharpen up the Honda into something truly special; the steering is precise and there鈥檚 an incredible amount of grip through bends.
While the Ford is great fun, mastering the Civic鈥檚 razor-sharp chassis will engage and delight drivers even more. Fast Hondas are also known for their gearchange action, and this one is no exception to the rule. It has a short, mechanical shift, with a superb position in the cabin that adds a sense of fun to any journey. Testers鈥?notes: 鈥淵ou wouldn鈥檛 call the Civic attractive, but its pugnacious stance is backed up by a genuinely brilliant drive. The Ford Focus RS boasts more power than the Honda and is slightly cheaper, but how a car feels and how usable it is can be as important as outright firepower with models such as these. So does the 拢32,265 Focus RS have what it takes to overcome the Civic Type R鈥檚 challenge? That overboost function allows the Focus to boast brawnier figures than the Civic. But the extra weight means that, in reality, on the road there鈥檚 not much difference in performance. At our track the launch control and four-wheel drive meant the Ford was quicker off the line from 0-60mph, taking 5.0 seconds. This was untouchable for the Honda, yet there鈥檚 more to this battle than straight-line speed.
The extra torque gives the Focus strong in-gear performance, accelerating on test from 50 to 70mph in sixth in 4.6 seconds - 1.2 seconds faster than the Civic. In fifth, the same test took the Ford 3.7 seconds and the Honda 3.8 seconds, just a tenth behind. The Focus was much faster off the line, though, thanks to that four-wheel-drive grip. Despite the RS鈥檚 speed, the Civic is the sweeter car to drive, with nicer steering and incredible grip in fast corners. The Ford鈥檚 six-speed manual box is also lighter and not quite as mechanically precise as the Honda鈥檚. It鈥檚 this interaction with the car that defines the experience. The clever Drift mode kicks the tail out into an arc in corners and gives the Ford an advantage over the Honda here, but it feels like it鈥檚 fighting what the car fundamentally wants to do. You鈥檒l have to find yourself a track just to use it. Still, the traction on offer is excellent, helping turn the car a little more from the rear and boosting agility. The RS is always raring to go.
It鈥檚 firm in the standard mode, with hyper-alert steering, while initiating the RS mode for the dampers will have you pogoing up and down in your seat; the chassis is very firm. There is no doubt this hatch has the hot element covered, but it doesn鈥檛 have the breadth of ability of the Civic. Testers鈥?notes: 鈥淭he RS was developed with help from rally driver and YouTube sensation Ken Block. The Focus RS is even more pumped up than its ST stablemate, with its huge grille and roof spoiler. But the Honda takes things to another level with its outlandish wheelarches, racy bodykit and massive wing. It makes the Ford look toned down when you put the two together like this. Each of these hot hatches offers ballistic straight-line performance, but they鈥檙e also fantastic at scrubbing off speed. The Ford鈥檚 brakes are very strong and inspire confidence, but the Honda鈥檚 seem even sharper and the pedal gives plenty of feel.
