Honda Civic vs Subaru WRX

This is the bit you want, yeah? What’s it like behind the wheel of the new Civic Type R when road surfaces are at their best and a speed limit isn’t of concern?

Having spent plenty of time behind the wheel of the last CTR, two key words come to mind... familiar and refined.

Where the last generation at times felt on the sharp, tense edge even without sacrificing ability, the new Type R smooths out a lot of the minimal shortcomings of the last generation, just as it has for the exterior styling.

Its setting is relatively firm and direct, but not too heavy for track stints, with good communicative feedback for steering inputs. 

It allows for smoother steering and a sense of how hard you can steer without over-shifting weight. Which in itself is another impressive aspect of the CTR, how smoothly you’re able to transfer weight not only in cornering but under braking and acceleration.

The 1429kg hot hatch will only complain gently with some tyre noise if you’re approaching it's fairly lofty limitations, the car’s inherent mechanical grip working well with the Michelin Pilot 4Ss.

For a front-drive car, its rear feels impressively planted, a trait the FK8 surprised many with, to the point that a regular comment from media and professional drivers is that it’s hard to believe the CTR is FWD.

Under hard braking, the rear stays steady, allowing plenty of control if you come in too hot for a corner. The pads and rotors seemed to hold up with a lot of track time, too.

Power and torque delivery feel familiar if you’ve spent time in an FK8, even pulling out of tight-ish corners in third acceleration doesn't disappoint.

Its gearbox, too, might be one of the best feeling shifters around at the moment.

With or without rev-matching, a downshift in the FL5 feels smooth, visceral, and results in an engine whine that makes you feel like this car is more at home on a circuit than a boulevard.

The FL5’s abilities are on show in a smoother manner than its predecessor, and it makes the car more encouraging to drive quickly and smoothly.

While rough inputs will still yield impressive results, the FL5 CTR’s a surprisingly comfortable thing to drive rapidly through bends and under hard braking.

Handling, acceleration (a claimed 0-100km/h in 5.1sec and we don’t doubt it), grip and cornering, braking, and now more than ever, comfort. At the risk of gushing, it’s hard to fault the Type R on track.

This might be the best front-wheel drive performance car of all time.