Is The New Honda Civic Type R Actually Better Than The Focus RS And WRX STI?

The newest Honda Civic Type R has promised so much after the short and successful run of its shouty FK2 predecessor, and it’s safe to say CT’s own Alex is a fan, calling it the best front-wheel drive car ever. But Doug DeMuro thinks it still falls short of the Ford Focus RS and the Subaru WRX STI in some crucial areas.

306bhp might sound like a lot, especially for a front-wheel-drive hatchback, but it loses out to the Ford by around 50bhp. Both the Ford and Subaru also come with four-wheel-drive, and 0-60 times of just over 4.5 seconds, whereas the Civic is roughly a second slower.

Doug says that he wants the Type R to have more noise and for the styling to be toned down a tad. Most of us at CT like the bonkers, aero-led aesthetic, but maybe we’re weird.

Give the video above a watch and let us know what you think of the conclusions made.