I have had both cars. Bought the FK8 for £35,000 and sold it after over 2 years for £31,000. In those two years the price of cars has gone up. Also the FL5 is now made in Japan and so also costs more due to that, taxes etc. My FK8 I replaced the Conti's with PS4s. Certainly better at a standing start / comfort. Here is what I think after 2 weeks with the FL5 Styling I loved the FK8 styling. The wife hated it. I got loads of comments - people either loved it or hated it and used to tell me all the time. People always looked at you at lights and you would get people trying to race you all the time. The FK8 was a nightmare to wash with all the fake vents. Now I have the FL5 I think I prefer the styling. Perhaps because Im in my 40s now but I like the fact that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb but it still looks amazing. Even more so than the pictures. I haven't had many people ask me about it though. Mostly only people that know about cars. With the FK8 people that didn't have a clue about cars would comment. Interior The Interior is a major difference with the FL5. There is no competition. The Infotainment system is night and day better. The FK8 used to crash all the time. The FL5 has not had a single error and Apple Wireless CarPlay is amazing. The wireless charger also actually works. The interior has a lot less rattles and feels a lot more solid. Any FK8 owner that closes the doors in an FL5 will notice straight away. Boot space is slightly smaller. Rear seat is far better with the materials and cup holders which was only a US option for the FK8. Digital dash is amazing especially in R Mode. And the front seats!! Wow. Ride Quality I thought that the two cars would be a lot closer in terms of ride quality but they are more different than I thought. The FL5 is better for day to day driving. It can handle the terrible UK roads and if you hit a pothole you don't feel like you have broken an Alloy wheel. During spirited driving the FK8 felt faster but when I look at the speedo on the FL5 it is going just as fast. I felt that the FK8 was crazier and felt like you were maybe more connected to the road. It is hard to be sure as I am still getting used to the FL5 and breaking it in but as it feels more comfortable so you don't feel like you are driving on the edge as much. The FL5 perhaps feels more responsive but I am not 100% sure. Gear change and clutch are better on the FL5 In the end they are both fantastic cars. I was shocked at the price increase but the better build quality and infotainment system justified it for me. I find I prefer the FL5 though but it is hard as its my new toy. Maybe give me 6 months (and a couple of repayments...yikes)

Rory/Alex, great review thank you. Shame the Honda "incremental" philosophy wasn't also applied to the price!

What wasn't mentioned is that the new one has 5% longer gearing (actually +7%-2% smaller tire circumference), which is a disadvantage at a slower track, unless the number of upshifts differs. On the road, especially in Germany, a little less rpm and higher top speed is a good thing.

New one looks so damn good, especially that front 3/4s shot, grows on me every time.

So basically, just get a FK8 and put better tires on it.

Phenomenal video; love the chemistry in the video too, well done both!

People don’t know what they want. When the FK8 debuted they complained that looked too ricey and now they released the FL5 which is good looking and they complain it’s too bland as if they were gonna buy it anyways.

£15k more for the new one simply isn't worth it. The old one is out landish but It helps identify it in a sea of hot hatches and prefer the look. New one looks very bland imo. Interesting to see what happens when putting ps4s tyres on the old car

You can notice how much more FL5 is bouncing around compared to FK8....rebound setting must have been way more stiff....

So pleased Alex is back on the block - makes a great team complete. Fantastic video - thank you.

I am waiting on my Golf R20, but wanted to watch this because your reviews and comparison vids are on another level. Great job man.

At first I didn't like the new Type R but it grew on me with the look! I actually like it a bit now!

There were other issues that you overlooked, such as the differences in terms of transmission and engine temperatures over several laps (and the same thing for brakes and tires). Other tests have suggested that cooling in the FK8 was a bit of a challenge over sustained track use. Nonetheless, job well done. Thank you for this entertaining review.

So ultimately 47k for 0.8 seconds advantage over the old car, its cheaper to buy a set of new tyres and wheels if you like plus modify the suspension and tune the engine and still have change. Thats a tough sell

It sounds like the difference is tires. So seems simple to me. Test them both on the same rubber and get rid of that variable.

Enjoyed that. Thanks

Love the video. Love y'all.

I like her swagger a lot

Not my type of car but loved the review something to connect with my civic loving nephew on 😀👍

I would still love the new type r but with the old type r wing. That's the coolest. But i still love the old one more😁

That wheel hop is primarily the reason why I don’t want a FWD vehicle. Inside of the car it sounds like you’re destroying it or having an accident. It also negatively impacts your ability to get out of the way in a hurry. It feels unsafe. If it shakes and shudders like that when it’s dry out just imagine what it feels like to accelerate in a hurry under less than ideal conditions. I know there’s a ton of love out there for these but it’s just not for me. Great video though 🍻

Always lovely to look at. Keep it up Rory!!

great review, and as a new porsche owner as well, the grip in the type r is scary good!!

Great video Rory an Alex

I like what they have done with the FL5, but the higher price and huge mark ups are ridiculous. I will be keeping my FK8.

Parabéns pelo conteúdo! Carro incrível! Vale cada centavo!

Good review

very good review team

Love them both but the fk8 is my fav type r

Love the new type r more than the old. I’m not really sold with the design of the old but this one is so much better. Too bad I’m too poor buy one.

I am going to put those lap times differences down to superior tyres for the new type R.

I never loved the old Type R,but this new one am loving it big time!!,Woo!!

The new CTR looks so good. I want it but theres one in Vancouver asking $80,000 which is not reasonable.

Rory, I gather the gearbox is good, but there were reports of an intermittent gear-grind in fast 1-2 shifts. Actually this can be heard when the Stig is on the TG airfield. That’s the reason latest Type R has heavier gear knob in effort to increase inertia of stick. Reckon?

Its a lot of money for not a lot of difference...... That being said I do like the looks on the new car more. The old one just screams "person in hoodie racer" whilst the new one has a little more mature look about it. Still do a Golf R though.....

7:04 That's such a sick shot props to the camera man

I could probably build Out my FK8 with that extra $15k and get more power and a better Setup while still keeping the weight down as well - WIN WIN 😊 Sorry FL5 love the shape but I fell in Love the the FK8 boy racer look the Only thing I would change would be the fake vents and fake side body panels that they added on vs the wide body look of the FL5 which I think the FK8 would look Aamazing with if Swapped Out 😊😁👍🏿

"to let fools know" - lol epic car and love the take on it Rory

Just buy the old one and spend a couple of k making it faster and better handling

It appears as if there’s a reason why Honda hasn’t done a recorded lap at the Nurburgring with the FL5… FL5 seems faster around shorter circuits, FK8 may be faster over the long haul.

Nice and profesional. You only missed to mention if there is posible to instal ps4, 265 mm wide tyres on those original rims of fk8 and how much îs this, maybe some 1000 pounds.

I absolutely enjoyed

1:48 "To let the fools know" 🤣🤣.

The design of the new one is such an upgrade! The front gives me Charger vibes 👌

So I‘m buying a FK8. Thanks for this video 😁

Nice looking car but what I don't like about it that they changed the VTEC system but they had there reasons but in my opinion the ek9,ep3 are the best type R models in the Honda lineup.

I love the new lower key styling. Except for the wing, looks like it was picked up from the discounted section.

i believe Fk8 will be on par with FL5 in terms of lap time if they were on the same tires.

I just hope the fl5 doesn’t overheat like the fk8 and then I’ll have something to upgrade to from my i30n in 3 years time

Build quality on the new type r will be better because it will be built in Japan. Also the old type r brakes will overheat with excessive track time. I believe they have corrected that issue on the new one.

I think still FK8's design is better than FL5 design.

The price isnt justified but the look to the FL5 is brilliant

Honda killed hot hatch with this, the whole point is your 30K car could perform like the 50K cars. Now just buy a 50K car

So…. Why not put the P4s tyres on the fk8 then?

Need to add an FK2 as well :)

5th Gear got the FK8 around Combe in 1.17.5. Maybe Rory was more comfortable pushing the FL or had more seat time at that point? I’d have expected the FL to be about 1.16.x. I got my i30N round there in 1.19.6 and every review says they are way slower than Type Rs

So tyres are the major improvement? Not exactly worth 15K more I suspect. I did notice that you had the FK8 in sport mode (white surround around the tach) and the FL5 in R mode. TBH, the FK8 is far better looking than the Camryesque/ebay wing styling of the FL5. The best thing about the FL5 though: The instrument cluster and LogR.

You chose that camera angle for the onboard race why? WTH guys.

I like the old design better.. People say it might be a bit loud on the design but it looks amazing

You can actually put newer and better tyres on the old...stage 1 and it would be contest! 10k+ left for a good holiday...

I like the new design. Does not like look a gaming mouse, like the previous one. Looks a bit like Kia Stringer from the back. That wing looks a bit out of place though. The front looks more mature as well. I am going risk upsetting Type-R owners and ask, maybe it would have been better with all-wheel drive?

15k price increase.... wtf lol

Id love to see the FK8 on the same wheels with the SportContact7 on them. I bet it would beat the FL5.

car drives so so so good!!!

I like the FK8.

Compared/comparison most powerful 2023 Hyundai i30 N Performance (with DCT transmission) vs this 2023 Honda Civic Type R?. 🤔

That Rolex makes the FL5 way much better❤

What I took from this comparison, if you can live with the looks, just get the old one and stick a new set of tires on it. Job done 😅

New one FTW!

Looking forward to your Civic Type R vs Integra Type S comparison video!

Is that an omega you're wearing?

@AutoTraderTV There was a video of Rory killin' it on a race track with the 50th anniversary Honda Civic Type-R, published before this one, but I can't find it anywhere on your channel, could you please check if you accidentally deleted it and put it back on? Thank you very much in advance.

"Turbo has been kaizen'd"

New one looks cleaner but was hoping to be little faster to justify the increase in price

I think I like the older gen Type R, it LOOKS like a Type R, if that makes sense

New one looks much better, which was the main issue with the old one. 50k though...Jesus

It’s the wider tires and lighter wheels that make the difference, however many fl5 owners are cheering about the faster lap time because they think they got a overall superior car😂

The sheila was awesome, she could lead a reboot of Gone in 60 seconds with that attitude XD

From the front prefer the new one. But I like the look of the old one from every other angle

I agree that the new Type-R isn't that much better. In fact $10,000 better? I don't know but I guess it's the last of this car. Honda will go out with a bang. I will add that I prefer the look of the new car a lot. I'd rather pay for the new cars looks to be coming out of my garage. 😊😅

I did not know it was much more expensive. Now I am not so excited about the new one. Not that I could afford any of these Civics, but still…

how about putting old car on new tires and compare?

Unpopular opinion : I like the look of the old Type-R

i was thinking of getting an ep3 at some point in my life... not anymore.

Rory/Alex, what a great team. PERRRRFECT! Well done. We've not had a properly talented female car journalist on tele since VBH on Fifth Gear. It's so great to have Alex.

People always talked about the exterior of FK8. For me the inside was even worse than outside. The steering wheel alone put me off for a start. Let alone other components.

FL5 costs equivalent of £31k in Japan, so why does it cost over 50% more in the UK? That’s a rip-off, especially when you consider the UK has a new post-Brexit trade agreement with Japan. Surely lap times are inconclusive if one car has superior new Michelins and t’other is on old school Continentals?

The price increase is due in part to everything nowadays is more expensive than years ago, not just all due to upgrades.

“It’s about driver skill now…unless I lose. Then I am 100% blaming the car.” 😂😂😂😂

New type R is a True Jdm car. Enough said

FK8 still the best looking for sport hb

Yea Alex, need more shows with her on it

The same formula, from the oldest book, used time and time again, Honda should make the Type R all wheel drive

First thing I did when I got my fk8 was went down to 18” rims and wider grippier tires 265/40 to be exact best investment so the new fl5 never really caught my eyes especially with the ridiculous price tag.

Why not swap wheels between cars and do laps again?

Like it, but not worth the extra money. Good video.

I've worked for multiple Japanese car manufacturer's. The concept of Kaizen originated from an American.

Loving the new design. Long live the hot hatch MT.

15K more for basically the same as the FK8 but a tiny bit more power which in the rolling race as shown is no different. Only hardcore Honda fans will be silly to buy it at that price, there are plenty of other cars out there for the money. Making little changes here and there doesn’t need that price difference. Ridiculous. There is also a tyre light on the FK8 during the lap times, that would have affected the time, either way, I wouldn’t buy either of them.

sooo they didnt show the photo finish at 5.08 , its the fk8 by a mudguard in front , so no its not equal its fk8 beat fl5 .