I own an FL5 and I don’t really consider it a ‘hatchback’. Yes the boot opens with a hatch, but otherwise it feels like a ‘saloon’ to me. The rear seating is roomier than the BMW 3 series I had. For those that doubt it’s worth £50k, you might change your mind if you ever drive one. It feels like a special car, the gear box is an absolute masterpiece. Then factor in the rarity and what it represents at this point in the history of cars. You could get more power or luxury for the money, but not much that will be revered as much as this car in years to come. I plan to keep mine long term, as my final car from the manual / petrol era.

FL5 truly is a masterpiece of engineering by Honda❤

I’ve been a long term subscriber Joe, but never commented….your delivery to camera these days is second to none and the quality of the edits superb. Your passion for these type of cars shines through in every video. Keep up the good work!

£50K for a Type R is just unchartered territory

This car punches way above it’s weight. I see some many people taking it’s over priced alot of cars are better! BS as a drivers car there’s no other car that performs like this for the money none! It performs better then many that are over 100k. FWD that’s irrelevant to use now when it’s killing RWD and AWD on track worth more money. Drive one before you say it’s not worth it. This thing drives literally like Porsche GT cars cayman GT4 911 GT3 with tad less power 350hp in this car is dangerous for other car makers FL5 is a serious machine and I personally feel it has the best manual gear box put in car! Even better then a Porsche!.

The black rear seats are a feature from the original type r. It’s to make the car appear as if the rear seats are stripped out. It was more affective when rear headrests weren’t included.

25 years ago I got my first BMW and I promised myself that I'd never have another FWD car, and I've stuck to that. The latest Civic Type R is an appealing package but I'd like to have heard more about traction through (and out of) corners, when pulling away swiftly from junctions, and whether the car's cornering dynamics can be tuned by driving through the throttle.

Couldn't be more pleased to see this pop up. The last video barely showed you in this car. This is a proper video! I am dying to drive one.

Great review Joe. Thought I'd watched most online content on these before I purchased mine - but I never heard anyone mention the width. The size, yes, but not the width. Having picked mine up two months ago I can say I'd sort of noticed the width but now you've mentioned it's wider than a 5-series it's all falling into place! Yes it is wide, but as you say it's also so much fun and I can't wait until I finally run mine in and can really let it off the leash! Hoping to take it on tour with me in 2024 when no doubt it'll be keeping G82 M2's company - that will be a bunch of fun I reckon. Safe travels in 🇧🇷 buddy 👍.

It’s expensive but at least it’s reliable!

Great review Joe. I love my FL5. In Aus they are $70k which seems like great value to me. I’m going to keep it long term for sure. Handles like a dream. Fun on the weekends and can do the school run and shopping etc. Dog crate even fits in the boot.

So I was all set to buy one of these... and then they announced the price. Now I get it, Honda can sell all they're going to make at £50k so why wouldn't they? Problem with getting one second hand is there's some *serious* competition at that price point, especially if you're going to daily drive one. I'm sure everyone will have their favourites but for that money you can easily get a six month old ex-demo M240i which is comfortably in the next tier of fast or, to my astonishment if I'm honest, an eighteen month old 840i with less than 20k miles and all the 'must have' options ticked (seriously, the depreciation on those things is ridiculous and might just be the best bang for the buck out there right now). Eh, I know I'm being a grumpy old man here, sorry, but to me it does feel like this Type R is far more an occasional use sports car where mileage matters to preserve the value rather than the daily driven delight the previous couple of generations have been. Somewhat ironic that shift happened in probably the most refined version of the Type R there's ever been but I guess that's the world we live in these days. Now if you'll excuse me there's a cloud outside I need to go shout at....

300hp 4cyl £50,000 “Bargain?!” Lol Sure

Great video. Been waiting for this for a long time . I am a life long honda fan . Had them all prelude, S2000, type r , am not surprised by the review. Love the honda racing Heritage. Only one thing wrong it for me only 2 rear seats!! Anyway enjoying driving my new M3 comp. G80 xdrive.

Great review 👍🏻Although half of the comments here are hilarious, people crying about the price, even though they've not driven one, let alone sat in one...... I'll be honest, i was expecting a £39k price tag and it was a hard pill to swallow to see my order through at £48k..... i almost cancelled...so glad i didn't! I'm lucky enough to have had a lot of great cars, i actually 'downgraded' from a new porsche to the fl5 and the honda is honestly a better more rewarding, and more useable car, better build quality too, and that is high praise indeed!

Owned quite a few type r's through the years all the way back to the ek9 and followed the development of the FL5 from the start deciding that it was going to be my next car. Then the price was announced and the fact the UK wasn't getting a decent allocation, Meaning the price likely wont come down to a sensible figure anytime soon if ever. I love a type r but its not worth £50k.

Don't think there's a better hot 'hatch' out there than these things. Absolute monsters.

The civic type r use to be for the European and japanese market and not sold in North America. But with the last gen they sold it in the USA and now it seems like thay is their target market with so few sold in the Uk. Prehaps it has more to do with EU emissions restrictions.

I am lucky to have owned and driven some dream cars........but this is one of the best cars I have driven.

Nothing better than manual gear box in a Honda Type r BMW never managed to get the manuals right . But FWD sucks for 0-60

£50K though! 🤯

I think you’d love my hot hatch Joe!… 1205kg, 4 door hatch, big boot, massage seats, 300bhp, great fuel consumption, 380mm Alcon brakes as standard plus a Torsen manual diff! Oh and did I say it’s a manual car too!? What is the car?…

Be interested to drive one of these, I’ve got the fk2 mapped to 370hp so I’d be interested to know the real world differences. Mine was 20k with low mileage. It seems risky to spend 50k on a civic, it’s niche. I agree with the looks of the fl5 though it’s stunning.

I almost bought an FK8 until I heard about the gear grind issues.

The gearbox location in the EP3 gen Type R (2005) is more fun! Superfast quick short shifts, second gear to 60mph.... lol....exact same matt metal gear knob too! 😂

Its crazy that I own an FL5 and still continue to watch reviews. I agree with everything you said, obviously this is a race/track/sports car but the road noise is so damn loud. Another is the fake engine noise, at first through reviews and my first few drives, I loved the sound. Now, after awhile it gets annoying and a bit too much where I just want the real engine sound instead of the fake audio. Besides that I absolutely love the car.

Cracking car, big fan. If you can’t get one (because it’s very very expensive), I’d at least go and test drive a face lift i30N. They’re ridiculously capable, make an awesome noise and with a small tune would be nearly as quick. Bonus - it’s the same weight and a bit narrower! I’ve just got rid of mine after a fun year of ownership to go back to BMW though (I missed RWD) 🫣

this Viagra Blue color, ROCKS!!!

Great vlog and you were spot on 👍🏻👊🏻 I love my 24 sonic Grey Pearl FL5 . I actually like it more than my previous 22 m240i in all areas .

What a great looking type R. In my view far nicer than the last model. I’m surprised at how expensive they are in the UK. £50k is about 100k NZ dollars here in New Zealand, that’s huge money. There’s a few almost new ones I’ve seen advertised for around £35K. I’m quite tempted but I’d need to upgrade the wheels to perhaps slightly smaller size such as 18” and thicker tyres plus a full size spare. The state of roads here is shocking, almost 3rd world, even highways are littered with potholes. Lots of wheels get ruined here.

EP3 in 2001 £16,000. FN2 in 2007 £20,000. FK2 in 2015 £35,000 Fk8 in 2018 £38,000, and then latest model FL2 50K. There is something wrong here.

Enjoyable video chap. Do I spy Harry's twisty bit of road?!

I've got the FL4 and love it, covered 26000mi in a year. I can't imagine how much better the FL5 handles.

Love this Joe! Car you drove is badged 52 later than mine!

Really like that you are reviewing non German cars Joe and giving them a fair shake.

Good reviews i really love this new type R sleek and elegant looks

Great honest review Joe. I get how good it is but £50k and the rear brakes aren’t even matching Brembos. Also not comparing, but the rain is an issue for this car so you can’t enjoy all the power all the time like my GR Yaris.

Joe, it looks like this car makes you happier than the M2c 😂.

I've got an FK2 ATM, and love the FL5!

Great car that would make me swap from my Suzuki Swift Sport, but the footprint of the Swift is such a joy, you can play on the road with different lines while staying in your lane! And it's 400kg lighter.

Still the fastest front wheel drive 4 cylinder - Yes, the prices have jumped up though - got mine for $45k new. I love this car.

50k!!! If it's anything like the previous generations of Honda's it'll be a Type Rust in ten years 😂

Prices on these are crashing in Canada right now. They got as high as $90,000 CDN, but are currently crashing back to reality.

No matter how good it is, it ceetainly isn't a bargain

Interestingly here in Australia where cars a flipping expensive these, even at 74k AUD, these look like value. If you compare up range to premium sports cars that are 150k and an M2 is 100k then not too bad… reliable, useful and quick enough. My next car in addition to my 20 year old Boxster…

Nice review Joe and good to see something non-German on the channel. 👍

As a daily, would you get the Type R over the new M2?

I have to disagree with you on the selling price of this car as it's following through the years justifies the price partly as well as it being an awesome car. With regards it holding onto it's value I have the Civic Sport Plus and it seems to be holding onto its value as well. I think partly it is because they are bullet proof and have a reputation for reliability. I drove the Mk 1 version of the Civic Type R and always dreamed of having one and nearly did but bought my 1st Land Rover as I was shooting and fishing more than racing. Sadly as the price increased the stars never aligned again but I have the lesser model to follow on from my Accord ownership nearly 25 years ago. The floppy back parcel shelf is in my car also and it works a treat. Another great review of a really good car.

It could be the best drive around, but I can't get past the styling of the car. Sure, it's less ugly than before, but It is still hideous to look at. I also dislike overly large proportions in a hot hatch. The achilles heel is that the price tag is insane.

I’ve always wanted Honda and Porsche as a duo to either development a relationship to manufacture a transmission for the TypeR Utilizing the Germans AWD system from the 911 - but honda may have it’s own reason why AWD may not be for the future but I beg the differ and believe this could possibly push honda further into the future with a co-development with the Germans for a new AWD system for the TypeR without compromising its agility. Ya been thinking about this for years now 😅😅😅

I find it utterly alarming that a Honda Civic would cost in excess of £50k. I wouldn't care if it had a Rolls Royce jet engined strapped under the bonnet, that is disgusting!!!!! The motorist is being taken for a fool in this day and age but yet people keep buying the cars at these inflated prices which makes it the norm.

In my eyes that’s a £35k car.

Joe, please test the GR86, you would like it. There are some still available to buy.

Great review. A lot of current cars have small fuel tanks. Guess it's a weight saving measure.

I had an 15:04 FK8, what a drivers car. Problem was stones were always getting caught in the front brakes which Honda didn’t have an answer for.

my mate Alistair raves about these. He sadly has a megane at the moment. 1.2 litre with a door hanging off.But he raves about this alot. I have to agree after watching this,looks fantastic and sounds great. Maybe when I win the euros I will treat him so he can race me in my spyder 😂❤ good video as usual joe.

Those red seats are on of the best things about this machine 👌

Fantastic video Joe 👏😁😁👏

I really, really want one, my neighbour has one and it's relatively subtle in the flesh.

Another great episode I drove the last model and it was fantastic but I was not sure of the looks.This version is a cracker👍 just bought my ticket for BOTB🤞

Enjoyed that review joe very interesting , I always wanted an FK8 but ended up buying a Mk 3 focus rs. , the rs is a great car but I still end up thinking of getting a FK8

Thanks for a great review! Would you take a FL5 over an OG M2 or the latest RS3? I have the RS3 now and have owned both M2 and FK8. What I miss in the FK8 compared to the other two cars was engine sound and acceleration grip. I also felt that FK8 engine was quite laggy. But turn in and steering feel from FK8 was really good!

Imagine if it had a porsche badge, got a feeling this machine would command a price in the region of 80 to 100k, thing is it would still be worth every penny just for the drive sensation alone considering renault charge 70k for their megane trophy r thats not even in the same league when it comes to usability just high end performance smh honda truly smashed it

The only downside to this vehicle is actually finding one, and you can't even test drive one to decide if you want to buy it. I own a GR Corolla, and both are hit or miss on the dealer's parking lot.

£50k is the new £30k. People need to stop living in the '00s. Saw one of these one road yesterday looked massive.

I'd really like someone to explain the type r to me, u just don't get it as I never got the previous model. If i spent 50k on purchasing this car id just struggle looking back at it in the car park thinking what have I got for my money

😂 went to their favourite customers. Lol. The dealer were even flipping the bloody cars.

It has a great stance on the road.

For £50.000 you could get a used M140i which already more capable than a type r plus better suspension, plus a stage 1 tune and still have money left over

I've got a modified FK8 that i've put 3k into after buying the car for 27k and it'll EAT this thing up 😂🤣

Michelin man back with another banger

7:55, I reviewed the Type-R as well and the screen probably feels like that because you've been used to the centre being tilted towards you. Otherwise it felt normal to me

Ive owned . Ek9 . Ep3 . Fd2 . Fk2 ... waited for a fl5 . Saw the price and thaught fuck that .... bought a gr yaris for 36k . Will never own another type R . Its not worth 50k.. and had loads af warranty issues with my fk2 . Had to argue with dealership to get new alloys after bubbling at 8k . Water in rear spoiler

50k????? fuck that id rather get an old civic or integra

was looking to mk8 ended up with New i30N DCT the best hot hatch on market no way i will change for that

Give me a mint mk2 focus rs in blue any day. Volvo power..!!💙

I’d love one of these even at crazy money and they won’t disintegrate after a couple of months like the Germans either

Awesome content

And here I am finding myself mind bubbling, to buy for my next car, either RS4, or the Type R! 🤔 😂 both cars are massively great for each different reasons

It's an all round hero and future classic, an intelligent Dad's hot hatch take mates and luggage around tracks and it won't break

I hear people here in the US are switching out the control module for the dampers to the integra type S one, its supposed to be so much better. On tracks around me I think most guys do not use the R mode on the dampers. I believe that sliding cover was already on the FK8 gen. I didn't realize the car was so wide I have only seen one in passing once, is the Fk8 narrower?

There’s better choices if you’ve got £50K to spend.

This is my point. I cannot pay this price for a civic. It’s laughable. Mate I can get a used M2 with low miles for the price of this or an M240i

I've got a late 2019 FK8 Type R and had considered the new one but that jump in new price from £37.5k to £50k rules it out. The older car was lower road tax as well being under the stealth tax the UK government imposed on new cars over £40k for the first 5 years of ownership. Disgusting. Will be holding onto mine for a while longer. Only issue with it is stones getting stuck in between the brake pad and disc. Horrible sound.

£50k isn’t a bargain really is it 🤣

50k is it April fools?

This is the equivalent of a 37gbp car in Australia. You pay a lot for a vehicle in the UK.

I can't recall seeing a car vid with less information per minute. You spend more time telling us what you haven't actually bothered to find out than you do giving actual facts. I don't expect I'll be watching much more of this channel.

There are quite a few for sale now

Hi Joe. If you have a choice as a daily in a wet city. Would you rather the ctr or 2023 m240i? Thank you

Smiling away and why not. I would have to drive both cars the Audi RS 3 as well for around £50.k. But a 2019 BMW M3 for £38.000 with 28.000 miles is also a car to look at.

Honda should make an Estate version.

Ive got the fk8, but for £50k im getting either bmw/audi/merc/vw. Honda been smokin some stuff to come up with that price

This car is about £38k brand new in Australia.. it’s so expensive in uk thanks for taxes

❤

Do you use the same road as Harry’s garage, roads look the same. I have a FK8 in the same blue and will be keeping it forever ❗️😊👍🏻

Looks a really nice car

I wish thay had left the seats black

Thought my 2.0 polo gti had a small tank at 40 litres 😮 47 l in a car like thar seems small , 265 tyres all round that a wide tyre for a hatch !

As a former Type-R owner, I love the idea of owning another one, but agree with Joe about the back end (the stupid wing looks atrocious) and the red seats are a bit garish. Also, after several Audi and BMWs I now prefer paddle shifters over manual transmission.