After almost a decade of turbo Type R against the all-conquering Golf R, the match-up can seem all too familiar. Not quite a foregone conclusion, sure, but probably not revelatory either. Thing is though, in 2024, the comparison takes on a new significance - because this might conceivably be the last time we do it. Freshly revitalised in Mk8.5 format the Golf R may very well be, but VW is already talking about how the Golf nameplate will survive into an EV variant, and the focus of the current lineup is much more about extended plug-in range than standard fit R Performance Torque Vectoring. Given how dreary VW’s fast EVs and hybrids have been so far, that’s hardly cause for much excitement.
Time must be running out for the Civic Type R as we know it, too. From early days in 2016 as a thorn in the Focus RS’s side (remember those?) at £30k or so, the turbo Type R has evolved and improved to become one of the all-time great performance cars. While also becoming a £50k, limited allocation prospect. If still a beacon of enthusiast-focused hope in the Honda lineup (could you tell an e: Ny1 from an HR-V?), the FL5 is patently an even smaller part of the business than even its immediate predecessor was. If a petrol-powered Civic Type R continues into the future, it too is almost certain to embrace some sort of hybridisation. As with VW, there’s precious little encouragement to be found from Honda’s electrified offering so far - NSX excepted. A regular Civic e:HEV is good precisely because only a very small battery is included.
Still, in the here and now while we have it, there’s plenty to be gladdened by. After all, here are a pair of 1,500kg hatches as fast as senior sports cars from not long ago, cars that are easily capable of more than 30mpg, can seat four adults with plenty of space, and can lap the Nurburgring in less than eight minutes. All while fitting in their lane, in a normal parking space, and on driveways. For thousands less than an Enyaq vRS. The Tiguan R was dropped because it didn’t sell and the Golf equivalent still soldiers on with hatch, wagon, and Black Edition variants. Honda must have sold more of these Type Rs than ZR-Vs (yes, it’s a thing). If there really is no hope for conventional hot hatches, at least they're going out on a high.
Especially Golf-shaped ones with 2.0-litre turbos in them. It’s become a familiar trope to dismiss the Mk8 before it’s moved an inch because some plastics are sub-par and the screen maddening, which tended to mean dismissing the useful gains it made over the Mk7 in terms of driving fun. While gripes remain with the 8.5 interior layout despite infotainment improvements, this update has improved the Golf across the board. It’s a smarter hatch to look at now, especially on the new 19-inch wheel design, more of that intangible ‘Golfness’ about the design that the previous generation encapsulated so well. The new rear lights and spoiler are particularly nice to these eyes, even if the quad exhausts (and front light bar) still seem a bit naff. In the company of the Civic, the new R certainly doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard, and in a colour other than Lapiz Blue, it would be able to fly mostly under the radar. The Type R, on the other hand, despite a couple of years on sale and paint that wouldn’t even be seen by radar, could be a Super Taikyu racer; it somehow looks like no other Type R yet also couldn’t be anything else, with its touring car stance and chunky spoiler.
While the Golf refresh seems modest on paper (or on 24 pages of digital press kit, at least), it does come across as a meaningfully improved flagship. Just having R Performance Torque Vectoring as standard is useful, for starters (it was bundled into a £2k option package previously). Where not so long ago paying more than £50k for a Golf R was eminently achievable, it’s now a much tougher task. That feels important. It also helps that the clever rear diff feels more refined than its first installation, with its rougher edges smoothed out and the promise more convincingly fulfilled. You’ll still want quite a lot of throttle to initiate oversteer in a Golf, and the way Drift dumps power to the outside wheel is no less contrived - but here at last is an R that boasts all the benefits of all-wheel drive with precious few of the drawbacks.
When it’s wet and cold (i.e. when you're in Britain for six months of the year) the Golf is a hoot, seemingly never happier than hurling from a bend with all four wheels overspeeding slightly and the rear dictating just a little more than the front what’s going on. This still isn’t a Lancer Evo with an IDA personal assistant bolted on (which is rubbish, fyi); rather it’s an R that’s easier to have fun in than before, being a more natural rascal than VW has previously permitted. And that’s welcome. The optional wheels, said to weigh just eight kilos each, certainly feel worth having, aiding the ride when you need it to be easygoing and looking so much better than stock. It’s awfully nice, too, just to accelerate without worrying about your state of charge, or brake without concern for regen interference. Something we never thought we'd have to take time to savour.
In Comfort, the R could be any other Golf (or a sluggish one in Eco), which has often been its selling point. (Obviously Drift is available if you want to be daft). But Special, as per the Clubsport, feels a nice match for so many scenarios, with the added benefit here of a driven (and excitable) rear axle. Take different approaches with the R and there are different results to be gleaned, from fast and neat to slow in and fast out like something more traditionally front-engined and rear-biased. There are hints of the regular GTI too, even if the additional weight takes the edge off its agility somewhat. A real cherry on top would be the front-drive car’s VAQ diff to give the nose a bit more bite, though rest assured there’s a giggle to be had behind the wheel (and the still-silly haptic buttons) or this Golf R. Which maybe hasn’t always been the case.
Indeed, it’s impossible to recall a time when the Civic Type R was the serious, strait-laced option against a gung-ho Golf. The attitude change is immediate from the off: the Honda being tauter, firmer and slack-free, against a VW that's plainly willing to play the demure hatch where required. Where its auto spares your blushes, the Civic’s manual punishes clumsiness. The Type R's sportiest drive mode is basically unusable, such is the engine drone and ramped-up chassis stiffness.
But silly +R setting aside, there’s no doubting the quality baked into every interface and control surface. VW asks hundreds of pounds for a 15-setting adaptive suspension setup that doesn’t lash down wheel and body control as emphatically as the Civic does in its standard mode. The Type R is impeccably well damped, totally unperturbed by the worst a B road can throw at it while you sit dumbfounded in the best seat ever to be found in a hatchback. The Sport setting only highlights what a clever compromise it is, absorbent and yet with almost motorsport levels of rigour. The Golf’s brake pedal is pretty good; the Civic’s is beyond reproach.
And the front end. My goodness, the front end of the current Civic Type R. It highlights mush and fuzz you never knew was there in the Golf, Michelins biting at the merest tilt of the wheel and clinging on like a tired toddler to their favourite parent. You know exactly how much grip is left in reserve, and it’s usually a whole lot more than expected. Even on a drizzly Thursday in November, even after a Golf that wants to be a rally car, the effectiveness of the Civic’s driven axle is stunning. Naturally, it’ll push and it’ll wheelspin if driven without consideration, though because every component is so cleverly honed - steering feel and response, throttle pedal, the limited-slip diff - you can meter out performance with unerring accuracy. Every single time - and every single time it feels absolutely brilliant. Thanks to its overstimulated outside rear wheel, the Civic isn’t the easy entertainer that the Golf R is. But its enduring qualities are probably longer lasting.
We shouldn’t avoid the fact, either, that there are undoubtedly things the Honda does better than the VW. As confidence begins to ebb in the Golf at higher commitment levels, so the Civic just keeps on delivering its unflappable, unimpeachable ability - which might be useful for those planning on track driving. As a driver, too, your relationship with the Type R is noticeably superior: bum lower, wheel closer, pedals better. It’s probably the more refined car, moreover, as well as more spacious (no surprise given how much physically larger it is). We’ll say nothing more of interiors, except to confirm that the Honda’s feels better quality. And makes more sense, even with quite a small screen.
VW’s decision to make the R auto-only shows what an inspired move it was to go manual-only with the Civic. The dual-clutch 'box plays nicely to Golf’s all-season, all-situation usability and helps to ensure 0-62mph bragging rights, but there’s no amount of launch control tomfoolery and upshift farts that could compare to the satisfaction of pushing a lever around. Yes, a VW six-speed would be lighter and looser than the Honda’s near flawless manual shift, but in something so overtly driver-focused it surely warrants inclusion. A Golf R buyer keen on a bit of intentional oversteer might also be interested in their own gearshifts, especially with the seven-speed transmission still just an above-average auto. Granted, it would be slower - but, as we keep rediscovering, sometimes the old ways really are the best.
The Civic proves this unequivocally. In combining the traditional tactility of a hot hatch through its shift, pedals and steering with rampant performance and superb suspension, it almost transcends the usual categorisation. It’s as fast as a sports car, as capable as a homologation special, as large as a saloon and virtually as practical as an MPV. It’s a freak, really. An immensely likeable, well-made one.
Nevertheless, its obvious strengths don't cancel out the things that make the latest Golf R very easy to enjoy. As well as the tables being turned in terms of accessible fun, the status quo has been upset by prices: even with its options, the Golf is a couple of thousand less than the standard Type R. There’s another grand to be saved foregoing the roof, too. A Civic in a colour you might actually want (i.e. black, red, white, blue) is going to add another few hundred quid. Having bemoaned high-spec Golfs in the past for being not much fun or too much money, the fact that this one undercuts the Civic Type R while simultaneously putting a smile on your face should not be overlooked. If your driving regularly involves lots of roundabouts and wet B roads - or you simply want to blend in - the Golf is probably the hot hatch to buy. But if you want perhaps the most sorted fast car at £50k, as happy at the tip as on a circuit, the Civic Type R remains the way to go. Although if this really is the last dance, you could do a whole lot worse than buying one of each.
SPECIFICATION | 2025 VW GOLF R (MK8.5)
Engine: 1,984cc, turbocharged, four-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 333@5,600-6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 310@2,100-5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.6sec
Top speed: 155mph (168mph optional)
Weight: 1,548kg (VW ‘unladen weight’)
MPG: 34.5 (WLTP)
CO2: 186g/km (WLTP)
Price: £43,895 (price as standard; price as tested £48,235 comprising Lapiz Blue paint for £885, 19-inch Warmenau dark graphite wheels for £1,515, DCC adaptive chassis control for £720, Tilting and sliding panoramic sunroof for £1,220)
SPECIFICATION | 2024 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R (FL5)
Engine: 1,996cc, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 329@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 310@2,200-4,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.4sec
Top speed: 170mph
Weight: 1,429kg
MPG: 34.4
CO2: 186g/km
Price: £50,050
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