Bonkers now in blue

Honda’s hard-as hottie achieves dynamic updates – and a noise-maker.

STILL plenty of edge – in every sense, including visual – but perhaps a less remitting ride. 

That’s the deal with the MY20 update of the Civic Type R hot hatch in a New Zealand specification announced today, a week ahead of public release.

Revised pricing is also part of the update; at $62,990 the incoming variant costs $3000 more than the pre-facelift edition did at launch in 2017, but is also $2000 cheaper than the ‘Mugen-Equipped’ runout variant. 

General rule for a mid-life refresh is to tweak under the bonnet and perhaps alter the styling, but that doesn’t seem to be Honda’s way for a model that achieved 55 registrations in 2019 and a further 41 this year to date.

Unless you spot one in the one new colour, an effervescent sky blue, the best way to distinguish the MY21 Type R might be by driving feel. In that sense, it’ll be more about the dynamics than the power delivery.

The revision bypasses engine bay alteration, so it’s the same 2.0-litre still creating 228kW at 6500rpm and 400Nm from 2500rpm to 4500rpm, continuing to operate purely through a six-speed manual.

The origami styling is also largely unaltered, save for minor tweaks – perhapsonly the sharp-eyed will even spot the reshaped bumpers, an altered grille, the addition of some body-coloured accent blades, different surrounds for the driving lights.

So how has Honda’s team earned its dough?

Mainly through reworking the dynamics, which admittedly were already pretty good, and improving the ride quality – which, in original form, was a touch f-f-f-f-firm.

Aiming to reconcile the latter and further sweeten the first is the revised adaptive suspension, which now evaluates road conditions 10 times faster thanks to a damper software update. Result? Better handling response, better ride quality, Honda claims. 

The company also says stiffer front and rear bushings have resulted in sharper steering feel for better control and improved toe-in characteristics when cornering respectively, with the former achieved alongside new lower-friction ball joints.

An upgraded braking system is also implemented, with new two-piece floating front discs fitted alongside fresh pads with a more fade-resistant material.

Brake stroke has been reduced by about 17 percent (or 15mm) under heavy loads, leading to a more immediate pedal feel, according to the company. The updated set-up decreases unsprung mass by around 2.3kg. 

The altered grille improves engine cooling and a revised radiator core also helps to reduce coolant temperature by up to 10 percent in high-demand scenarios.

Inside, the car now has an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel and a new shift lever for the six-speed manual with a teardrop-style knob and an Alcantara boot. A 90g internal counterpart has been added to the latter to better feel and accuracy.

An updated 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system is also implemented, with physical shortcut buttons and a volume control knob now part of the package.

That might not excite rev-heads, but how about the following?

Drivers keen to keep track of their driving data will doubtless delight in the new LogR software, an app for an Apple or Android phone which can monitor performance, log lap times and score drive behaviour.

Also, though the engine hasn’t been altered, the impression of the sound it makes has.

An Active Sound Control is an exhaust noise enhancer; the idea seems to be that the sound system’s speakers emit additional and artificial noise during aggressive driving in the Sport and  Plus R modes but refines it further in the Comfort setting.

And, yeah, there’s the new colour, seen here: Boost Blue Pearl.