Exclusive Video: Honda Civic Type-R in Dubai

Exclusive Video: Honda Civic Type-R in Dubai


This exclusive original video has been a long time coming. We drove the 2010 Honda Civic Type-R a year ago when it was first launched in the UAE. We made this little video, largely due to the efforts of Faisal Khatib, with support from me and Marouf Hussain. Think of it as our very own tribute to Japanese engineering.

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  1. hello sir, my name is george mathew, i have a question about the honda civic type r in the video it sorta sounds like a 4age engine from a toyota ae86 trueno/levin in the video that i viewed

  2. Awesome video. That’s how I was when I got one for test drive……
    Which road is it?

  3. Good job on the video Faisal, Marouf & Mash!

    Wheel Spins Galore.. Had the same experience during my test.

  4. No offense but wouldnt the VW GTi be a better bargain and a better drive for the price? Lots of reviews say its an overrated car..

  5. Civic type R suks. Slash the price about 20%, and then it will start to make any sense.

  6. Author

    Anyone dissing this car has either not driven it, or can’t drive a manual. It is more fun to drive than the automatic Mustangs and GT-Rs that everyone calls “sports cars” nowadays. I’ve already done my review so I won’t go over specifics.
    https://www.drivearabia.com/honda/hondacivictyper.html

    • serious??? that good?

    • Author

      In a world where Ferrari and Lamborghini has announced that they’re phasing out the manual gearbox, the Type-R is absolute fun on the street.

    • In my humble opinion, Yes.I have not driven it nor do i want to. I have seen many reviews including Top Gear which were really negative. It may be fun to drive for a while, but its highly impractical and not that comfortable bcoz of all the stiff suspension and stuff. To me it doesnt even look that gud and the interior isnt anything great either. The reason why I say all this is Bcoz of its PRICE. It is just another overpriced Honda. At that price i would want something which can be used everyday, rather than just a fling car, certainly something like a GTI, or a scirocco. I come from India where Automatics are a rare thing, and all cars even luxury ones are generally manual, I have driven manuals all my life. It would have been a fantastic car had it been cheaper not almost twice that of a refular civic, as its not twice the car if u consider all aspects and not just performance. For someone who doesnt care about the price and doesnt want to keep options open, and wants to drive it like a maniac all the time, im sure its gud fun.

    • I think, there is a huge difference between the 2 questions : 1) Do you like it? 2) Will you buy it? .

      Im sure a lot of people like this car, but just compare the number of these to mayb a GTI and you’ll get what i mean. 😉

    • did you just quote top gear as proof of a reputable review? hahahaha….the review on this site itself says it is practical and comfortable enough. how is a GTI any better in your biased mind? your opinion doesnt matter if you never drove it. the reason there are more GTIs here is because about 99% of them are AUTOMATIC.

    • Firstly, this is purely my opinion. Im not doing a review to advise anyone. Secondly, the person who did the review is who i am discussing it with, you are welcome to join the discussion, there is no offense intended. Thirdly judging by your words, noone here has the right to comment on anything which he has personally not driven, which would rule out 90% of the comments. Lastly, Im not sure how you are convinced that the GTI only sells here because its automatic, surely they are not ppl who agree with you, but most of them are enthusiasts, else they wud’ve gone for something else, and most enthusiasts would prefer a manual. So MAYBE the number of GTI’s is so high bcoz its a much better buy considering all aspects. Also, if you REALLY follow top gear, you would know that not all their episodes are about explosions and supercars. Some are genuine reviews which ultimately is a personal opinion of the person doing it, and judging by your ‘CARS DRIVEN’ criteria, I guess they are far more credible than ANY of us here.

    • not sure Mashfique intended a fight with this review.
      pls keep cool guys….

  7. sweet reving engine………..end of story.
    love that i vtec

  8. Erm! well not exactly.. most GTI owners would love it if it did come in manual in this region.. i wouldve got myself a manual GTI if it wasn’t for the six month waiting period.. so i went for the DGS instead.. and the DSG is still a whole lotta fun.. and its so much more of a daily driver car than the type r.. comfortable.. better features for the same price!!

    • Author

      It is indeed true that having a car with only a manual gearbox means it will be a sales flop here. Dealers don’t even bother importing them any more if they can. And of course, the few who want a manual in a specific car have to settle for an automatic. The Type-R is as good a daily driver as any automatic, simply because the shifter is ultra-smooth.

  9. It’s fun to drive bcoz torque in very high rpm which makes it sound like hugeee….;)

    Trip-tonic & paddle shifters are also manual but clutch-less. technology is improving everyday so we dont need to make our hands-legs both busy like animals..

    I think most of the recent super cars are equipped with paddle shifters. for who needs true fun, please ride horse or 1960 american cars 🙂

  10. Author

    In a hilarious bit, if you read those “GTI vs Type-R” reviews in CAR ME, Autocar ME and Wheels (very original idea), the Type-R wins in terms of performance, because as usual they compared all the official specs on paper. I was the only one to show that the Type-R isn’t that fast at all, and the turbo GTI is likely faster. But I’d still buy one at some point. It’s immensely fun if you know how to drive. The 15k price drop to 99k in late 2010 made it a much better deal.

    • Oh !! Well that just proves my point. It was overpriced indeed. Turns out that Honda people themselves knew what i was talking about and had slashed prices. Yeah if its under 100K now and much cheaper than the GTI and the likes, then it is good value. Phew !! its a win win for all !! ;P

    • you will choose anything without volkswagen & audi bcoz of your personal clash. so this is not big deal but this is not fair journalism also. sometime you sounds like VW & Audi never made a car even!!!

      i respect DA and regularly follow the site but also hope you will go beyond the biasness.

    • Author

      Considering I’ve never commented on how new VWs and Audis drive, I’d say I’ve been pretty fair. I only comment on their business practices and their attempts to manipulate the media into writing positive reviews. I’ve left my original VW and Audi reviews untouched and gave the Skoda a fair review.

  11. But the only thing the Type R fails in over here is it price tag… Too overpriced and doesnt even come with a long term service package or any extra goodies which you have to pay for seperately.. I’d consider the GTi instead for having more kit for the price and the fact that it is actually a successful formula for the past 3 decades!?!?!
    What about the new base WRX Impreza which is for AED 115K, comes with more power output and an AWD drivetrain, come to think about it.. As a choice and an option ‘price wise for someone buying a sports car’..

    & Fazl, since you marked ‘most of the planet’s drivers as animals’ for driving manual vehicles..
    Real drivers & enthusiasts know why they actualy chose manuals. Even proper enthusiast cars like the porsche gt3 or M3 will keep coming as standard manual maybe not in this market as people buy them here mostly to show off and because they are lazy.. Even the Nissan GTR had complaints about why it never had a manual model.. They sell automatic models of proper sports cars because they are good for making business nothing more..

    I used to drive a manual car (cuz I was an animal) and currently have a tiptronic one, which I bought because I had no other choice at that time.. Dont get me wrong tiptronic is more fun than the standard automatic but it doesnt give you the driving experience you get in a manual car no matter what..

    • You will never get the feelings of real calculation/writings/newspaper if use computer/internet..please start using pen-paper again to get REAL feelings..:)

    • Author

      Why even drive? Let’s all use Dubai Metro. Most modern 🙂

    • What a douche…

    • @Roj: good word. thanks..
      @Mash: dubai metro is as slow as tortoise. thus its not modern.

      my point was clear – i wanted to say that technologies come to make our life easier. its same when computer been invented, slowly print media demolishing where virtual world is taking place. previously donkeys were the vehicles – but now cars, aircraft are the vehicles. believe me in another 10 year you will not find vintage manual transmission in any car. that will live in the trucks only.

  12. Most of people here buy with bank loans, so a 20 to 25k will not make that difference on the monthly installment, so i will not argue here with the GTI, I will add 200 dhs on the monthly istallment and go for the golf R20, not the GTI, and then nobody will argue me …. I guess

  13. isnt this one made in UK?
    Japenese have different type R
    so its british engineering i believe

    • Author

      Hehe, arguable, because the engine and gearbox are definitely a Japanese design, and the main bits of the car.

  14. good stuff, although the first camel was so close.

  15. I dont know what you are all argueing for. Honda enthusiasists will go for the Type-R while VW enthusiasts will go for the GTI. Both are good in its own right. And about DA and Mash being ‘fair’. I agree that Mash is not really biased but I think you are ridiculing Audis and VWs a bit too much. Its especially felt in the Infiniti M56 review. And while you have updated all the unknown chinese brands in the ultimate car buyer guide, the guide for the 2011 Audi A8 is not updated and as far as I know its available here. Please, update it soon if it is available here.

  16. “one doubt”. is the engine turbocharged?
    2.0 lt-199 bhp… seems to good to be true.

    • Author

      That’s why it’s an interesting piece of non-turbo engineering, even if short on torque. Anyone can get that much power with a turbo.

  17. Civic type-r is a genuine piece of engineering.
    2.0 ltr engine produce 200 bhp amazing.

    Ariel Atom Sports car has same Civic Type-R engine but Turbocharged n produce 300-bhp, Thats why Ariel Atom is capable to compete with any Super Car on Track just because of Civic Type-R engine.

    if a Supercharger is installed to this Type-r, it can Smoke Evo,Sti,Gti etc….

  18. I have test driven both VW GTI and the Type-R and I bought the second!

    First off, they are not at the same price any more. Type-R is 100000 and the VW is 119000. If you want to get a decent interior and not that horrendous fabric you have to add 7000 for leather.

    Type-R interior is made from lower quality materials but the design is superb. You feel it is a sports car and not just another saloon like the GTI.

    Type-R engine is hand-made and it sounds fantastic. As for the gearbox, it is the absolute best manual ever.

    The suspension is stiff but you get used to it. But there is a reason for it: it corners like it’s on rails.

    There is enough space for 4 without compromises and the boot is big.

  19. There are always going to be comparisons made between the Type R and the Golf GTi. There are some people who will criticise others and many of those people will not have driven both cars. Basically, there are some people who own a Honda and wouldn’t buy a VW and vice versa.

    I have driven both of these cars and I made the decision to buy a Type R. Yes, it’s true, the interior in the Type R may not be up to the quality materials used in the GTi. However, the GTi interior is very dull and just like any other VW. The Type R interior is very original and despite looking a little strange with switches seemingly placed in random places, it is amazingly well thought out and works really well.

    The VW GTi might be faster, but it utilises a turbo, the Honda is normally aspirated and has much more character than the GTi. The Type R isn’t that quick below 5,000 rpm, but spin the engine past that magic figure and the VTEC kicks in. The engine revs so quickly and it and accelerates so hard, it is addictive. The engine sound is fantastic, is an engineering marvel and is beautifully made. In fact, the quality of the Type R is staggering.

    As for the handling, drive one towards a roundabout in third gear and floor the accelerator, it corners without any body roll, slide or understeer. It is the best handling car I have ever driven and it manages all this with a very basic torsion beam rear suspension.

    The Type R has character, build quality, handling, a fantastic engine and a gearbox that is so accurate and precise I cannot believe it is on a mass produced car. As for the comment about not being an animal and using our limbs to change gear ? I am not sure what you mean, but for those of you who have only ever driven an automatic, you are missing out. Driving the Type R at high revs through the beautifully made six spped manual gearbox is a true driving pleasure.

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