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What's the difference?
Before we dive in, this isn’t your typical road test.
That’s because there’s no road, per se. Instead, the majority of what you’re about to read comes from The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.
You’ve read the headline, though, so you’re probably putting it all together: a Honda Civic Type R on a well-liked race track must be bliss. Let’s find out.
A very quick catch-up for those not in the know. The Honda Civic Type R (or CTR if you like) is the brand’s only performance model on sale after the demise of the NSX supercar.
The current (FL5) CTR is a little over a year old, having been launched internationally in late 2022, but has only been on Aussie shores for a little while. In fact, we’ve already reviewed it for the road, back in April.
But Honda Australia was keen to get media behind the wheel in a setting it says the CTR thrives in - a racetrack. Its predecessor was a car loved almost universally, can this one live up to the new standard?
Ah, the Toyota Camry. A beloved sedan that has been the benchmark for reliability and family-hauling ever since the nameplate arrived on our shores in the early 1980s.
Adored by grandparents and commercial drivers everywhere, the newest iteration upholds the traditions while carefully positioning itself for a modern market.
I'm very happy that the champagne paintwork of my dad's 2001 Camry is no longer in fashion but that the practicality remains.
In an SUV-heavy market, sedans seem few and far between but it still has some strong competition from the Honda Accord, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Passat.
I've been driving the Camry SL Hybrid with my family of three to see how it stacks up. Keep reading to find out!
In the realm of factory-built performance road cars for less than six-figures, the track capability offered by the Civic Type R is hard to rival.
The way it communicates and encourages smooth driving is impressive. Its mechanical grip limits are clear well before you reach them and the car is very forgiving with small slides and gentle lift-off oversteer. It lets you know you’re approaching the limits well before you hit ‘em.
Performance hatchbacks from Volkswagen, the Golf GTI and R, are arguably more useable day to day, but don’t come close dynamically. The Hyundai i30 N is wicked fun and deceptively capable for its lower price, but lacks the Type R’s high-shine polish.
Is the FL5 Type R pricey? Yes. Is it worth it? Maybe.
Is it probably the last time a purely combustion-powered hot hatch is going to be this good? Almost certainly.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
The Toyota Camry SL Hybrid offers good practicality for families and has a handsome road-side presence. It's well-specified but some of the tech is being outshone by its rivals now. I love the price tag and the ongoing costs because in this day and age, every penny matters! But it's the driving experience that's the highlight for me and this earns an easy 9.0/10 from me.
My son loved the blue colour but was a little annoyed that our morning school run conversations were constantly interrupted by those school zone alerts. He still enjoyed this one though and gives it a 7.0/10.
The last Type R was divisive to say the least - rather sharp and aggressive styling reminiscent of a robot from a 1990s anime, with plenty of design details and enough black trim to give white CTR’s that Star Wars stormtrooper vibe.
It was loved and hated, and there seemed to be few who found their opinion in the middle of those.
This generation changes that.
Much softer styling and a more restrained approach to detail makes this Type R look much more mature - for better or worse, depending on your view - than the last, though it hasn't lost much of its ‘look at me’ factor.
Sleeker headlights, softer lines in both body panels and in places like the grille, as well as a smaller hood vent are all clear.
Aerodynamics played a big part in the design of this car, with Honda Australia’s tech team telling us the time it spent in the wind tunnel during development was so long they wanted to get press photography done there.
The small flick or canard ahead of the rear wheel, for example, directs air into the rear wheel to cool the brakes.
Of course, there’s still a great big wing mounted to the rear. How else are you going to know it’s a Type R? For that, you could also look down to the tri-exit exhaust, we suppose.
The Camry is easily recognisable on the road. It has that 'Toyota-ness' with panelling and lights managing to look sharp and curvy all at the same time.
The full LED exterior lights and cool faux intake vents at the rear makes it look steadfastly handsome.
It has a lot of road-side presence due to its sheer size. It's 4885mm long, 1840mm wide and 1445mm high. That translates to roomy cabin space, where practicality rather than sexiness has taken the design reins.
The dashboard's centre curves towards the right, making it feel very driver-centric but not necessarily passenger friendly when it comes to accessing the charging ports or utility tray.
There are a multitude of soft touchpoints which combine with the panoramic sunroof to add a sense of refinement to the cabin.
The Civic Type R is a four-seat hatchback, so if you were looking to cart four of your nearest and dearest around regularly, you may need to look elsewhere.
However, for a car that holds front-wheel drive lap records at circuits like Mount Panorama and indeed The Bend, it’s a pretty convenient thing.
Its tech behind the 9.0-inch multimedia screen is a little dated, but it’s still functional and most will use phone mirroring often enough that the native system is an occasional necessity.
In terms of the physical practicality, it benefits from the glow-up the standard Civic has undergone.
Physical controls for the climate remain (good!) and there are two very useable cupholders and a relatively well-sized storage bin under the elbow rest.
The seats are well-bolstered and comfortable in the front, providing the duality of a car that will hold you stable during track driving and be plush enough to keep you comfy on the drive home.
In the back, only two passengers can sit in the Type R despite the car being spacious enough for a third seat to at least be an option. Instead there’s a permanently accessible cupholder, but no armrest.
It is very spacious, with ample knee room and possibly even enough headroom for rear passengers to wear helmets if the idea of a four-up track lap takes your fancy.
Behind that, 411 litres of boot space is impressive for the segment, though the boot’s lip is fairly high and rounded at the sides.
The interior is quite practical and boasts a roomy cabin. I have plenty of head- and legroom in both rows, so taller passengers will feel comfortable.
Up front, the leather-accented seats are well-padded and are electric with heating and cooling functions, but the trim can feel a bit too synthetic for my liking.
It's easy to clean, though, which is always handy when you have kids or pets around.
Individual storage options are quite good with a 7.3-litre middle console, a glove box, plus two cupholders and a skinny drink bottle holder in each door.
The phone utility tray is great as it hides a second storage area underneath that's large enough for a wallet and keys.
The 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is simple to use but is starting to look a bit old compared to its rivals.
There is wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as, built-in satellite navigation which is always a bonus.
The 7.0-inch digital instrument panel is very easy to read and the coloured head-up display is clear, too.
Charging options are okay but not awesome for a top-model. You get a single USB-A port and 12-volt port up front and two USB-C ports in the back.
But there's no wireless charging pad or USB-C port in the front, which would provide faster charging speeds.
In the back seat, individual storage is average with two map pockets, two cupholders in the fold-down armrest and skinny drink bottle holders in the doors.
The amenities are a bit bare for a top-model and there are no additional luxe factors to add some comfort for older kids or adults, like heated seats or climate control. I do like the directional air vents and reading lights, though.
There are ISOFIX child-seat mounts on the outboard seats and three top-tether anchor points but two seats will fit best.
There is plenty of room for front passengers when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed, too, but with the lower height of the car, you may get a sore back bending down all the time to buckle in an infant.
The boot is large at 524L but typical for a sedan, meaning the aperture is narrow. You might struggle to fit bulkier items.
There's a temporary spare wheel under the floor and while there's no powered tailgate, you probably won't mind because it's so light to open.
Honda’s relatively new retail business structure means some sting is taken out of the Civic Type R’s $72,600 price tag as it’s drive-away. No on-road fees.
But it’s still well north of the $50,990, before on-roads, the previous generation FK8 version started from, and there’s not a huge list of additional features you’ll find in the cabin.
Dual-zone climate control, a wireless smartphone charger, 9.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, ambient lighting, all features that didn’t garner much attention at 200km/h down The Bend’s main straight.
However, the Type R’s impressive 'LogR' track day telemetry and lap timing software, bright red bucket seats and Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, aluminium pedals and gearshift knob made of the same were all put to proper use.
The LogR app for your smartphone allows you to take the data recorded by the CTR on track and analyse it, compare your lap with others (even from other drivers) at the same track, and can even automatically score and give feedback on your laps.
Personally, I wasn’t particularly upset to find out I was significantly slower than 2022 TCR Champion and general Australian motorsport veteran Tony D’Alberto.
There’s no sunroof, leather trim, seat heating or ventilation, no head-up display or even power-adjust for the driver’s seat. But more expensive (and sometimes less capable) sports cars are sold for more money with fewer mod-cons.
There are four models in the Camry line-up and the SL sits at the top, with a price tag of $50,320, before on-road costs.
That makes it more affordable than equivalent versions of its rivals, with the Skoda Octavia 180TSI being the closest at $53,090, the Volkswagen Passat 162TSI Elegance coming next at $57,790 and the Honda Accord Ti-LX Hybrid blowing them all away with a $61,900 price tag (all before on-road costs).
As you'd expect for a top-model, the SL is well-specified. Both front seats feature eight-way power adjustments, plus heating and cooling functions, as well as adjustable lumbar support.
A panoramic sunroof and JBL sound system with nine speakers rounds out the luxe factors while comfort gets a good look in with amenities like dual-zone climate control, electric tilt/telescopic steering wheel, keyless entry and leather-accented trims throughout.
You do have to fork out a bit extra ($590) for all but one paint colour but otherwise, you get a lot for your cash here.
Like the last Type R, this hot hatch boasts a highly-strung turbocharged 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder engine under the bonnet, complete with red engine cover and Type R badging.
The new iteration of this engine makes 235kW at 6500rpm and 420Nm between 2600 and 4000rpm, with much of the 7.0kW/20Nm increase over the last car making itself known all the way through the rev range.
For changing gears, a six-speed manual gearbox with auto-rev matching - should you choose to keep it active - is the only option. That gearbox transfers power to the front wheels only, as is traditional.
The drivetrain can be adjusted for intensity via the drive modes, 'Comfort', 'Sport', '+R' (which saw plenty of use on this test) and 'Individual'.
This model has a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder hybrid engine with a maximum power output of 160kW but Toyota doesn't quote a combined torque figure.
I was very surprised by the power – it's got some serious grunt when you need it.
The SL is a front-wheel drive and has a continuously variable auto transmission, which is so smooth as to be almost undetectable for gear changing!
Honda says the Type R’s official combined cycle fuel consumption figure is 8.9L/100km, the last-gen car’s figure was 8.8L/100km.
Of course, we didn’t get to test fuel efficiency on the track and if we did, we can’t imagine it would have been incredible. The car's 47-litre tank needed a refuel during our session.
But last time we drove the Type R, we spent a week and about 500km testing the hot hatch and found it used 11.5L/100km, not too far from the claim and reasonable for a car of this performance pedigree.
So, how's that hybrid efficiency? The official combined fuel cycle figure is 4.7L/100km and my real-world usage came to 5.5L/100km.
That's great for this size sedan! I covered a combination of open-road and urban driving this week, so I'm very happy with my result.
Based on the combined fuel figure and the 50L fuel tank, you should be able to get a driving range of around 1064km, which is stellar.
Toyota recommends a minimum 95 RON petrol to be used for the Camry.
This is the bit you want, yeah? What’s it like behind the wheel of the new Civic Type R when road surfaces are at their best and a speed limit isn’t of concern?
Having spent plenty of time behind the wheel of the last CTR, two key words come to mind... familiar and refined.
Where the last generation at times felt on the sharp, tense edge even without sacrificing ability, the new Type R smooths out a lot of the minimal shortcomings of the last generation, just as it has for the exterior styling.
Its setting is relatively firm and direct, but not too heavy for track stints, with good communicative feedback for steering inputs.
It allows for smoother steering and a sense of how hard you can steer without over-shifting weight. Which in itself is another impressive aspect of the CTR, how smoothly you’re able to transfer weight not only in cornering but under braking and acceleration.
The 1429kg hot hatch will only complain gently with some tyre noise if you’re approaching it's fairly lofty limitations, the car’s inherent mechanical grip working well with the Michelin Pilot 4Ss.
For a front-drive car, its rear feels impressively planted, a trait the FK8 surprised many with, to the point that a regular comment from media and professional drivers is that it’s hard to believe the CTR is FWD.
Under hard braking, the rear stays steady, allowing plenty of control if you come in too hot for a corner. The pads and rotors seemed to hold up with a lot of track time, too.
Power and torque delivery feel familiar if you’ve spent time in an FK8, even pulling out of tight-ish corners in third acceleration doesn't disappoint.
Its gearbox, too, might be one of the best feeling shifters around at the moment.
With or without rev-matching, a downshift in the FL5 feels smooth, visceral, and results in an engine whine that makes you feel like this car is more at home on a circuit than a boulevard.
The FL5’s abilities are on show in a smoother manner than its predecessor, and it makes the car more encouraging to drive quickly and smoothly.
While rough inputs will still yield impressive results, the FL5 CTR’s a surprisingly comfortable thing to drive rapidly through bends and under hard braking.
Handling, acceleration (a claimed 0-100km/h in 5.1sec and we don’t doubt it), grip and cornering, braking, and now more than ever, comfort. At the risk of gushing, it’s hard to fault the Type R on track.
This might be the best front-wheel drive performance car of all time.
I fell in love with this car once I started driving it because it's got to be one of the smoothest cars I've driven! It totally has your back when it comes to ride comfort, too.
The suspension feels well-tuned for Aussie roads but doesn't feel springy. It will still hug the road in a hard corner, making it a pleasure on my winding coastal journeys this week.
As I've mentioned, the power delivery surprised me and I had no trouble keeping up with traffic or overtaking. It's also very responsive accelerating from a full stop, which isn't always the case for CVTs.
The cabin is whisper quiet, even at higher speeds and the engine noise around town is all but mute.
The visibility is good from my driving position and despite its larger size, it's super easy to park. It has a 360-degree view reversing camera but I was disappointed with the image quality. Serves its purpose, though.
ANCAP hasn’t crash-tested the current generation Honda Civic, though its European counterpart Euro NCAP has, awarding it a full five stars.
It scored relatively well for occupant safety (89 per cent for adults and 87 per cent for children) while being adequate in terms of pedestrian (82 per cent) and active safety assist (83 per cent).
While it’s possible the Type R would have minor differences, it’s safe to take the results of that test as a relatively accurate measure of the CTR’s safety performance.
It features eight airbags, including front, front knee, and rear passenger-side impact, and full-length curtain airbags.
In terms of active and intervention safety, there’s Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), lane keep assist and departure warning, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors and a reversing camera, plus traffic sign assist and driver monitoring.
The safety features are extensive on the Camry and I really like the automatic collision notification. If airbag deployment or a serious collision is detected, Toyota's emergency call centre is notified and if you need assistance or if you don't respond, they will notify emergency services to your situation and location.
Other standard safety features include daytime-running lights, blind-spot monitoring, SOS emergency call button, stolen vehicle tracking, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping aid, lane departure warning, AEB (with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection), adaptive cruise control with stop and go, intelligent seatbelt reminders, traffic sign recognition, 360-degree view camera, as well as, front and rear parking sensors.
The Camry was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating but it was done ages ago in 2017. There are seven airbags but it's missing the front centre airbag we're starting to see on newer cars.
This also has a lot of road alerts, for example when you are approaching, in and exiting a school zone (yep, an alert for each scenario) or approaching a speed/red light camera.
The settings are buried deep in the menu and I ended up turning most of them off given of how intrusive they are.
My Dad likes this feature on his Prado but I'm not a fan at all.
The Type R is covered by the same warranty and servicing as any other Civic, which is a huge score when it comes to high-performance cars and the costs usually associated with them.
Honda’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is fairly standard these days, but it includes roadside assistance.
Servicing is a flat fee of $199 per interval for five years, which come in every 12 months or 10,000km.
The on-going costs are great on the Camry Hybrid. It comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, but you can get up to 10 years warranty on the hybrid battery if you service the car at a Toyota dealership.
It has a five-year capped-price servicing plan and services are a flat $255 per service, or $1275 over the five-years – which is cheap compared to its rivals.
Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.