2017 Honda Civic Type R

First Place.

Don’t interpret the one-point spread in this comparison test to mean that the Focus RS and the Civic Type R are similar. They’re not. These two cars arrive at hot-hatch greatness by different roads. While the Ford powers in on the merits of its engine, the Honda owes its win to its chassis. Just look at the numbers: The Civic Type R hauled itself to a stop from 70 mph in 146 feet and stuck to the skidpad at 1.03 g’s. A minimally optioned stick-shift Porsche 911—a $96,650 Porsche 911—musters 1.00 g and stops in 145 feet.

Building on the competence of the 10th-generation Civic chassis and the potential teased with the Civic Si, the Type R completes the package with the full 306-hp might of Honda’s new turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four. This is a freakishly quick front-wheel-drive vehicle when thrown down a challenging road. No other automaker sells a car like it.

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In a straight line, our comparo car cracked 5.2 seconds to 60 mph and 13.9 seconds through the quarter-mile. We hit 4.9 seconds and 13.5 seconds, respectively, with the first Type R we tested. That car, though, was also almost a full second quicker in both of its top-gear passing tests, suggesting it may have been packing more ponies.

The Type R drives its 295 pound-feet of torque through a helical limited-slip differential and Continental SportContact 6 summer tires that deliver dogged traction at a price. Replacements cost $321 each and the Type R’s window sticker warns that they may wear out in less than 10,000 miles. Honda’s traction control can be a bit heavy-handed, perhaps in consideration of the tires’ capability. The system preemptively cuts power any time the car gets light over a crest. Of course, if you turn the electronic minders off, no front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive car will be as hilariously fun as a rear-driver when you abuse the right pedal.

While still palpable, torque steer is well damped thanks to a strut-type front end that separates steering and suspension geometry, similar to Ford’s RevoKnuckle in the prior-generation (and not-for-U.S.-sale) front-wheel-drive Focus RS. The steering weights up perfectly—a touch lighter than the modern Ford’s—and the brake pedal’s action matches the immediacy of the binders. After flogging the Focus (and the Focus flogging us back), we always found welcome relief for compressed spines in the Type R’s compliant ride.

The Type R’s flaws are plain to see for anyone over the age of 19. The designers appear to have drawn inspiration from fly swatters, anime hairstyles, and suspicious growths. And the interior team must have used their year’s allotment of red Sharpies coloring the seats and the lower half of the steering wheel, because they all but stopped at the B-pillar, dressing the rear only with perfunctory red stitching and belts. On the upside, think of all the money you’ll save when you can’t find a more garish fiberglass body kit for your Honda.

This being a Honda, even this hottest Civic could reasonably pull double duty as a family car. The Type R delivers the legroom of a mid-size car and, because it’s 2.1 inches wider than the Focus RS, the rear seats feel significantly more airy. That sensation is helped by Honda’s inexplicable decision to remove the middle seatbelt from all Type Rs and place shallow cupholders where the fifth passenger’s butt normally goes. Despite the sloping hatch eating into cargo space, the Civic offers more cargo capacity than the Focus, with a lower load floor and more space behind the rear seats. And the ride is grandma-friendly.

Pragmatism and performance endure as the hallmarks of the hot hatch. While the trend toward all-wheel drive builds on both virtues with all-weather usability and performance-enhancing grip, Honda’s Civic Type R proves that the original formula still holds as much potential as it did in 1983. The front-wheel-drive performance car isn’t dead yet.