Personally I don't think I will be converted, I have sat in one and have a test drive pending but I don't think it has any plus's over the DC5 except being a newer car and warranty.
I used to drive a DC2 for 3 weeks every year when a relative used to lend it to me when he was on holiday., I owned a facelift EP3 for 18 months and now have the DC5 (18 months). So I can say I have tried majority of the type R brands.
I think the FN2 is a modern looking car, but it doesn't blow the competition out of the water like the EP3 did in 2001. therefore it doesn't have a leading edge over the competition. Its just a run of the mill hot hatch with no competitive advantage over the competition, its not the fastest, its not the best handling, not the best looking what it is ? it is average in all these areas. (its a bit like cooking, too many cooks spoil the broth, I would rather have it top of one or two these categories such as handling, and power, rather than being jack of all trades and master of none)
Personally I have a theory if it doesn't sell very well Honda will have to rethink their strategy if they want to keep in the hot hatch market, because if the next generation is going to be even heavier with more toys and gadgets using the same power plant it would be struggling to keep up with the family hatchbatchs never mind the future hot hatches, therefore watering down the Type R brand even further.
The problem is if this FN2 sells well in the numbers that the EP3 did, Honda willl really think they can get away with watering it down even further.(to make more profit, appeal to a wider audience) Before long you will have a standard civic with a sport air filter, louder exhaust and sporty seats these will be the only differences between the standard civic and the type R.
Yes, I hope it flops and makes Honda realise that marketing can only sell a car so far. Look what has happened to the pug 205 GTI then a sorry excuse for a 206 and the 207 is even worse. All the arguments for and against are personal opinions based on what you want out of a car. But reading a lot of the positives the best they can come up with are comfort and gadget related, well if thats what they want out of a car perhaps a hot hatch is not for them, maybe better suited with a high spec'd car such as the ghia models etc.
Infact some of the fanboys would buy a Honda Jazz if it had a type r sticker on the side, then argue until they are blue in the face thats its better than the previous version.
I am a Honda Fan and I have been a new car buyer for the last 9 years and change my car every 3 years so if Honda want to keep my customer they better come up with something different that is better than what I own now.
