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At present I drive an EP3 with minor mods, but I have owned and driven various Type R's in recent times. The review mainly makes comparisons between the EP3 and FD2.
I drove an FD2 this morning for around 70 miles on a mixture of B roads and dual carriageways/Motorways from Newbury to Gloucestershire, I am astounded as to how good the FD2 is, the handling is immense and I am not just saying that to be a cliché JDM fan boy it really is!
Credit is of course due to the one I was driving having the AST coilover upgrade which is a much better set up than stock, it is also less 'crashy'. Please note I say this from having read about owners who have gone from stock to AST set ups i have never been in or driven an FD2 with OEM suspension.
It handled like my old Evo tbh, no exaggeration on that front. It lapped up sweeping bends and roundabouts, and gave me so much confidence when driving progressively through some twisties, no under-steer felt when powering out of bends. You have to love LSD's. Why oh why did Honda not fit these to all Type R's? they really do make a huge difference. Today the roads were nice and dry, I have not driven the car in the wet where I guess things would perhaps be slightly different? I imagine with some added braces it would make the handling even better than it already is.
The other big noticeable difference between the EP3 and the FD2 is the lower down torque, it seems to just pull and pull and the induction noise is quite pronounced you find yourself near the limiter point fairly quickly, around town it was a nice place to be too I did not find it 'jerky' like often the EP3 can be in lower gears at low RPM.
As for the steering feel, you can actually feel where the steering is wanting to go and which way the wheels are pointing! we all know the EP3 can be a bit vague some times with the EPS system but this is not the case with the FD2.. Again another tick in the box.
Inside the cab it can be fairly noisy, and on the dual carriageways it is not the quietest of environments to be in, but at the same time it was not too overwhelming either I would say it was quieter than my EP3 is. I think it is safe to say it is a car you can't drive slowly in, I was often caught out with the speed I was doing..
It is a very spacious machine too, plenty of room and visibility on the road was excellent with a nice big windscreen, the rear view mirror gave plenty of visibility too, even with a big wing fixed to the back of it. All the controls and instruments are all easily accessible from the driving position. There are plenty of 'cubby holes' for storage. The seats are very good too, similar to the DC5 Recaro seats.
The gear changes are very slick too which is a trait with the Type R One thing I did find weird at first was the dash (speed/revs display) but I got used to it pretty quick. I did find the VTEC indicator a bit tacky but I could certainly live with it
If anyone is considering one of these as their next car or is thinking of buying the UK FN2 then my advice would be to go and drive the FD2 first, I think you will be pleasantly surprised..
I make it pretty well known that I am not the biggest fan of the FN2 Civic, having driven it in the past it did not give me the grin factor I was expecting, the Mugen FN2 did of course but then that comes in at £35k (crazy!) whereas you can get a used FD2 for £16-18k depending on mileage - I would opt for the FD2 without a second thought, it will certainly give you the grin factor and the exclusivity, I can count on one hand the amount of FD2R's I have seen on the roads.
It has certainly got me thinking about my next car which will most certainly have four doors, but will it be VTAK or boost :?
Oh and the fuel gauge does not go down nearly as quick as an Evo's from speaking with Drew he sees on average around 300-330 miles out of a tank of V-power which is similar if not the same as an EP3 depending on how it is driven. Servicing costs are similar to that of the EP3/FN2 which is another plus point.
It was Drew's FD2 that I drove today and it was on 32000 miles, for anyone interested in buying one it will appear on the Litchfields website very soon it is an excellent car and has been looked after well, it has the added bonus of having the AST upgrade, oh and a Mugen radiator cap :smt023
I must admit I was fighting with my inner demons as I was very tempted to buy it from him.. but I do not want to be stuck with two cars! - I am glad I had this opportunity to experience the FD2 on a mixture of roads and can't thank Drew enough for that :smt023 8)
A couple of pictures of it being dropped off at Litcho's;
Some of the other stock at Litcho's!
I drove an FD2 this morning for around 70 miles on a mixture of B roads and dual carriageways/Motorways from Newbury to Gloucestershire, I am astounded as to how good the FD2 is, the handling is immense and I am not just saying that to be a cliché JDM fan boy it really is!
Credit is of course due to the one I was driving having the AST coilover upgrade which is a much better set up than stock, it is also less 'crashy'. Please note I say this from having read about owners who have gone from stock to AST set ups i have never been in or driven an FD2 with OEM suspension.
It handled like my old Evo tbh, no exaggeration on that front. It lapped up sweeping bends and roundabouts, and gave me so much confidence when driving progressively through some twisties, no under-steer felt when powering out of bends. You have to love LSD's. Why oh why did Honda not fit these to all Type R's? they really do make a huge difference. Today the roads were nice and dry, I have not driven the car in the wet where I guess things would perhaps be slightly different? I imagine with some added braces it would make the handling even better than it already is.
The other big noticeable difference between the EP3 and the FD2 is the lower down torque, it seems to just pull and pull and the induction noise is quite pronounced you find yourself near the limiter point fairly quickly, around town it was a nice place to be too I did not find it 'jerky' like often the EP3 can be in lower gears at low RPM.
As for the steering feel, you can actually feel where the steering is wanting to go and which way the wheels are pointing! we all know the EP3 can be a bit vague some times with the EPS system but this is not the case with the FD2.. Again another tick in the box.
Inside the cab it can be fairly noisy, and on the dual carriageways it is not the quietest of environments to be in, but at the same time it was not too overwhelming either I would say it was quieter than my EP3 is. I think it is safe to say it is a car you can't drive slowly in, I was often caught out with the speed I was doing..
It is a very spacious machine too, plenty of room and visibility on the road was excellent with a nice big windscreen, the rear view mirror gave plenty of visibility too, even with a big wing fixed to the back of it. All the controls and instruments are all easily accessible from the driving position. There are plenty of 'cubby holes' for storage. The seats are very good too, similar to the DC5 Recaro seats.
The gear changes are very slick too which is a trait with the Type R One thing I did find weird at first was the dash (speed/revs display) but I got used to it pretty quick. I did find the VTEC indicator a bit tacky but I could certainly live with it
If anyone is considering one of these as their next car or is thinking of buying the UK FN2 then my advice would be to go and drive the FD2 first, I think you will be pleasantly surprised..
I make it pretty well known that I am not the biggest fan of the FN2 Civic, having driven it in the past it did not give me the grin factor I was expecting, the Mugen FN2 did of course but then that comes in at £35k (crazy!) whereas you can get a used FD2 for £16-18k depending on mileage - I would opt for the FD2 without a second thought, it will certainly give you the grin factor and the exclusivity, I can count on one hand the amount of FD2R's I have seen on the roads.
It has certainly got me thinking about my next car which will most certainly have four doors, but will it be VTAK or boost :?
Oh and the fuel gauge does not go down nearly as quick as an Evo's from speaking with Drew he sees on average around 300-330 miles out of a tank of V-power which is similar if not the same as an EP3 depending on how it is driven. Servicing costs are similar to that of the EP3/FN2 which is another plus point.
It was Drew's FD2 that I drove today and it was on 32000 miles, for anyone interested in buying one it will appear on the Litchfields website very soon it is an excellent car and has been looked after well, it has the added bonus of having the AST upgrade, oh and a Mugen radiator cap :smt023
I must admit I was fighting with my inner demons as I was very tempted to buy it from him.. but I do not want to be stuck with two cars! - I am glad I had this opportunity to experience the FD2 on a mixture of roads and can't thank Drew enough for that :smt023 8)
A couple of pictures of it being dropped off at Litcho's;
Some of the other stock at Litcho's!
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