Any previous Civic type R (ep3) owners?

[Phillyf21]

Just wondering if anyone had owned a CTR ep3, if so how does it compare to the mk5 gti?

I found it a great car, but a little harsh for motorway driving and the lack of torque was really noticeable for normal driving. And to be honest I really didn’t like to reputation they were getting, chav central!!!

[usmangti]

I've moved over from an EP3, great car I had my car modified for power and found it brilliant, when they are remapped they are a lot better to drive. I agree with motorway drone and i think the pre face lifts can look dated I had a premier facelift. Regards to the chav rep I think that goes with any half decent sports car when they become affordable. ie <2grand! IMO of course

[Bane]

Friend of mine had one until he decided that he "nedded to grow up"(he's into his 30's) sold it and bought an A3 2.0 TFSi.
It was well built and reliable,handled like it was on rails although I thought the suspension was rock hard.
I didn't think it had much oomph until the Vtec kicked in but was reasonably quick.
He was of the opinion that it would muller my Edition30(even after I installed the blufin) but strangely never took up the offer to test it out!
I thought it was a good wee car and very capable if you wanted to track it,but ,yeah,I would peg it into the 20-27yo bracket.

[Phillyf21]

I've moved over from an EP3, great car I had my car modified for power and found it brilliant, when they are remapped they are a lot better to drive. I agree with motorway drone and i think the pre face lifts can look dated I had a premier facelift. Regards to the chav rep I think that goes with any half decent sports car when they become affordable. ie <2grand! IMO of course

Does the mk5 feel much more refined? Because a mate of mine had a blast in a mk5 when I had my ctr and he said they're no where near as quick, I told him they're pretty much identical on paper and the ctr only feels quicker due to the lack of refinement, he wasn't having it.

[MAT ED30]

yet had a few ep3 type r and worked for honda,the golf is a better but the civic is more old school in terms of power and drive i.e. more raw so its better to compare it to a clio 182 in terms of power as they are both about the same.The thing with the golf is the torque as the civic has non  and you have to think about or drop down gears to get the most from the engine.As for a chav car yeah they can be but find a nice clean one maybe the premier version and i still think they look good 

[usmangti]

I've moved over from an EP3, great car I had my car modified for power and found it brilliant, when they are remapped they are a lot better to drive. I agree with motorway drone and i think the pre face lifts can look dated I had a premier facelift. Regards to the chav rep I think that goes with any half decent sports car when they become affordable. ie <2grand! IMO of course

Does the mk5 feel much more refined? Because a mate of mine had a blast in a mk5 when I had my ctr and he said they're no where near as quick, I told him they're pretty much identical on paper and the ctr only feels quicker due to the lack of refinement, he wasn't having it.

The golf is miles ahead in terms of refinement but I feel the CTR is a better car as standard to blast on B-roads. I only sold mine as I'm expecting our 2nd child and so decided its time to get a five door. I already have a 2010 A3  5dr (family car) which meant I was able to cling to my CTR for a while longer but my first child is nearly 2 so just struggling lifting in and out of car seats from the back!
Terms of performance, both standard, hard to say boost sometimes gives a false sense sense of speed and the CTRs need to be revved hard to get anywhere. That being said I would defo have another CTR maybe the newer FN2 as its more refined and has similar gadgets as the golf.
I think making power the golf is a lot cheaper because to achieve 240bhp in a EP3 even using second hand parts gonna cost around £1500 and then you will need around another £500.00 to set up the handling to go with that performance.
I maybe wrong as I'm new to the forum but I don't think MK5 GTI needs that much spending on it. Joys of forced induction.
I'd love to take a ride in a stage 1 Golf because I think that's comparable to NA stage 1 mods + remap CTR such as my old EP3

To conclude: ( feels like I'm writing an essay  ) I have had my Golf for just over 3 weeks and I really enjoy driving it. DSG is great and the turbo means I can have fun without going all out to the red line. BUT I did miss my EP3 once, on a B-road, one quite evening, the golf felt a bit soft and i yearned for the screaming v-tec!!

[arris]

Moved from a ep3 full jdm spec.

I miss my recaro's and my takata's and the sound my gruppe m made.

Other week watched rush and made me want to drive the civic again.

Although I love my edition 30 and dsg, but is more refined and not as race car as the civic.

Superb cars for money now tho.

[Phillyf21]

Moved from a ep3 full jdm spec.

I miss my recaro's and my takata's and the sound my gruppe m made.

Other week watched rush and made me want to drive the civic again.

Although I love my edition 30 and dsg, but is more refined and not as race car as the civic.

Superb cars for money now tho.

They do sound awesome, I had a supersprint cat back and aem cai and it was mental. But as I'm expecting my first child I need a more sophisticated 5 door, might get another in a few years as a track car though.

[fish]

I also moved from a CTR to a golf GTi mk 5 (not ed30)

You are right about the harshness/noise on the motor way, mainly due to the very short 6th gear which made it very 'busy' at speed. The golf definately has a more grown up feel to it and the extra torque is very noticable.

Suspension wise the CTR was stiffer but I did not find it 'crashy', although mine had only done 27k when I sold it, so felt very fresh. Handling/steering was very precise - great when your in the mood but rather tiring when your not!

As far as CTR performance goes compared to a Mk5 GTi I have not had an encounter (yet!) but I had a tussel in the CTR with a Mk4 R32 from @ 20 - 120 and he didn't pull a car length!

Quality of interior is better in the golf I would say but it is not built/screwed together as well as the Honda. I have had 3 Audis and 7 Golfs in my time and none of them feel/felt as tight as the CTR!

All in all I would recommend the mk5 GTi to you as you do feel owning one is like having your cake AND eating it - general comfort and refinement day to day -  but it all comes alive when you fancy a blast! (My Gti is standard BTW)

Hope this helps!

[GrayMK5GTI]

I had a Cosmic Grey facelift EP3 about 6 years ago and had the Championship White FN2  

GTI's are less reliable - mainly as there is more to go wrong in turbo engines. Diverter valves, PCV, coil packs etc. probably why honda were reluctant to put a turbo on.

The civic handling is sharper and there is more character there but the GTI is a better GT car and is much more refined all round. For a fun blast (stock vs stock) the civic is more fun. Golf is better to live with day to day and is easier to drive fast  

GTI is easier to tune though  

[gobbleplease]

I hated mine ! Gutless low down.

[Scottymon]

I rarely (read as never) redline my GTI - as everyone knows with FI it's just so easy to get more power with little money, that day to day you just don't need 6/7k RPM... ... take a Stage 1 Eddy, it makes near as damn it the same power at 3k RPM as the EP3 does at 8k+ RPM

[cander83]

Great cars and more reliable when tuned than these golfs

[Phillyf21]

Had my CTR for 4 and a half years and 70k miles and did not have one issue, apart from consumables.  It had 1 clutch, 2 sets of pads (front only) numerous tyres, and this I'm not pround of but I didn't really service it as much as I should, I think it was a freak prototype made out of alien materials, lol but I do always have a thought for the current owner because it got driven hard.

[Scottymon]

The Jap crap jsut run and run... had a 1.8VTi Civic that didn't need anything either, also had a Yaris T-Sport that's still in the family, done stupid mileage and is perfect, gets oil changes and is used as the rag around...  maybe there's something in the low torque no FI shizzle for longevity.