2022 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R FL5: In the age of EVs, the performance car lives on
In an increasingly electrified world, the Civic Type R FL5 feels like a beautifully engineered argument for why the old-fashioned performance car still matters
In an automotive world increasingly populated by electric crossovers, CVTs and automatic gearboxes, Honda has built a machine that appears to have escaped from a parallel universe where engineers were still allowed to be slightly unreasonable.
It is a Civic. It has five doors, a hatchback boot and enough practicality for everyday life. But it also has a giant rear wing, red bucket seats, a six-speed manual gearbox and a wonderfully focused interior.
This particular example is finished in Sonic Grey Pearl, which may just be the best colour available for the FL5. While Championship White, Boost Blue Pearl and Rallye Red remain popular choices, Sonic Grey Pearl gives the Type R a more mature and purposeful character. It looks expensive, serious and faintly menacing without shouting for attention.
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That suits the FL5 perfectly because it is a rather different Type R from its predecessor. The FK8 was gloriously outrageous, covered in vents and dramatic styling elements. The FL5 is more restrained, though only relatively.
The body is wider and more purposeful, the rear wing is still large enough to make your neighbours assume you've joined a racing team and the enormous 19-inch wheels sit beneath flared arches that give the car a planted stance. Honda has also paid serious attention to aerodynamics. The rear spoiler and diffuser generate meaningful downforce, while the grille opening is significantly larger than before to improve cooling and stability at speed.
Power comes from Honda's K20C1, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder VTEC engine producing 326 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. More importantly, Honda has paired it with something that has become increasingly rare in modern performance cars: a proper six-speed manual gearbox.
This is where the FL5 starts making sense.
The Civic Type R isn't merely fast. Plenty of cars are fast. A Tesla can deliver astonishing acceleration and a modern performance saloon can cover ground at remarkable speed. The Type R offers something different. It wants you to participate.
You select first gear. You work the clutch. You shift for yourself. Every input feels deliberate and rewarding. Rather than insulating the driver, the FL5 actively encourages engagement.
Honda's dual-axis front suspension helps reduce torque steer and maintain steering precision under acceleration. Combined with a helical limited-slip differential, adaptive dampers and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres, the result is a front-wheel-drive car that behaves with an almost offensive amount of competence.
Approach a corner at a speed that feels ambitious, turn in and get back on the throttle. The front end simply grips and goes. The steering is excellent, the gearbox is excellent, the brakes are excellent and the chassis ties everything together with remarkable precision.
Suddenly, you understand why the Type R remains so highly regarded around the world.
The answer isn't simply that it is a good car. It is that cars like this are becoming increasingly difficult to replace.
The FL5 arrived at precisely the right moment. Enthusiasts have watched manual performance cars disappear from showrooms while manufacturers invest heavily in electrification and increasingly sophisticated automatic drivetrains. Honda responded with a Japanese-built, front-wheel-drive, turbocharged manual performance hatchback engineered with the sort of obsession usually reserved for far more expensive machinery.
Demand quickly exceeded supply in several markets. Some early examples in the United States were advertised for well above their recommended retail price. That gap between what Honda asked and what buyers were willing to pay says almost everything about the car's appeal.
Unlike a limited-production supercar, the FL5 is not desirable because it is artificially exclusive. It is desirable because very few manufacturers still build cars like this.
Five doors. Front-wheel drive. Manual transmission. Turbocharged petrol engine. Mechanical limited-slip differential. Proper chassis development. And absolutely no interest in making the experience effortless.
That combination is becoming increasingly rare.
Standing beside this review unit, graciously provided by ORAS Trading, Sonic Grey Pearl makes even more sense. Depending on the light, it shifts between silver, charcoal and subtle blue tones. It highlights the sculpted bonnet, swollen rear arches and aerodynamic surfaces without making the car appear cartoonish. The red Honda badges and brake calipers stand out beautifully against the understated paintwork.
Inside, however, subtlety is abandoned. The bright red seats are heavily bolstered and wonderfully theatrical. The driving position is excellent, the gear lever falls perfectly to hand and the cockpit makes it abundantly clear that you are not sitting in a standard Civic.
Honda has also equipped the Type R with its LogR performance data system, allowing drivers to monitor lap times and vehicle performance metrics. It is the sort of feature that encourages track-day ambitions while remaining perfectly usable on the daily commute.
That dual personality is perhaps the FL5's greatest achievement. It can be comfortable when required, practical when needed and entertaining whenever the opportunity presents itself.
The Civic Type R FL5 is not the fastest car in the world, nor the most powerful hot hatch on sale. But it may be one of the most complete driver's cars Honda has ever produced.
Enthusiasts are not simply buying 326 horsepower. They are buying the opportunity to operate a machine rather than merely instruct one. They are buying a manual gearbox in an age of automated transmissions and a petrol-powered performance car in an increasingly electrified world.
Most of all, they are buying something that feels increasingly rare.
The FL5 may eventually become another chapter in the long history of the Civic Type R. For now, however, it feels like something more significant: a beautifully engineered argument for why the old-fashioned performance car still matters.
And in Sonic Grey Pearl, it makes that argument with a very serious face.
