CIVIC TYPE R – STILL BRITAIN’S HOTTEST HATCH
Honda’s latest, more refined Civic Type R is the biggest-selling 3-door hot hatch in the UK.
From its launch in March ’07 to the end of February, a total of 5,192 customers got hold of the keys to a Type R, making it Britain’s most popular performance hatchback.
Over the same period, Ford sold 4,778 of the 3dr Focus ST (all variants), while the 3dr Golf GTI (incl. Edition 30) recorded a total of 1,984 sales.
And that’s not all. Here are some more Type R achievements from the past 12 months:
In response to previous Type R customers’ pleas for a more refined, high specification cabin, Honda introduced the GT grade – and a huge 90 per cent of customers opt for this more comfortable, better-equipped Civic In sharp contrast, Honda (UK) has sold just one of the stripped-down, lightweight Type Rs (with no parcel shelf, stereo equipment or audio speakers) The current residual value for the Civic Type R GT is an amazing 52 per cent (3 years / 60,000 miles) – this compares favourably with both the Focus ST (40 per cent) and Golf GTI (43 per cent) 58 per cent of 3-door Civic sales are to conquest customers During 2007, the Civic Type R won Top Gear magazine’s Hot Hatch of the Year and scooped the same award in Auto Express’s New Car Honours
| Make/model (3-door) | TOTAL SALES |
|---|
| Ford Focus ST | 178 |
| Ford Focus ST2 | 2383 |
| Ford Focus ST3 | 2003 |
| Ford Focus ST500 | 214 |
| Honda Civic Type R | 532 |
| Honda Civic Type R GT | 4660 |
| Renault Megane 225 | 172 |
| Renault Megane 225 Cup | 56 |
| Renault Megane 225 F1 R26 | 805 |
| SEAT Ibiza 20VT Cupra | 48 |
| SEAT Ibiza 20VT FR | 130 |
| SEAT Ibiza Formula Sport | 1306 |
| Vauxhall Astra VXR | 2008 |
| VW Golf GTI | 1189 |
| VW Golf R32 | 659 |
| VW GTI Edition30 | 795 |
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