The new Honda Civic Type-R has been met by a barrage of favorable reviews so, naturally, Doug DeMuro just had to have a different opinion. Because that's what gets you more YouTube views.
It's a well-documented fact that people are just as likely to watch something they hate as they are something they actually enjoy, so antagonizing the public can be a recipe for success. Doug doesn't always do that, but when the majority of people appear to like something, he's very likely to feel the opposite way.
That may seem like troll behavior 101, but Doug DeMuro knows where to draw the line because nobody likes trolls. They do enjoy the occasional bashing though, and that's an area where he never fails to deliver.
He's also quite careful not to dismiss the qualities of a car, or not to lose them among all the bad stuff he has to say about it. In the case of the Honda Civic Type-R, the two seem to be evenly matched, if not even more favorable toward the good parts.
So why then would he state, right from the title, that the 2017 Honda Civic Type-R isn't the king of hot hatches? Well, because it's not, and it doesn't even claim to be. Yes, the title is 100 percent true. And that's because of cars like the Ford Focus RS or the Subaru WRX STI.
Besides the exterior design, which I have to agree can be a little over the top (alright, a lot), Doug's main criticism of the car has to do with the number of its drive wheels. He can't seem to understand why Honda didn't opt for an all-wheel-drive system, especially since the car is just $2,000 under the price of others that offer this feature.
He suspects the underwhelming 0-60 mph time is also partly down to this decision, as well as the 306 horsepower obtained from the four-cylinder two-liter turbocharged engine. He probably sees the Type-R as a missed opportunity - something good that could have been great.
However, he does agree with the rest of the world on the fact that the Civic Type-R is the best front-wheel-drive car out there with zero torque steer, excellent handling, and fabulous feedback. The only problem is a Renault Megan RS is lurking around the corner, so that title might not last for too long.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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