The choice of modern hot hatches we currently have in 2014 puts us in an unprecedented place in history, when you can now buy a car within the constraints of the class and have it be very different from its direct competitor. You can even go completely bananas and buy either a Mercedes A45 AMG or an Audi RS3, then go out and discover you can stick to the back of some supercars and wonder why you are able to do that…
But that’s overkill and missing the point of the hot hatch, a class of vehicles that peaked in principle and philosophy right at the turning point of analog into digital, somewhere around the year 2000.
An important part of that analog, mechanical feel was what made the hot hatches of the 80s and 90s appealing is nowadays all but lost under a mountain of electronics, safety tech and soundproofing to hide the diesel-like idle clatter of direct-injected petrol engines.
That’s why it’s really a waste of your time and money to look at any modern hot hatch and hope that it’s better than the Honda Civic Type R EP3, the model manufactured between 2001 – 2005; it’s not, it can’t be. Its main quality is probably the way it comes alive in your hands, as you drive it, with brilliant steering, pedal placement and a short, stubby dash-mounted gear lever that is as ridiculously van-like as it is practical and fun to use.
Then there’s the 197 hp 2.0-liter screamer too that revs to over 8,000 rpm, the snappy six-speed gearbox and the noise all of this produces that should seal the deal. It’s the kind of car whose exhaust you want to leave stock and silent, since it’s the (unsynthesized) engine note you want to hear and not the fartcan at the back…
Practical and sensible issues are addressed by the (now) humble EP3 too. It’s not offensive to look at, although it’s not necessarily a looker, it’s fairly reliable for a performance car (if you maintain and care for it) and it has a hard wearing and simple interior that is there to hide the firewall and nothing more. You can, if you must, also carry more than two people inside, though not cross-country.
Other reasons to think about buying an old EP3 is being green by recycling something that’s getting old and the low prices you can now pick these up for. Obviously, those that seem too cheap should obviously be checked thoroughly before purchase, because you don’t need us to tell you how tricky it is to buy a second hand performance car; it can be done, but it needs patience, knowledge and (possibly) good bartering skills when you find the one you want and the owner knows it.
The EP3 is already a part of Honda history, but it’s just a bit too new for it to be thought of in that way. This piece isn’t a buying guide, and it doesn’t provide detailed buying advice, being meant as a reminder that you don’t have to wait for Honda to release the new Type R to be happy, so as to fueling the massive hype snowball that has been created around it.
It seems very unlikely like any modern car will ever be able to match the EP3 for front-wheel drive thrills, and you don’t need a turbocharger or rear lights and spoiler that you can’t tell apart. The Renault Clio 197 does come close, but its obvious drawbacks still make the Honda the more desirable vehicle of the two.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
