OVERVIEW - What is it?

Since 2017, it’s been a truly outstanding hot hatchback that operates on a different level to the rest of its front-driven rivals. One with nary a chink in its armour. Yet three years into its life, Honda has dug very, very deep and found room for improvement. Crikey.

So you’re looking at the mildly updated Civic Type R (the FK8, if you’re a model code nerd). Notice we’ve not called it a ‘facelift’; to do so when one of the most divisive styling packages on the market hasn’t really changed would feel wrong. But the geekier among you will spot the revised grille, which now has a 13 per cent larger opening resulting in a 10-degree drop in coolant temperature on track days.

The Type R is otherwise mechanically untouched: six-speed manual and front-wheel drive only, with a 316bhp 2.0-litre turbo four flinging its 1.4 tonnes towards a 272kph top speed via a 5.8sec 0-100kph time. Proper figures, those.

There are a few more options than before, though: the ‘regular’ car, pictured here, is now bookended by a slightly more demure Type R Sport Line (much smaller rear wing, less red detailing, more sound deadening) and the considerably madder Type R Limited Edition (wearing committed Cup 2 tyres and weighing 47kg less than standard via forged BBS wheels, removal of the air con and stereo and less sound deadening). The latter costs a smidge under £40,000 and the UK’s 20-car allocation sold out in an hour. Suggesting you might never pay less than forty grand for one when they re-emerge in the classifieds.

DRIVING - What is it like on the road?

The fact an engineer thought the FK8 Civic’s gearshift wasn’t quite perfect enough, and found a way to fix it, is important. Because it summarises the whole car. This updated Type R drives as spectacularly as ever while somehow feeling marginally sharper and more precise in ways we’d not thought important. Or possible.

You approach a corner, getting forceful but measured braking no matter how dimwittedly you stamp on the pedal, then bleed carefully off and back to the throttle as you turn its beautifully weighted steering wheel (now wrapped in Alcantara) before aggressively getting on the power at the merest sight of the exit, as its front differential doggedly draws you out of the turn before you fire up the road via two or three exquisite gearchanges. Again, no matter how ham-fistedly you’ve rowed the stick around. Then you look at the number on the TFT dials and think “better calm down a bit now…”

Comfort’s biggest asset is the way it dulls the exhaust note on a motorway cruise, while R+ isn’t necessary to wake the Type R up on a great road. But it does add some tangible excitement, not least in its more aggressive rev-matching on downshifts (which can be turned off, too).

It’s a brilliantly judged package that will please anyone, whatever they think of the looks. Which brings us to another point of nerdiness to note: the Sport Line, regular Type R and Limited Edition each get their own tyre to reflect how they’re likely to be used, with a Michelin Pilot Sport 4, Continental Sport Contact 6 and Michelin Cup 2 fitted respectively.

That’s probably responsible for the bright yellow Limited Edition’s biggest shift in character: we tried it on a sodden, narrow race circuit and it wanted to oversteer on every corner. Never a Type R trait before, but an absolute bundle of fun given how much information is drip-fed to you from every one of the Civic’s controls. It feels like a very special thing, though we can’t help but wonder why Honda stopped at ditching the air con and stereo and didn’t lose the rear seats too.

ON THE INSIDE - Layout, finish and space

Most of the cabin is brilliant, and all the stuff that really matters has been nailed. The positioning of the pedals, steering wheel and gear knob are all set ‘just so’ for driving quickly, while the seats hug you just the right amount. In fact, you’ll find no better seats below £100,000 or so.

They put many supercars to shame when it comes to proving ‘support’ and ‘comfort’ aren’t enemy forces. They’re mounted much lower than in rival hot hatches, too, for a properly focused driving position (though you can ratchet them back up if you crave crossover-esque visibility).

Changes for 2020 include an Alcantara-wrapped ‘wheel – all the way round the rim, regardless of which level of spec you’ve chosen – and the option of more mature, less SHOUTY black seats if you go for the subtler Type R Sport Line. There’s also better phone link-up than ever, so you won’t be wound up by Honda’s own touchscreen setup for long. Phew.

Points of contention? You only get four belts – so there’s no popping a passenger in the middle of back seats – and lovely as the Alcantara wheel looks and feels, we wonder quite how red its red bits will look 10,000 miles down the line.

OWNING - Running costs and reliability

“Could you live with the looks?” We did, for six months, and adored the Type R even more by the end of them. It’s based on one of the most spacious and sensible hatchbacks there is, too, so despite maniacal looks and a madly powerful engine, it still seats four easily and has a humongous boot. And we averaged over 30mpg without really trying – try that in an i30N or Focus ST.

There’s more choice than ever in the Type R range, with the spoiler-less Sport Line, track-honed Limited Edition and the GT that sits between them, which is pictured here in newly available Racing Blue. Prices start at a lofty (ish) £33,000, but that’s what a VW Golf GTI costs these days. And there’s no options list to speak of on a Type R: just a hell of a lot of stuff as standard which only begins to disappear if you go for that welterweight special.

The two key options on the configurator are the kind of thing you might not expect on a front-driven hatchback: carbon styling backs for the exterior (£3500) and interior (£1800). For those of you – in single figures, we presume – for whom the Type R’s styling is a bit too restrained, actually.