2021 Civic Type R vs 2017 VW GTI Ownership Comparison (long list....)

TheGreekFreak

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Wanted to post some (ok, MANY) thoughts for anyone interested in what it's been like going from my 2017 MK7 GTI Sport (with performance pack) to my 2021 Civic Type R. What I like or dislike about the CTR will be mostly in relation to my experience with the GTI. Some are pretty self explanatory:

WHAT I LOVE
-Performance: Obviously, given the price difference, everything from the engine, suspension, chassis, etc feels more focused than my GTI was stock. On top of being a much quicker car, it handles the power unbelievably well. The suspension mods I did to the GTI help close the handling gap but it came at a large ride quality sacrifice that the CTR does not suffer from. In the dry, unless you're trying, the CTR oddly doesn't feel like a true FWD car. Disclaimer being that I'm relatively sticking to the easy break in strategy so my experience in this department is far from complete. But I was shocked to feel the BACK END rotate out a bit taking an off ramp way faster than I should have! Many fun points so far. The GTI was fun and actually felt like it had slightly more torque down low....but the result was tire spin for days. It also had a decent differential and didn't have awful understeer until you got fairly ambitious. All of this assuming you upgraded to half decent tires. It was pretty good but definitely in a different league than the CTR.

-Front Seats: Simply, they're amazing.....bolstering locks you in but they have enough cushion to not punish you every day. I felt the GTI plaid seats were great, especially compared to the competition, but they're in a completely different league and catered more towards comfort.

-6MT: Holy shit is it buttery smooth......the GTI's was notchy and had plenty of slop. The CTR feels even more direct than my brother's short throw STI kit in his WRX. The clutch is light enough to not be annoying daily driving but feels better than the GTI's, which was almost too light and provided almost no resistance. The CTR has the best manual shifter I've ever driven.

-Shift knob: The tear shape aluminum shift knob feels amazing, although that opinion may change after dealing with it in the hotter summer months. Anyone who complained about grabbing it in the cold needs to grow a pair....the hot may be a different story. We'll see next summer. The GTI's was kind of cool being the shape/texture of a gold ball but it had no weight to it.

-Uniqueness: Part of the reason I tried so many subtle cosmetic mods on the GTI was to counter what I felt was generally boring looks from the factory. The CTR does not suffer from this.....for better or for worse. When I first saw it in pictures, I hated it....but in person, it really grew on me. Puts a smile on my face that the GTI never did. Little touches, albeit tacky with red and Type R emblems everywhere, make it feel special. Car doesn't take itself seriously and that's exactly what I like. To be fair, the color I chose (boost blue) plays a big part in this. Oh and the one thing that truly almost scared me away from the car, the massive wing, grew on me the most.

-Color: Similar to VW's cornflower blue, I absolutely love the boost blue. No other color really excited me like this one. It's bright and silly enough to make the car fun before you even sit in and drive it. Did like the tornado red on my GTI but you would see it on 100 regular golfs around town, which don't look too different from the GTI, so it did get old after some time.

-Reliability: Obviously only time will tell but being on my third clutch with the GTI, an aftermarket OEM+ option nonetheless, and having it continuing to give me issues was frustrating. Being a Honda that I don't plan to modify beyond a catback exhaust, summer wheels, and some cosmetic touches, it's a safe bet that I will fare better in this department.

WHAT I LIKE
-Interior: LOVE the silliness. Red stripes, alcantara, fake carbon fiber, red seat belts.....talk about making me smile when I get into this thing after a long day. It's enough practical Honda to not be annoying but enough "my 8 year old designed this" to make it fun. Just like the GTI, it's very comfortable and practical but way more silly in a good way. Storage compartments are great too, especially the sliding armrest cubby and the storage space underneath the center console.

-Electronic brake: This was a big surprise. I've seen almost every serious car reviewer bitch about this....but I actually like it! Intuitive, super easy to see when it's engaged, and no effort required. I don't pull my e-brake to slide cars so this was a nice addition assuming it has no issues down the road.

-Brake hold: Awesome. Lazy people like me, this is great in traffic.

-Wheels: Have already hit two big potholes, car took it 100% better than my modded GTI would have, zero damage to wheels or tires. Given how low miles I drive each year, I really don't see the 20s as much of an issue as everyone was panicking over. Also, in person, I do indeed like the chrome lug nuts on these wheels! Feel they match the chrome within the Honda emblem on the center cap nicely, so no plan to get black ones or put caps over them like I initially thought I would. Just annoyed that the tire shop damaged a wheel mounting my all season tires.....but that's more on them than the wheels themselves.

-Driver assists: Biggest surprise for me who hates all this new tech. I messed around with lane assist and adaptive driving it home from the dealer with no prior experience. Super easy to use and scary how good it is. I can see turning it on for the rare long distance highway drives I may encounter. Would have still chosen to have the car without these options but they're nice to have given the lack of choice.

-Headlights: In terms of function, the GTI's headlights, which turn with the steering during cornering, were really cool.....but considering that it's just another VW electronic feature to break in the future and that they were HIDs versus the R's LEDs, I'll take the R's all day. Also love how blue and aggressive they look.

-Steering feel: This almost went into borderline dislike territory.....not because it's not great when you're driving it quickly, just that it feels too artificially heavy at times. This is especially obvious in sport or R+ at slow speed around town driving. Just testing the steering for slack at these speeds in this mode makes it obvious. The GTI's steering modes were definitely more street driving friendly while maintaining nice progressive feedback during spirited driving. While the GTI could feel lacking appropriate input to some, the best balanced mode for steering from either of these cars is probably the GTI's sport mode.

-Red emblems installed from the factory: Let me go grab some popcorn real quick.....

WHAT I DISLIKE
-Trip dial: Yes....that massive skinny phallus sticking out of the gauge cluster.....it looks so cheap, like zero thought went into integrating it into the cluster.

-No oil temp gauge: Come on Honda.....I can't monitor my oil temperature on a performance car?? Not good, unless I'm an idiot who just missed on how to display the feature on the gauge cluster.

-Steering wheel: Wouldn't have said this if it was a pre facelift car but alcantara on my daily makes me nervous. I know I can just get it redone or replaced when it wears....but it just creates another thing I have to address down the road. At least it's nice now that it's new....oh, and the steering wheel buttons feel so cheap, like they're off an old CRV. The GTI's had a nice texture and felt way more premium, which you come to appreciate after touching them countless times a day.

-Detailing: With all the aero, there are a million places for things to get stuck in. It makes detailing the car, imo, very difficult and frustrating. Just in the first week, getting a few small leaves out of certain tight spots was annoying. It also drains water in strange places, like right between the two doors, which looks strange with even some dirty water having run down. Not as bad as the GTI's hatch bumper top (which was slanted towards the car for some reason) looking like a dirt road within no time.

-Exhaust: Actually love the way it looks, which is why this isn't a "hate", but boy does it sound like a camry my grandmother would drive......I think my old washing machine made more noise.

-Seat position: So this is more a byproduct of how great the seats are but being short, it makes it difficult to keep the optimal seat position and get in/out without aggressively brushing against a bolster or the steering wheel. I've sort of figured out a way to do it semi-smoothly....but it's a little annoying. I also brush the seat with the belt buck every time given how forward the seat is.

-Finicky shifter: So have only had one minor gear grind and it may have been my fault....but have had trouble getting it into first a few times. Chalk it up to the car being brand new for now but it's something I'm going to keep an eye on. In two instances it took several attempts to get it into first after getting locked out.

-Side gauges: I really dislike the design of the side gauges (coolant temp and fuel). At quick glance, I have trouble quickly picking up the info as it sort of blends in with all the red shit going on around it, which is annoying when I quickly want to check if I need to stop for fuel while booking it with a gas station quickly approaching. The GTI's more traditional layout was just easier to read....and I could display the oil temp smack in the middle to monitor at all times.

-Hatch cover: Feels flimsy and cheap compared to the solid tonneau cover in the GTI. Kind of like a hammock that would break if some fatty tried laying on it. I get that it's kind of necessary due to the design, so no big deal.

-Pedal position: It is quite difficult for me to heel toe in this car....although not impossible like some claim. I have had hip surgery on my right side and these pedals require me significantly internally rotating my leg to blip the throttle, which is super uncomfortable. To be fair, this was a problem in the GTI that got better after adding a pedal spacer under the accelerator. I believe the pedal relocator mod will be necessary for me on the CTR as well.....but not embarrassed to admit that I have been leaving the auto rev match on when feeling lazy and it surprisingly doesn't neuter the experience as much as I thought.

-No sunglass holder: Miss the one near the rear view mirror on the GTI. For a car that is so clever creating deep storage spaces throughout, really surprised they couldn't make it work. Not a big deal given the extra cubby area below the center console and I bet the sensor up there made it difficult to incorporate.

WHAT I HATE
-Size: For a guy who barely needs two seats as is, it's just too big. Not unique to Honda but cars are getting way too big to meet all these safety regulations and other BS. Having little experience with Hondas, it's the size of what I would expect an Accord to be. I do commend the GTI for remaining relatively small. Both do make very good use of the space they have but with the back seats down, the CTR feels like a truck to me coming from something I could park in my garage and still have ample space both front and back. Now there's significantly less space with my toolbox stationed in front of it.

-Seat belt: Not the cool red seat belt portion but the actual buckle. I am constantly hitting the top of it thinking it's the release button because of how big the top portion of the buckle is. This may be a remnant of my GTI and iron out over time but it's happened every day since owning the car so far. I can feel the arthritis creeping up if I keep rushing.

-No seat heaters: You really don't realize how nice this is to have in cold weather until you lose it. Would make waiting for the rest of the cabin to warm up no problem on the GTI, as my ass would be cooking within no time. This especially affects me who enjoys wearing shorts as much as possible year round.

-Backup camera: Pretty embarrassing that I questioned if it was the same shitty unit in my mom's 2012 CRV....it's inexcusable how bad it is. The GTI's looks like a 4K image next to this. The GTI's spoiled me enough versus this one that I am having trouble trusting it as I back into spots. I would gladly pay extra to have a higher quality backup cam if it was offered.

-Infotainment: Like many have complained about, it's super laggy, misses some features, and just generally feels outdated. Feels cheap and clunky compared to the super smooth and responsive unit in the GTI.

-Back seats: The material feels so cheap and flimsy. I'm afraid pressing on them with my hand will either permanently deform them or rip through whatever material that is. The GTI's back seats retained the cool plaid design like the fronts, were well cushioned, and the material felt way more thick/durable. Didn't do anything to stop passengers in the back from sliding and smacking into the windows when I wanted to be a dick and blast through a corner without warning.....but they beat the Rs by a country mile.

Sound system: This really surprised me as the consensus seemed to be that it was adequate. It is a woeful downgrade. I feel like no sound is coming from the back and I'm just getting mediocre quality blaring out the fronts. Super disappointing.

-Civic emblem: Plain jane chrome civic emblem.....why do you force me to choose between removing it, covering it with a badgeskin, or replacing it with a black chrome one to match the "Type" color in the badge on the opposite side? No awareness on keeping consistent with the dark trim + emblem colors throughout the rest of the car.

-Wheel studs: The GTI's system for wheels/tires was way better. No studs, just bolts. Just makes it more dummy proof with less margin for error when swapping wheels.

-Attention: Biggest complaint about the car so far. I know some of this is my own fault with the color choice (and car choice?) but I chose the color (and car) because I like it for my own eyes, not because I like catching other people's attention. My windows have always been tinted dark in my previous cars, with my lifted Jeep probably being the most attention grabbing, so it was easy to ignore traffic staring. CTR just got tinted so experience so far has been without the privacy and I am generally hating the stares in traffic (both positive ones and those of disgust). Not that this is some exotic (lol) and I'm no social recluse, I just prefer flying under the radar in the general public.....which is impossible in this thing. A few weeks in and already have had bros come up to me while filling up gas, washing it in my driveway, parking it to get my coffee. Don't mind a thumbs up or quick chat with a car guy but it's always younger "sick brooo" dudes who want to tell me how they're either getting this or an STI someday....I am always respectful, as I was that annoying car obsessed kid in high school too, but I would lie if I said I didn't prefer the GTI's lack of ANY attention at all. Even worse is what feels like almost a daily occurence of some accord or acura trying to race me at a stoplight. I think it will be easier to deal with when I black out the windows and can ignore the "let's go on green" stare without feeling guilty but I don't see the Race War challenges from other Honda bros stopping anytime soon......cut it out guys, if I wanted to give you the smoke in a straight line I would have bought a Camaro SS.

OVERALL: Don't let the dislike and hate list fool you, I absolutely LOVE the car, shortcomings and all. Wanted to be as nit-picky as possible so I don't come across as a complete fanboy. The car just makes me happy to get in and blast around, even just around town breaking the silly 25mph speed limits, which is all anyone can ask for. Being Honda reliable and fun to look at makes it even better. Plan to keep this one for a long time.
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Litfuse

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I appreciate you taking the time to write your review. I am currently debating what direction to go. Either a new GTI S, Type R or an STI. I currently own a 2019 Ram 1500, a Audi Q5 and a 2020 Miata. I’m drawn to the GTI for the price to fun factor. I’m drawn to the Type R due to its capabilities and drawn to the STI for its old school roots (I have owned three STIs in the past). Trying to decide if the Type R or STI is worth the extra coin over the GTI.
 

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You can read a calculated oil temperature in the LogR app on the HU. Install on your phone and launch via carplay or android auto. As long as you are using OEM spec oil it should be fairly accurate, but the reading is calculated off pressure. There is no actual temperature sensor. TPMS is the same as the GTI. Indirect without sensors in the wheels, so no issues swapping.

I previously had a MKVI GTI. I never drove a MKVII, but my GTI always felt heavy and under steered like an absolute pig when pushed. It wasn’t happy with any driving effort above 6/10 or so. Every single input on the CTR is just better. The VW felt isolated in comparison. It also went through roughly $2500 worth of repairs in warranty, so I dumped it pretty quickly once that expired.
 
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TheGreekFreak

TheGreekFreak

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I appreciate you taking the time to write your review. I am currently debating what direction to go. Either a new GTI S, Type R or an STI. I currently own a 2019 Ram 1500, a Audi Q5 and a 2020 Miata. I’m drawn to the GTI for the price to fun factor. I’m drawn to the Type R due to its capabilities and drawn to the STI for its old school roots (I have owned three STIs in the past). Trying to decide if the Type R or STI is worth the extra coin over the GTI.
No problem! Notes are a bit focused on the Type R but feel free to ask any details about either as you get closer to picking one.

The GTI is good if you know what you're getting into. Inside it feels way more premium than a car in its price range should. Definitely beats the R on that.....but it really struggles with understeer when pushed past maybe 7/10. Not something most would complain about on the street everyday though. I also question the platforms reliability long term.

You can read a calculated oil temperature in the LogR app on the HU. Install on your phone and launch via carplay or android auto. As long as you are using OEM spec oil it should be fairly accurate, but the reading is calculated off pressure. There is no actual temperature sensor. TPMS is the same as the GTI. Indirect without sensors in the wheels, so no issues swapping.

I previously had a MKVI GTI. I never drove a MKVII, but my GTI always felt heavy and under steered like an absolute pig when pushed. It wasn’t happy with any driving effort above 6/10 or so. Every single input on the CTR is just better. The VW felt isolated in comparison. It also went through roughly $2500 worth of repairs in warranty, so I dumped it pretty quickly once that expired.
Thanks, I'll check it out. I completely agree. The MK7 with the performance pack was great at masking the FWD deficiencies of the car.....but it could only mask it up to a point. Good tires really helped and most people on sticky michelins or whatever won't push it hard enough everyday to justify a complaint, but it's definitely not at the R's level of performance in stock form.
 

Litfuse

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No problem! Notes are a bit focused on the Type R but feel free to ask any details about either as you get closer to picking one.

The GTI is good if you know what you're getting into. Inside it feels way more premium than a car in its price range should. Definitely beats the R on that.....but it really struggles with understeer when pushed past maybe 7/10. Not something most would complain about on the street everyday though. I also question the platforms reliability long term.



Thanks, I'll check it out. I completely agree. The MK7 with the performance pack was great at masking the FWD deficiencies of the car.....but it could only mask it up to a point. Good tires really helped and most people on sticky michelins or whatever won't push it hard enough everyday to justify a complaint, but it's definitely not at the R's level of performance in stock form.
Thank you. I like the idea of the GTI as cheap fun. I can drive and park it anywhere and not worry like I would with the CTR or STI. I do have concerns about the reliability of the GTI and it’s less than stellar OEM clutch. I plan on putting a full suspension on my Miata to turn it into a weekend you and occasional track toy. My truck is there when I need it to haul something or a comfortable road trip. My wife drives the Audi, so I’m looking for a fun daily driver.
 


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I came from a 2016 GTI to a 2018 CTR and I share much of the observations, though I find my GTI to be plenty reliable in the 75k miles I had the car(on its original clutch). I still don't like the Electronic Parking brake, and I like having the option to do stupid ebrake thing in winter that CTR doesn't let you do. I also find the steerable headlights on the GTI functionally superior to the Type R's. Having driven the both cars in pitch black conditions the lights on the GTI just seems to light up the road better even if I think Type R's is brighter. Also the typical VW cornering lamp is something I find myself missing a lot. I agree with the observations with pretty much everything on the infotainment side. VW's system feels a generation newer despite it being 2 years older than the Honda's. Also the way VW hides the rear view camera in the emblem saves it from getting dirty every other hour. Aside from being low res the Honda unit is basically useless when the lens is dirty.

All the aspect to do with driving and driving feedback the CTR is superior, aside as noted I think the artificially heavy steering in R+ mode, I also dislike not being able to pick and choose modes for different things. Also the turning radius on the CTR is like a dump truck...
 

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-Seat belt: Not the cool red seat belt portion but the actual buckle. I am constantly hitting the top of it thinking it's the release button because of how big the top portion of the buckle is. This may be a remnant of my GTI and iron out over time but it's happened every day since owning the car so far. I can feel the arthritis creeping up if I keep rushing.
So it's not just me? I hit the wrong part when trying to release the buckle the every time too!
 

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Get used to the attention, that’s not going anywhere anytime soon!
 

TypeRHelvetia

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Cool review! I bought my CTR after owning a couple of late model BMWs - both with really high end infotainment, cameras and software. I hear you on the CTR’s laggy system and crappy camera but for me none of that matters - i love the car just as it is because I realized I care more about the driving experience than anything else. I don’t miss the BMW’s HUD or huge super nice display screen. I would actually love a CTR with everything display related pretty much analogue.
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