Honda Civic Type R v Alpine A290: best of electric battles combustion-powered king
The Alpine A290 is one of the most engaging electric hot hatches on sale, but can it ever match the Honda Civic Type R?
The Alpine A290 has proven it can go toe-to-toe in dynamic terms with the hot hatch benchmark, Volkswagen's Golf GTI Clubsport, but how does it fare against the best modern hot hatch of all? The FL5 Honda Civic Type R is in a league of its own in terms of driver engagement and while it might now have been discontinued, it remains unbeaten. We put the two head-to-head.
As is evident from the moment you jump into the Civic Type R, the Alpine has a tough task on its hands. The Honda is so polished and finely tuned, it plugs you into the driving experience in a way the Alpine doesn’t come close to matching. Its engine and manual gearbox give it a natural advantage over the Alpine in terms of involvement, but that’s only part of the story. The Type R’s true genius is in its attention to detail, and how its movements are almost perfectly precise and intuitive. The clarity and feel of the Type R’s steering make the A290 feel overly darty and synthetic; its suspension is more controlled and keyed into the surface, and the brake feel is as good as that of any car on sale, at any price. These elements make the Civic a joy at all speeds, and while they can theoretically be applied to an EV, not even the well-honed A290 has got there yet.
The Civic isn’t perfect however. Its 324bhp 2-litre turbocharged engine is revvy and responsive and comfortably outguns the A290, but there isn’t much depth or richness to the soundtrack. On a low-grip surface it’s trickier to drive on the edge, too. Where the Alpine feels playful, upright and on its toes, the Honda feels more serious and locked down, and the transition from grip to slip is more sudden. Particularly under power, where the Honda’s diff can lock up abruptly and spin both front wheels, spoiling your exit. You need a careful, precise touch to extract the best from it, but the Civic gives you all the tools and feedback you need to do so.
One of those tools is the superb manual gearbox. The accuracy and slickness of the throw mean you change gear as fast as you can move your hand, although – and this might sound like blasphemy – I’ve always felt the Type R’s shift could use a little more heft and mechanical feedback when slotting gears. Either way the gearbox is central to the Type R experience and makes you feel heroic when you grab a gear mid-corner at full chat, or execute a perfect downshift (even when it’s the computer rev-matching for you).
After being so busy and involved in the Type R, the A290 does feel a bit flat and one-dimensional. It nails the core tenets that make a good hot hatch, but you’re denied the points of interaction that make a truly great one. Is it even possible for an EV to reach those heights? Potentially. Imagine an A290 S or R, with Type R levels of feedback and control, perhaps a simulated gearshift system as found on Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N, and, importantly, much better range. That would go some way to bridging the gap. But, as it currently stands, petrol hot hatches are still king, and the Civic Type R is best of them all.
This story was first featured in evo issue 345.
