FIGURES just in reveal that Honda's Civic Type R is the biggest-selling 3-door hot hatch in the UK.
From its launch in March ’07 to the end of February, a total of 5,192 customers got hold of the keys to a Type R, making it Britain’s most popular performance hatchback.
And here's how Honda did it:
In response to previous Type R customers’ pleas for a more refined, high specification cabin, Honda introduced the GT grade – a huge 90 per cent of customers opt for this more comfortable, better-equipped Civic
In contrast, Honda has sold just one of the stripped-down, lightweight Type Rs (with no parcel shelf, stereo equipment or audio speakers)
The current residual value for the Civic Type R GT is at 52 per cent (3 years / 60,000 miles) which compares favourably with both the Focus ST (40 per cent) and Golf GTI (43 per cent)
58 per cent of 3-door Civic sales are to conquest customers
During 2007, the Civic Type R won Top Gear magazine’s Hot Hatch of the Year and scooped the same award in Auto Express’s New Car Honours.
