Honda Civic Mugen vs Honda Civic Mugen 200

Fifth Gear  Wednesday 14 July 2010

Mugen is the racing cousin of Honda and has been involved in tuning engines for nearly 40 years.

What are they?

Mugen is the racing cousin of Honda and has been involved in tuning engines for nearly 40 years. Despite the different name, the two companies are closely linked. Mugen was actually established by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of the Japanese manufacturer’s founder.

After forays into Formula 1 at the end of the last century, the company has settled into projects such as Formula 3, GT racing and producing insane consumer cars such as this – the Honda Civic Type R Mugen.

And the Civic really does get the full Mugen treatment. It gets new camshafts and air intakes, new pistons, a custom stainless steel exhaust system and a bespoke engine control unit (ECU) remap to make the most of the modifications. It also gets a limited slip differential, bespoke brake callipers, lightweight alloy wheels (32 per cent lighter than the standard rims), a MASSIVE rear spoiler, a special front grille and lots of little Mugen badges.

All this means the car gets 20 per cent more power and 10 per cent more torque than the standard Type R, plus the ability to deal with it. Well, the badges don’t help; they’re just there to look cool.

But as there are just 20 of these Mugen powerhouses destined for the UK, Honda has decided to make a not-so-limited edition based on the standard Type R. Called the Honda Civic Type R Mugen 200, there are – you guessed it – 200 due for production rather than 20, and they offer a little bit of the Mugen experience without the power and the price. You get the limited slip differential, a bit of the bodykit and styling, and a light sprinkling of Mugen badges.

The price is the highlight here – the 200 will set you back £24,370, while the full-blooded Mugen will cost over £14,000 more at £38,599. And that’s before you start adding on the options.

What are they like?

While the Mugen 200 is essentially just the Civic Type R we have come to love over the years, with its stiff ride, never-ending rev range and crisp gearchange, the Mugen really does feel like a full-blooded race-track toy. The statistical claims of more power and torque are easy to believe out on the road.

The standard car is already brisk to 62mph, taking just 6.6 seconds, but there is no official time for the tricked-up car due to its low volume of production. Expect it to be at least half a second quicker though, and one you factor in elements like the raucous exhaust note, it really does feel it. The noise the Mugen emits is particularly addictive; nothing with only four cylinders should sound this good going under bridges and through underground carparks.

The ridiculously stiff suspension setup helps the impression of speed too. Even when pootling around in an urban environment, the Mugen feels like it is crouching down like an excited puppy, looking for the chance to show off how quick it is over short distances. Happen on the right stretch of road and the car sizzles with potential. The speed that can be carried through bends is astonishing, and despite its front-wheel drive handicap, the Mugen’s turn in is pretty much unparalleled in the world of hot hatchbacks.

But like the puppy, the car’s endearing features can only be considered next to the day to day realities. The constant jolting does become an irritation when you are going about your daily life and this is certainly not a car to pop to the shops in. Normally the same could be said of the Mugen 200, but in comparison to its exclusive sibling it feels soft and spongy.

Actually, that is rubbish – no Type R could ever be described as soft, but the comparative comfort of the 200 really does underline just how insane the Mugen is. The car may not be able to compete in terms of straight line speed but it still has that mechanical limited slip differential and enough talent to put a smile on your face without leaving quite such a dent in your wallet.

Which should you buy?

On the surface this should be a simple equation – if you want a car for occasional playtime that your gran will disapprove of but still get into, then pick the 200. If you have a bigger budget and only really intend to drive the car to and from track days, try and find a way of getting into a Mugen.

But it isn’t, and the problem comes with the interior. Despite a colossal difference in price the two cars are just too similar to sit in.To get that pared-down racer feel that would have made the Mugen special, we would have preferred to have seen the back seats taken over by a big roll cage, and to have had bespoke buckets in place of front seats. The company offers a ‘Track Pack’ that does this, but it’ll charge you more than £6,000 for the pleasure, taking the total cost of the car close to £45,000. This makes the Mugen a very expensive prospect indeed.

We really would hesitate at recommending that kind of investment in a hot hatch, even if the Mugen’s rarity does make it almost immune to a criticism of its price tag. Honda reckons that a racing Type R would normally cost you around £165,000 plus VAT so it’s possible to argue you are getting a lot of bang for your buck, but the car’s ultra-low volume will guarantee sales anyway.

With car companies increasingly bound by legislation and environmental targets we couldn’t be happier that a mainstream manufacturer like Honda has delivered such insanity to the road, but the Mugen’s dynamic excellence is slightly tarnished by its curious lack of that special something and the sheer strength of its cheaper sibling.