Theturbo-era for Honda road cars has begun. We had a quick blast in thenew Honda Civic Type Rat Killarney and then headed out on the back roads of Cape Town to get a feel for the Japanese marque'shothatch.

Honda lingeredon the peripheryof the hot hatch battle for a while. Whereasmost manufacturers wentthe 2.0-litre turbochargedroute and delivered power outputs above the 200 kW mark,Honda persisted withnatural aspiration and VTEC power.However, the Type R was outmatched and left to competewith lesser, let's say "warm" hatchbacks.

Thankfully, we can now happily place Honda amongthe very best of the hot hatch motley crew. It’s turbocharged, has some very trick suspension and a track-special +R mode.

Competes on power

Hot hatchesproducealmost-unbelievablepower outputs these days. Theyrange from about 160 kW to over 250 kW. The Honda Civic Type R sits at the upper end of the scale with 228 kW and 400 Nm, all going directly to the front wheels. Honda has adaptedits VTECvalve lift system so that the engine provides lower-end grunt, which makes"turbo lag lessnoticeable" and "eliminates theneed to use a fancy (and expensive) twin-scroll turbo".

Power delivery is, surprisingly, unexciting, but smooth right up until the F1-style shift lights climb into the red zone. I say unexciting because typically, in a front-wheel drive hot hatch you’re constantly fighting the steering wheel for control of the torque steer. Civic Type R has a lot less torque steer than its competitors and all you need to do is hold a firm grip on the wheel and it accelerates almostperfectly in a straight line. The claimed0-100 kph time of 5.7 seconds confirms that the Honda'salso quitequick off the mark.

A video posted by Ashley Oldfield (@ashleyoldfield) on Jan 26, 2016 at 8:36pm PST

Competes on track

We had a chance to do some quick laps of (an edited version of)Killarney raceway. Bus-stop style chicanes had been added down a few of the straights to make the track's layout more interesting – with success. The Type R is really honed for track use and the most notable reason forthat is itslimited slip differential. You can really feel the front end being drawnto the apex as you feed in the power with your right foot. The Type R looks quite bulky with all its aero-optimisedpieces and wings, but its weight has been kept down to 1 300 kg.

It’s nimble on track and changes direction with alacrity at thewhip of the Honda's steering wheel. Hit the racetrack-specific +R button and the whole dash and instrument cluster is illuminated inred. In this mode, the ECU is mapped specificallyfor the track, dampers stiffen up by 30%, the steering is sharpened and the stability control is tailored for track use. It makes the Type R surgically accurate —and simultaneously brutal —to lash around a circuit.

Competes on spec

The Civic Type R is the halo model for Honda South Africa.It’s got dual-zone climate control inside, snug-fitting red bucket race seats, a short-throw manual gearbox, front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights and a touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, USB, Aux and HDMI inputs. The touchscreen has MirrorLink for connectivity with Smartphones, but feels quite outdated compared to some of the systems available from other manufacturers.

Competes on price?

Thanks to the Rand's weakexchange rate, the Type R is not cheap. Nor is it even affordable. It costsR586400. That’s up there with the BMW M235i and nearly R50k more than a VW Golf R. If you’re looking for lap times though, the Type R claims to trounce them both. The Type R is also the first new car to benefit from Honda’s new 5-year/200 000km warranty. All new Hondas come with this warranty and current owners have the option to upgrade at a cost.

Better thanthe Renault Megane RS275 Trophy?

The Megane RS275 Trophy has been thehot hatch segmentmegastar for some time. The Renault'sability to lap circuits and handle unlike any other front-wheel driven car on the planet has made it the ultimate track day car for hot hatchers. The Type R is here to take its crown, however. It’s tough to judge the two cars without a back to back comparison, but the Honda might just be the faster track car of the two. It seems to be better at changing direction and benefits from the extra power with more punch out of corners. The specially designed 19-inch Continental tyres do a sterling job of clawing onto the tarmac and never releasing their grip.

It would be a tough one to call without putting them back-to-back on track, but instinctively I think the Type R feels the faster car. And, given its price tag, it ought to be.