Honda Accord Type R

 Keen drivers wanting a healthy bang for their buck have for years sought solace in Type R Hondas, whether through the pumped-up kicks of the Integra Type Rs or the tantalisingly agile Honda Civic Type Rs, both of whose entertaining handling goes at least some way to making up for their occasional lack of subtlety and finesse.

If any of them can lay claim to being the sweet spot, though – the baby bear’s porridge in the history of the sporting Honda – it’s the Accord Type R, a four-door, five-seat thriller that combined terrific and immensely usable performance and real driving purity with a modicum of practicality and a hint of decorum and, dare one say it, even maturity.

For starters, what you got under the bonnet was a gem of an engine, a hand-finished, naturally aspirated 209bhp 2.2-litre VTEC DOHC inline four known as the HA27 and derived from the engine in the contemporary Prelude. It produced its maximum power at a tingly and sonorous 7200rpm and would happily rev on to 8000rpm. Remember, this low-friction beauty was ushered out of Honda’s portals at just the time (1998) when the Japanese firm was right at the top of its deeply impressive engine-making game.

Helped by a 57kg reduction over the standard Accord, thanks to the removal of some sound insulation and other superfluous bits of trim, among other things, performance was of the order of 7.2sec for the 0-60mph sprint and a 142mph top speed – more than enough to sock it to its contemporaries back in the day.

Power went to the front wheels through a super-slick five-speed gearbox and a trick Torsen limited-slip diff. If that engine was always a thing of sensual joy, so was the wrist-quick steering. Even the ride was both subtle and supple, being firm but never threatening, as it did in one or two of the older Civic Type Rs, to get out of control.