Don't Spend $47,045 On A 2025 Honda Civic Type R, Do This Instead...

How do we feel about the Honda Civic Type R?

Well, we like it enough to call it the “world’s best performance front-wheel-drive car” while espousing its good looks, refined interior, and, as we put it, “sparkling personality.”

To put it mildly, we’re big fans. The Honda Civic Type R is a near-perfect blend of performance and functionality, and we can hardly fault anyone who chooses to park one in their driveway for use as a fun and useful daily driver, or even as a track-day weapon to improve their driving skills at speed. But… It's kinda pricey. When we compared it with the Toyota GR Corolla, which is another beastly little machine that we love, we pointed a finger at the price disparity between the two Japanese compact cars. Today, the 2025 GR Corolla starts at $40,055 in the United States. The Civic Type R costs $47,045 (both including destination). You can do a lot with seven grand.

And so that leads us to this article. As much as we love the Civic Type R, and we certainly do love it a lot, we’re also not blind to all the strong performance bargains that can be found on the used car market. As we always do when we consider these exercises, we’ve limited our picks to cars sold within the last few years and with no more than the average of 12,000 miles per year on their odometers.

Option 1: Acura Integra Type S

As you’re likely painfully aware, almost all new cars lose a big portion of their initial value the minute they are driven off the lot. While that’s unfortunate for the car’s first buyer, it’s a benefit to the second. Which brings us to the Acura Integra Type S. The 2025 Integra Type S starts at $54,095. But a lightly used Type S with 10,000 to 20,000 miles on the odometer can be found, with a little bit of internet sleuthing, for the same price as a new Civic Type R.

Magazine editors and buyers have been comparing the two Japanese compacts for as long as they have occupied space on the same roadways (which, actually, hasn’t been that long). Opinions are divided on which is more desirable, since both use similar powertrains (315 horsepower for the Honda, 320 hp for the Acura), both feature brilliantly slick manual transmissions, and both deftly send their ponies to the front wheels, but either way, this is a seriously good platform for performance. The fact that the more comfortable, less ostentatious and therefore more grown-up Acura costs the same (or less) if you’re willing to look at a lightly pre-owned sample makes the decision that much harder.

Option 2: Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

Okay, let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that rear-wheel drive is superior to front-wheel drive when it comes time to put power to the ground. Because, well, it simply is. If rear-wheel drive is what you’re looking for, and you’re in the market for a seriously fun car to drive, we’d like to direct your attention toward the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and the 472 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque it offers courtesy of its 3.6-liter turbocharged V6 engine.

With the CT4-V Blackwing’s magnetic ride control suspension and electronic limited slip differential, both of which come standard, this is a lovely machine on the road and on race tracks. Choose a manual or, if you must, a 10-speed automatic transmission, and enjoy the fruits of Caddy’s labor of love. While there are dozens of CT4-V Blackwings for sale around the same price as the Honda Civic Type R, they are mostly 2022 models, which means you’ll have to be willing to settle for something that’s been on the road for a while. But we promise, you won’t regret it.

Option 3: Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

It’s certainly not for everyone, but for people who absolutely love the joy of driving more than anything else, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio may be the single most rewarding high-performance sport sedan on the market today. Its 2.9-liter turbocharged V6 engine is derived from a powerplant that originally powered Ferraris. It spins out 505 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, all of which are sent to the rear wheels.

Although the Quadrifoglio can do 0-60 in less than four seconds and has a top speed of 191 miles per hour, this really isn’t a car that’s defined by numbers. You have to drive the top-performing Giulia to really understand it.

But let’s be honest here. Nobody should expect Honda-level reliability from an Alfa Romeo. If maintenance requirements and the occasional quirk aren’t deal breakers, a sport sedan of this magnitude for less than $50,000 is almost unfathomable. We actually found a handful with high miles for less than $30,000 and some nice 2019s for less than $40,000, but in keeping with the theme of lightly used options, a solid low-mileage Giulia Quadrifoglio from 2022 should fall right in line with the starting price of the 2025 Honda Civic Type R.

Why Not Just Buy a Honda Civic Type R?

The only thing wrong with the Honda Civic Type R is that it’s awfully expensive. We aren’t going to say it’s a bad deal, exactly, but for nearly $50,000—which, again, is $7,000 more than a brand-new Toyota GR Corolla—there are a whole lot of cars that we love and believe are worth considering as alternatives. Only a small subset of enthusiasts may consider something as exotic and potentially cantankerous as a Quadrifoglio (extended warranty, anyone?), but we have high confidence that an Integra Type S or CT4-V Blackwing will prove to be a reliable and exciting option for a similar price.

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