Performance cars’ lovers of Quebec are certainly going through an emotional year that also brings up some tough questions: the 2017 Acura NSX and the Honda Civic Type R are both available in the province, the first at most Acura car dealers, the second one only at Lombardi Honda, your Honda Canada car dealer at Montreal, near both the North and the South shores. Without any further due and only with integrity concerns in mind, I have to declare that the 2017 NSX is objectively a faster car. However, I’d recommend to anyone who might ask to buy the Civic Type R, no matter what their budget is. Why? Read what follows.
The house versus the castle
Let’s go straight to the point, shall we: the NSX is different than the Type R in the same way that Harvard is a better university than UdeM or that a French castle is better than a house. On paper, the NSX simply gives more than the Civic (550 horsepower, 4 engines including 3 electrical, a revolutionary body, etc.), Harvard employs better-known professors than UdeM and a castle brings an historical value and more room than a house from Lachine, for example. However, many people (even wealthy individuals) would prefer to buy a house downtown and send their kids to UdeM for a very simple reason that can be summarized in a single word: the 2017 NSX is an overkill¸ even for a supercar.
When more is simply too much
Modern automotive engineering and technology allow for the manufacturing of cars like the NSX without no one ever asking “Why or for who?” With its turbocharged, 2-liter engine manufactured in the United States and delivering slightly more than 300 horsepower, its 6-speed manual transmission, its three mufflers, its seats inspired from race cars and its compact design, the Civic Type R can provide hours of responsible fun to drivers looking for performance. The NSX is basically a real racing car (it has a Track mode, as in “Race track”, it speaks for itself) sold to regular drivers that will get frustrated once they notice that they can’t use more than a quarter of their vehicle’s potential. If you think that you’ll one day be able to deploy the full 550 horsepower advertised on the specs sheet (and not by quickly upshifting after a quick start) you don’t know much about cars or it’s the last thing you’ll do in this life… Oh, did I mention that the NSX costs almost 200,000 $, which is more than 6 times the Civic Type R’s price? If its price still worries you, know that your car dealer offers personalized financing to your needs and even the 2nd and 3rd chance to credit.
Performance cars are made to have fun on the road. If most of a vehicle’s options and functionalities are not realistically usable… go for something safe, a Civic, and a Type R would be my recommendation. There is only one place to find them in Montreal, near both the North and the South shore: Lombardi Honda.