Car expert urges drivers to seek out ‘impressive’ hot hatchback that was once £25,000 – but is now an absolute bargain

A CAR expert has urged petrolheads to seek out a surprisingly affordable hot hatchback that once cost a pretty penny.

Motoring guru Shahzad Sheikh, who runs the YouTube channel the Brown Car Guy, specialises in bargain car recommendations - and recently he waxed lyrical about the much-loved Honda Civic Type R hot hatchback.

Talking up the Civic Type R, which has been produced since 1997 and has ran for six generations, he said: “I drove them here, there, on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates on some mountain roads - I had a whale of a time in them.

"The thing about Type Rs, as anyone who has a Honda and VTEC engines will know, is you have to rev the nuts off them.

“If you're below 6,000 to 7,000rpm, it'll just drive like a normal Civic, but once you get through that rev range, that's when you'll be impressed."

While the current generation Civic Type R - which was released in 2022 - is priced at over £48,000 from new, earlier models can be found for snip.

That includes the FN2 generation, which was built from 2007 to 2011 and boasts a 2.0-litre VTEC engine - capable of a top speed of 146 mph.

Despite costing around £25,000 when they were new, Shahzad said these can now be found for as little as £3,000 from specialist car dealerships.

Shahzad isn't the only fan of the little motor, as another YouTube motorhead - Jonny Brighton of Cars With JB - has also revealed himself as fan.

Jonny said: “In terms of value for money, size of aftermarket and capability from standard, there aren't many cars that are as solid as the Honda Civic Type R.”

He even believes the Japanese set of wheels has “future classic potential," which could mean they raise in value in years to come.

Meanwhile, a rival to the Civic Type R, the Suzuki Swift Sport, is set to be discontinued - along with three other Suzuki models - towards the end of 2024.

And a major car brand that makes UK best-seller could stop selling ALL of their petrol motors in just months.