People love complaining on the internet, which is why I’ve got no doubt in my mind that you’ll all take great exception to the starting price of the 2026 Honda Civic Type R. I’m sure you’ll ignore the facts that we’re lucky to get it at all since it has been discontinued in Europe due to emissions regulations or that the average price of a new car is just about as high as its even been or that President Trump’s 15% tariff on Japanese-made cars is was always going to raise prices even further. You’re just here to be mad that the 2026 Civic Type R now starts at $48,090.
I know that’s not an insignificant amount of money by any stretch of the imagination, but let’s put it into perspective before you freak out too much. That price is just $1,000 more than it was in 2025, and it works out to be a little bit over $4,000 more than when the car first went on sale in the U.S. in October 2022. Looking at inflation numbers, the 2026 price is roughly in line with where it was back then.
The world is getting more expensive, and the Civic Type R is following suit.
What’s changed
Right now, it’s hard to say what — if anything — has changed between the 2025 and 2026 Civic Type R to help justify the $1,000 price increase. Of course, there’s now a 15% tariff to contend with, and it seems that Honda is eating most of that cost for now. But, other than that, it doesn’t seem like there are many substantive changes between the two model years.
Honda’s press release about the 2026 Civic Type R couldn’t be any more bare bones if it tried. It’s just a short, half-page release showing what transmission it has, the MSRP, the destination charge and the Type R’s EPA-rated fuel economy (22 city, 28 highway, 24 combined).
I suppose more information could be coming down the pipeline. The run-of-the-mill Civic and Civic Si both received refreshes inside and out for the 2025 model year — along with a brilliant new hybrid powertrain — but the Type R never got any of the technological or cosmetic changes those cars got. If I were a betting man, I’d say the Type R would pretty much remain exactly the same for 2026. It’s a low-volume vehicle, and Honda doesn’t want to mess with a good thing.
Similarly, the 2026 Integra Type S didn’t get any of the updates the regular Integra got for its mid-cycle refresh, but its price also increased a bit. For ’26, the ITS starts at $54,695, which makes the CTR a $6,605 cheaper proposition.
Please, please don’t let the Civic Type R’s price get to you too much. I know $48,090 is a lot of money for a car that started out as a Civic, but life is far too short to get mad on the internet about it. Focus your energy on more positive things, like, well, I don’t know. It’s bleak out there. Screw it. Complain about the Civic’s price. It’ll feel cathartic to complain about something that is so low stakes.
