Forza2 British GT Championship

Last month, Honda invited me to a day at the Turnberry Hotel (at Turnberry golf course where they are going to hold the Open), trying their range of cars. Naturally, I accepted, and yesterday Gary and I got to play with some of Honda's range.

We were allowed a window of 2 hours between 2pm and 4pm, which the awesome event staff allowed us to stretch by about an hour and a half on either side. We handed in our licenses and we could jump in any car we wanted.

We picked a pair of Civic Type S first, I had the 2.2 turbo-diesel, and Gary had the 1.8 petrol. We bombed along the coast roads in blazing sunshine in a pair of cars that had done less than 1000 miles each, and at one point it actually felt like we were playing Forza with our pair of Civics.

After 40 minutes in them, we headed back and jumped in a red Civic Type-R. Haven't had so much fun in a car in ages, and I don't think I got it out of 3rd at any point. We headed north along the coast back to Ayr with it, testing the VVTi engine to the limit (and on a few occasions putting the excellent brakes to use).

After we took that back to the hotel, we jumped in the Civic Type S' again, this time switching cars, and headed out for a bit of fun with them. TBH, it really made me want one. I liked the Type-R, but i think it would be too much for everyday use. And I was quite taken by the CDTi turbo-diesel Type S. I think I want one.

After that we jumped in a new Honda Accord 2.2 automatic. I don't normally like autos, but this one had a flappy paddle sports gearbox which was just so much fun. A smooth ride, great interior, and dropping it two gears into second with the paddleshift and nailing a couple of Fords was just too much fun.

When we got back to the hotel, the Honda guys said we could get the next S2000 that came in, so while we waited we jumped in the F1 simulator they had. We had three laps to set the fastest time of the day. I set 2nd best, just 8 tenths of a second behind the first place guy, and Gary set the third. All that Forza practice paid off!

When Gary had finished, a red S2000 pulled in, so we jumped in and headed off. What a car. With the roof down I expected to be cold and deafened, I'd never been in a convertible before. It was great, and again we pushed the VVTi engine hard, before it started to rain. We stopped, stuck the hood up, and headed back to the hotel a bit more carefully on a damp, twisty road in a RWD car!

All in all, I gotta thank Honda for a great day, and if they come near you look out for them - they are touring the country, but it is invite only, so try and knock them up for one. It's much more fun when it's not your petrol or tyres!

Sounds great !

So the Honda diesel engine really is different from a TDi in both sound and feel