Paul Maric of CarAdvice.com.au, a stellar online blog covering the Australian motoring industry has had the joy of taking The Stig’s favourite hot hatch for a spin around the block to gain some practical insight on the latest European built import, Honda’s Civic Type-R.

First impressions are very positive with a full report available @ CarAdvice. As with all hot hatches reaching the Australia shores (generally in small quantities), the Civic Type-R is going to sell quickly with it’s uniquely modern styling and pricing that slides right in with the competition, namely the Golf GTI, Mazda 3 MPS, Ford XR5 Turbo & HSV VXR.

Autocar.co.uk recently completed a super road test for the hot hatch class of 2007. This class included offerings from Honda, RenaultSport, Ford, Mazda, Seat, VW, Vauxhal, Mini, Fiat, Peugeot and Audi.

A solid viewing although unfortunately the 6:20 seconds doesn’t provide the time for further insight which I’m sure we all would have appreciated.