Can your smartphone help you become a better driver? Honda answers in the affirmative with its new LogR performance app for 2020 Civic Type R buyers. The app, which is available in both Apple iOS and Android formats, will sync with all 2020 Civic Type R models and monitor 15 different data points in an attempt to make performance drivers better at their craft.
The app (the announcement of which accompanied the reveal of the new 2021 Civic Type R Limited Edition) includes three primary functions. These include Performance Monitor, which gives real-time driving information through the Civic Type R’s central infotainment screen and is the way drivers interact with the app while behind the wheel. Log Mode records lap times at your favorite local track using GPS to record a start and finish point, while an Auto Score program monitors brake, throttle, and steering inputs that an algorithm translates into “driving smoothness” scores. Evaluation points include acceleration, straight-line driving, deceleration, turning and a composite of all of these. While third-party apps are available that accomplish some of these same functions in a universal format, Honda say the LogR app has unfettered access to the Civic Type R’s onboard computer, giving more information to this proprietary app than to others.
While using the app in-car, a limited amount of information is available through the car’s display. After driving is finished, the user can download various in-depth stats to the connected smartphone, getting a more complete picture of driving performance. As of now, the app won’t be retroactively compatible to previous Civic Type R models, so if you must have LogR, trading in your previous-model-year Civic Type R on a new 2020 car is your only bet.
