Nope a Type R is very good from the factory. Wanting and needing to modify a car are two different things. The civic is 200bhp, decent weight and handles ok standard.
My 03' Civic was fcuking awful. As for 197bhp, it was at the flywheel, and once the gearbox had chewed 30-35bhp off of it and the complete lack of torque, it was rubbish!
Handling in the wet, don't get me started.