i can't resist any longer, i've gotta put my bit in here. the vtec kick in a CTR is 100% without doubt, unquestionably more prominent than in a clio. FACT. for those who don't think so, maybe they've been in one that was either not warmed up, low on oil, or just shagged.
my car has k-pro and although now the power delivery is a lot smoother and the vtec less aggresive, it is still more of a kick than any 172/182 i've driven. there is a little trick to it though. on a standard engine the vtec kicks in at around 5800rpm. however just before this the torque drops off rapidly as the low profile cam starts to reach the end of it's run. so what you feel is a rapid drop and then rise in torque, hence the kick. then straight after that the torque dies away too on the high cam and it's just power all the way to 8k+ rpm. these engines aren't great in the torque department as we all know. they make peak torque at a high rpm and only stay at peak for a short period of time. the real beauty of these engines is there ability to rev freely and hence keep it in the power band when you want to really push on.
anyway theres definitley more kick but unfortunately itsfelt more because the torque actually drops before it rises again so it's kind of a false feeling. if you don't get what i mean seek out a dyno graph of a standard k20a2 engine.