Acura understood the assignment. The 2023 Acura Integra is here, and it’s exactly what it should be. It’s a handsome, sporty compact sedan tuned for sporty driving at legal speeds, dressed up for a big meeting.
The Integra Has a History
A refresher, in case the 1990s weren’t big in your life:
When Honda introduced its Acura luxury brand, its signature product was a sporty compact car called the Integra. From 1986 to 2001, the car was largely responsible for sculpting Acura’s image in the U.S. It was fun-to-drive and carried affordable versions of the latest tech. Its price hovered near the low end of the luxury market. And Americans bought as many as Acura could make.
The car was, at heart, a Honda Civic. It rode on the same platform, used versions of the same engine and transmission tuned for performance, and most years, came in two- or four-door versions with a hatchback.
Integras were among the favorite cars of driving enthusiasts because they were practical enough to serve as daily commuters but fun enough to make the most of a curvy road.
The Acura name came to suggest a touch of luxury but with a pulse. Sleepy Lexus was for drivers who hated the drive and wanted to be isolated from it. Acura was for drivers who looked forward to time behind the wheel. And the Integra was the most accessible Acura.
Back After Many Years Off
For 2023, it returns. We’ve seen hints of the car for months, but today Acura has revealed everything but the price (we expect it to be in the low $30,000 range).
Once again, it’s essentially a sportier Civic. Honda already makes those — there’s a sport-tuned Civic Si, and we expect an even quicker Civic Type R later this year. But this one carries Acura prestige and wears a boardroom suit in a way a Honda product can only aspire to.
The 2023 Acura Integra shares the all-new 2022 Civic’s proportions. But it wraps them in stylish Acura tailoring. Three character lines leading to the five-sided grille give it a sharp-nosed look. Crisp diagonals rising up the door line seem to ricochet off the bulging rear fenders. It might be the best-looking iteration of Acura’s current design scheme.
200 HP, But Get the A-Spec for Real Performance
The Integra rides on the Civic’s chassis and is powered by a tuned version of the 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine found in the Civic Si. Here, the mill is good for 200 horsepower. A continuously-variable transmission (CVT) is standard across the line. That move is sure to disappoint long-time fans, as CVTs don’t have a great reputation with enthusiasts. But this one is programmed to simulate shifts and even has paddle shifters should you want to simulate your own.
A top-of-the-line A-Spec model, however, comes only with a 6-speed manual transmission. So there is a 3-pedal Integra, as there always must be. It will just likely be costly. The A-Spec also gets a limited-slip differential for quicker turn-in.
The Integra’s suspension includes active dampers — something you can’t get on any current 2022 Civic (unless Honda surprises us by putting them in the Type R). They have three settings — Comfort, Normal, and Sport.
Another setting — driving modes — adjusts throttle response, transmission mapping, and steering feel. In Sport, it even changes the color of the driver’s gauges. A-Spec buyers can create their own custom modes.
Civic-Derived Cabin
Inside, it’s obvious Acura designers have done their best to dress up a Civic. The same touchscreen (7 inches standard, 9 optional) stands vertically up from the dash and looks as though it should retract into it (it doesn’t). The three climate control dials below it are cribbed directly from the Honda. The steering wheel appears identical, with the Acura A in place of the Honda H.
But that’s precisely what the Integra should be. Going back to 1986, the Integra has always been an athletic Civic with a new corner office to drive to. That formula was beloved in earlier generations. As long as Acura can keep the price down, there’s no reason it won’t be again.
