Acura set for Integra rollout, next generation compact sport car

Acura is doing great things and it is beginning to show with its dashing products, the latest being the Integra, 2023 edition.

The 2023 Acura Integra is now production-ready and should hit local dealers soon, the automaker has said.

This is coming barely four months after it was unveiled as a concept car and described as the beginning of the next generation of compact sport car.

Auto analysts say Honda and Acura have moved away from the bold and unlikely concept-car model and have instead shown off their upcoming cars with relatively realistic prototypes.

For instance, caranddriver.com says if you’re looking for a throwback, you won’t find it in the 2023 model.

“We didn’t want to make a retro car,” says Acura senior product planner Jonathon Rivers, adding, “We wanted to imagine the Integra had never left the lineup. Where would it be as a modern version?”

Rivers says that he sees Integra not as a competitor to Civic, but as the next step up in features and technology from the Civic Si.

“There isn’t a single panel of sheet metal shared between Civic and Integra, and there are options available on Integra that you can’t even get on Civic Si,” he says, pointing to the 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster inside, the heated seats with memory function, and the ELS 12-speaker audio system.

Exterior

Integra is more dramatic than either the Civic or the outgoing ILX, says caranddriver.com in its review, especially with a sharp mohawk of a hood line and a narrow row of LED headlights accented by a slash of running lights Acura calls the Chicane.

The sharp kink of the lights is a repeated element down the side of the car, where body lines run at an angle before kicking up into the rear wheel well and quarter window, giving the Integra a raked look.

The front end features an embossed Integra logo beneath the headlights as a nod to the popular third-gen models, and one might make the argument that the multi-bulb lights themselves harken back to the four-headlight “spider-eyes” of 1994’s redesign.

But the rear angle is probably the closest to a historical feature, with a long rear window and a decklid that ducks down between the taillights.

Interior

Inside, the Integra is spacious and pleasant to touch. The layout is similar to the Civic’s, with a wide console housing the shifter and storage leading up to a dash-mounted touchscreen.

But the dash in the Integra is terraced for more visual interest, and the mesh trim inserts are a diamond pattern rather than the honeycomb found in the Honda. While the A-Spec package primarily includes exterior changes such as gloss-black window trim and 18-inch alloy wheels, the technology package adds in a wireless charge pad, ambient lighting, and a 9.0-inch touchscreen to replace the base 7.0-inch screen.

It also boasts wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Standard heated front seats are eight-way adjustable and apparently are focused to help stabilize the driver.

The rear seats fold flat to help squeeze large items into the cargo area if you need the extra space.

Engine

Powering the Integra is the 1.5-litre turbocharged I4 that makes 200 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque. Those number will rise when more potent variants hit the street, but this is right in line with the more pedestrian Honda Civic Si.

This engine mates to either a continuously variable transmission or a six-speed manual, which should be good news for Integra fans.

Underneath the body, people will find a set of MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link suspension controlling the rear wheels.

Adaptive dampers are available if you want more control over the suspension. Steering is predictably electrically assisted, but Acura promises a variable steering ratio that also changes its feel relative to one of its three drive modes: comfort, normal, and sport.

Official pricing is still to be determined, but Acura claims the Integra’s going to start around $30,000 when it launches in spring.