Acura’s Blast from the Past
With interest in ’80s and ’90s cars rising fast, the 2023 Acura Integra brings back a famous name in hopes of winning over a new generation.
Acura pulls a page from Hollywood’s playbook and reboots an old classic. The 2023 Integra marks the nameplate’s return to the lineup after more than 20 years. Though the reborn Integra looks more like the ILX sedan it informally replaces than a modern take on its namesake, the new entry-level Acura cribs its ethos from the three generations of Integras before it. Like its predecessors, the new Integra shares its underpinnings with the Honda Civic in a bid to meld the Civic’s engaging dynamics with the feature content of a more upscale vehicle.
Motivating the Integra is the Civic Si’s 200-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four. Whereas the
Honda is a stick-shift-only affair, the Acura offers the choice of either a six-speed manual (with limited-slip diff) or a continuously variable automatic. The Integra starts at $31,895, but the stick is only available in conjunction with the A-Spec and Technology packages, so the one you’ll really want costs $36,895.
Acura attempts to draw an even deeper line in the sand between the identically powered Integra and Civic Si by ditching the Honda’s trunk for a more functional and versatile hatchback. Although prior Integras were available with two doors, the new car comes strictly as a four-door—a nod to the first-generation Integra, which also offered a four-door hatch.
Acura reportedly plans to add to the Integra line, too, with a hotter Type S trim due to debut in the coming months. Look for the Integra Type S to build upon the performance of the Civic Type R and its turbocharged 2.0-liter four with more than 300 horsepower. Expect that engine to send its output to the front wheels of the Integra Type S by way of a six-speed manual transmission or possibly an optional dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Don’t rule out electrification, either. Honda may opt to further differentiate the Integra Type S from the Civic Type R by fitting the Acura with all-wheel drive courtesy of a rear-mounted electric motor (and associated battery pack) to complement the forced-induction four-cylinder driving the front wheels.