The 2023 Acura Integra Is the Return of a Legendary Car

This is the new 2023 Acura Integra. There's a sentence I never thought I would say. The Integra was popular in Acura's lineup throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, but it went away in the early 2000s as Acura tried to become more of a luxury-oriented brand. Well, now it's back. The Integra is returning for 2023, and today I'm gonna take you on a thorough tour of it. Before I get started, be sure to check out Cars & Bids, which is my enthusiast car auction website for cool cars from the modern era, now with free listings. You can list your cool car for free and auction it on Cars & Bids. And you should, because we've had some fantastic sales recently on Cars & Bids, including this BMW M3 in gorgeous signal green that sold for just under $66,000, this Tesla Roadster, the old-school model that sold for just under $79,000, and this Ford Bronco, fantastically upgraded, that brought $60,000. If you're looking to buy or sell a cool enthusiast car from the modern era, Cars & Bids is the place to do it with daily auctions and great selection at CarsAndBids.com. So let's talk Integra. The Integra will be the entry-level model in Acura's lineup, replacing the compact ILX sedan. It comes standard with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the same one that's in the new Honda Civic Si. And the Integra will be offered with an automatic or available manual transmission. Yes, that's right. A manual transmission Acura Integra is back in Acura's lineup, and it should come out later this spring. And while I can't drive the new Integra just yet, today I'm gonna take you on a thorough tour of its quirks and features. All right, I'm gonna start my tour of the new Integra and its quirks and features with the powertrain. Up here, you'll find a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes about 200 horsepower. Now, this is the same powertrain from the new Honda Civic Si. Same displacement, same horsepower, but don't go thinking that the new Integra is just a rebadged Civic Si. A Civic Si with an Acura logo slapped on the front and back. There are actually quite a few changes, and one of them is you can get the new Integra with an automatic transmission. In fact, it comes standard with an automatic. It's a CVT automatic, and if you want a manual transmission, you can get one in the new Integra, but you have to upgrade to a higher version, the A-spec model, and you gotta get the technology package that goes along with that just to get the manual transmission. Now, if you do get the manual, you also get rev matching, which is very nice, and a limited-slip differential. So there are some real performance benefits to the manual, but you can also get this with an automatic, which isn't possible in the Civic Si, and it makes sense for a more luxurified vehicle, an Acura, to offer an automatic as well. So that's one big change over the Civic. And next up, another big difference between the new Integra and the Civic Si is around back. This is a hatchback, whereas the Civic Si is only offered as a sedan. Now, that's been kind of controversial because a lot of small, sporty, compact cars are hatchbacks. The Volkswagen GTI and Golf R, the Ford Focus ST and Fiesta ST when they're on sale, the Hyundai Veloster N, they're all hatchbacks, but the Civic Si is sedan only, even though there is a Honda Civic hatchback model. Well, now you can get the Civic Si powertrain with a hatchback in the Integra. It's a four-door hatch, as you can see. No plans for a two-door or for a sedan. This is the only way the Integra comes as a hatchback, adding some practicality. And another distinction with the new Integra compared to the Civic, this car is about five inches longer than the Civic hatchback, which is a pretty good amount, and it means more interior space and cargo space in the Acura version compared to the Honda. But to me, some of the more noteworthy changes between the Civic Si and the Integra come on the inside, where you just have a lot more equipment in the Acura. I recently reviewed the new Civic Si, and in that review, I complained about a lot of features that I thought were missing. And a lot of the commenters agreed with me, and they were surprised that Honda seemed like they decontented the car and just didn't include enough stuff. Well, the Integra has it all. I complained in the Civic that there was no wireless cell phone charger. Well, the Integra has it. Here it is right where you'd expect it, a wireless charger. I complained that the Civic Si didn't have heated seats. Well, guess what? The Integra has it. Heated seats right here. You turn them on and warm your butt. I complained that the Civic didn't have power seats. Well, the Integra has it. A power driver's seat is standard in this car, and if you upgrade to the A-spec model with the technology package, you get a power passenger seat too, and more power options for the driver's seat, and memory controls for the driver's seat, which you don't often see at this price point, and you don't have on the Civic Si. Another complaint I had with the Civic Si, no dual-zone climate control. Well, guess what? The Integra has it. Dual-zone, driver and passenger can control their own temperatures. And here, not possible in the Civic. And in fact, the Civic Si doesn't even have this sunglasses holder mounted on the ceiling, where you can stick your sunglasses while you drive, which is in the Integra. It's amazing what was kind of cut out of the Civic Si compared to this car. And you might be wondering, was that intentional? Did Honda intentionally kind of handicap the Civic Si in order to give this car some more room to add these features back and seem like the luxury model? I asked that exact question to the Acura people, and they told me that wasn't the intent, that wasn't the plan. They just kind of developed both cars for how they were supposed to be, and this is where they ended up. But I personally have my doubts. I think they really wanted to make sure there was enough separation between the two cars, so the Acura got some of the luxury features that are notably absent on the Civic Si. When you look at this car, it's basically a Civic Si, except with a more practical body style in the hatchback, and with extra room, more interior space and cargo space compared to the Honda, plus it has more equipment and features, and it has an available automatic transmission that you can't get in the Civic Si. In fact, it seems like a Civic Si just upgraded and better in every way. But of course, those upgrades to the new Integra compared to the Civic Si, plus the cachet of the luxury Acura brand, all that stuff comes at a price increase compared to the Honda. Civic Si starts around $28,000 with shipping. Now, Acura hasn't announced full pricing for the new Integra yet, but they've said expect it to start in the low $30,000 range, right around 30 grand. So figure this will be about $2,000 to $3,000 more than a base level Civic Si. Now, if you wanna upgrade to the top spec Integra model, the A-spec with the technology package, Acura says that's in the mid $30,000 range. And keep in mind, that's the only way you can get a manual transmission in this car. You have to get the A-spec, you have to get the tech package, and only then can you get a manual. And I suspect that decision was intentional in order to create room between the Civic Si and a manual Integra. There's maybe seven, $8,000 in price difference there, which I think they did because otherwise, pretty much everybody would just go with the Integra since it seems so much better on paper. And one other neat benefit the Integra has compared to the Civic Si, the Integra is not considerably heavier. Acura hasn't said exact weight numbers yet, but they told me that the Integra is not hugely heavier than a Civic Si, not 500 or 800 pounds, but maybe the weight of a passenger. So you get a larger car, more interior space, more equipment, and you don't really pay a weight penalty, which means performance shouldn't really suffer either. But anyway, since we're talking Integra versus Civic Si, it's also important to point out that this car isn't just a Civic Si in terms of styling either. Acura is quick to point out to me, every single body panel of this car is different compared to a Civic or a Civic Si. I think that's a good thing. The latest Civic hatchback is a little odd looking, if you ask me, kind of an abrupt rear end, not exactly the most beautiful car. This certainly has a more premium upscale look like you might expect from the Acura brand. And there are some quirks and features worth pointing out, including a few details that recall the old Integra. For instance, in the front bumper here, you can see Integra is actually stamped into the bumper, which looks very cool. And which was kind of a hallmark of the third generation and the best known version of the Integra, the one made in the mid and late nineties, kind of cool to see. You also have that same stamping on the rear bumper. You can see it here and you don't have badging back here, no chrome Integra badge across the back or in the front. It's just that stamping in the bumper, letting people know that this is the Integra. Now that bumper stamping has been widely discussed as a cool throwback to the old school Integra, but here's another quirky throwback that I haven't heard anyone mention, and that would be the cutout for the tailgate handle, cut out into the bumper right here. And that's exactly how they did it in the old Integra. It's also how they did it in the RSX. Not too many automakers do this anymore, like a cutout in the bumper for the tailgate handle, but Acura put it in this car as a very car geeky throwback to the old models. Not too many people will notice, but if you're into these cars, you will remember that detail. But anyway, on to the other quirks and features on the outside of this car, beyond like throwbacks to the old Integra. One is the grill. Acura tells me this is the first model they have that wears a frameless grill, and it looks kind of cool with these diamonds in the center and the Acura logo in the very front, like leading everything forward. It's kind of a neat look. Now, another interesting Easter egg on the outside of this car, if you look into the headlights, you can see the word Acura printed right there, sort of the base of the headlight and directly above the Integra stamping on the bumper. So it actually says Acura Integra if you look very closely. And that's the same deal with the taillights. Again, you have Acura printed in sort of the base of the taillights if you look really closely, and then Integra is nearby to tell you what you're seeing. Kind of unorthodox badging, but it's what they got. Now, this particular Integra is the A-spec model. There's a base version called just the Integra, and then there's the A-spec, which is like a sporty styling package. And going along with that styling package, there are quite a few upgrades, including a few upfront. For one, this lower grill is trimmed in black, which looks nice and sporty, especially compared to chrome. You also have fog lights up here, which are an addition of the A-spec package and give the car a more aggressive look in the front. Now, for a few other A-spec changes, we move on to the side where you can see the molding around the windows is in black instead of chrome. Again, this is sort of a sporty upgrade going along with the A-spec to give the car a more performancey look. You also have A-spec badging. You can see it on the sides and the fender, you have an A-spec badge. Of course, that's repeated on the other fender as well. And you also have an A-spec badge in back to let everybody know that you have the sporty one, or at least the sporty looking one. Now, this particular car has some other upgrades beyond what you get in the standard A-spec trim level. Some sportier touches that Acura tells me are available as dealer installed accessories. One such upgrade is the wheels. The Integra comes standard with 17s. The A-spec adds 18s. These are optional accessory 19-inch wheels, which look pretty good on this car. Also available will be an accessory 19-inch matte black wheel as well. Other accessories include this little black strip on the side, this rocker panel strip to give the car a sportier look. You also have these carbon fiber mirror caps. They're available as an accessory. And this carbon fiber rear wing. The A-spec model comes standard with a rear wing, but the carbon fiber wing is an accessory extra. And same goes for this rear diffuser. The A-spec has a rear diffuser, but this one is a more aggressive option that will be available as an accessory if you want a sportier looking back of your new Integra. Now, with that said, one thing that isn't optional back here is the dual exhaust. All versions of the Integra, including the base model, the A-spec, whatever you want, have dual exhaust, which has sort of a sporty and cool performancey look in the back of this car. But anyway, next we move back inside the new Integra. There are some interesting quirks and features, starting with just getting in and the key. This car has two different keys depending on which transmission you get. If you get the automatic, you get this key, which is larger and has a remote starter button. If you get the manual, no remote starter. So you get this key, which is actually physically smaller. Rather than just make a blank button on the key, they make two separate keys, which is kind of nice attention to detail depending on which transmission you're getting. But anyway, next you climb inside. One thing you notice when you get in here is there are two screens, including a rather large screen in the gauge cluster. This is standard on all Integra models, which is kind of unusual at this price point. Around $30,000 is entry-level luxury cars. They usually have fixed gauges, but not here you get a screen. And the left part of this screen is configurable. So you can have that portion show various different items, depending on what you want to see. Now it can't give you like a full screen map capability or three different things at once, but it is relatively configurable. And you have a screen there which sort of feels modern and technology-ish. Also worth pointing out with this gauge cluster screen, you have a fun little graphic that shows up and an interesting sound that plays. Take a look. Now, beyond that gauge cluster screen, the other screen in this interior is of course the one in the center. And this is the optional larger screen. This car comes standard with a seven inch screen in the center, but this one has the nine inch center screen, which comes with the technology package that you can get if you get the A-spec model. So opt for the A-spec, opt for the tech package, and you get the larger screen. And you also get a lot of other benefits beyond just the bigger screen. One is wireless Apple CarPlay. Wired CarPlay is standard on all Integra models, but wireless comes if you get the tech package and the larger screen. Now, another cool thing about the tech package is it adds an additional drive mode and a good one. All Integra models come standard with three drive modes, comfort, sport, and normal. But if you upgrade to the tech package, you also get an individual drive mode where you can configure various different items based on what you want. Then you climb in the car, tap individual, and you're in your custom drive mode. Now, one cool thing about this individual drive mode is you can configure auto start-stop to turn on or off. Some people don't like auto start-stop, the feature that shuts the car off, like when you're stopped at a red light in order to save fuel. So you can program into your individual drive mode that you can turn it off if you want, which is interesting. Rare to see auto start-stop be configurable and linked to an individual drive mode, but in this car, it is. Now, next up, another cool feature of the tech package is the sound system in this car, which comes with 16 speakers, which is just insane. Cars are adding more and more speakers to their optional sound systems. This car has 16 if you get the tech package. And in order to cram 16 speakers into this little car, there are some speakers in odd places, including directly above you in the driver's seat, there's a speaker here next to the grab handle and another one over on the passenger side in the same spot, 16 speaker stereo with the tech package in this car. And of course, another upgrade with the tech package is the manual transmission. Like I said, you can only get the manual if you upgrade to the A-spec and the tech package, then the manual is optional. Although Acura points out it is a no cost option versus the automatic. So you can choose manual or automatic for free. And of course this is the manual. One other feature you get with the tech package, these cool seats that have suede seat centers, which look very nice, very luxurious. They're included with the upgraded power seats and memory seats. You also have a better look and design of the seats that comes along with the tech package. But anyway, next up more quirks and features in here. One is changes compared to the Civic. Now I already went over upgrades, the Integra versus the Civic Si, and there are quite a few, but you still do have some Civic in this interior. For instance, the climate controls pretty much lifted straight out of the Civic. And if you've been in the new Civic, you'll recognize them instantly. Haven't really changed for the Acura. Same deal with like the stalks coming off the steering column turn signal, windshield wiper. They're also from the new Civic. And that's also true of various buttons and switches throughout the car, like power windows and that sort of thing. It's a lot of Honda stuff in here. Some things they didn't change. Now, one notable change comes to the climate vents. Honda has like one giant climate vent looking thing going across the entire dashboard. Not so in the new Integra, you don't have that. They've gotten rid of it, but they did keep the cool joystick climate control vent adjusters, which are rather neat and interesting. And I frankly like playing with them. So I'm glad this car has them. And speaking of things retained from the Civic, I love this gear lever, this gear selector, which is also used in the Civic Si. And this design is meant to mimic the one used in the old school Integra Type R and Civic Type R back in the 90s. Sort of this small upright cylinder for gear changes. And I think that throwback is quite cool. Now, speaking of the Type R, I asked Acura about the future of this car. Will there be a Type R or at least a Type S? And they didn't say anything, which makes sense. The automakers never want to announce a car before they're ready to announce it. But I suspect there are higher performance versions coming of the new Integra. Now, whether it'll be a Type R or just sort of a dialed back Type S remains to be seen, but something's coming. They did a Type S version of the MDX. So they're certainly gonna do one of this car. It probably won't be for a while, but I strongly suspect it's on the way. Either way, for right now, Acura is more focused on launching this vehicle, the base model Integra and the A-spec. And we'll find out eventually whether higher performance versions are coming. And by the way, one other A-spec item worth pointing out in here, there are a few interior details unique to A-spec models. Badging is one, you have it on the door sill when you open the door, which looks cool. And at the base of the steering wheel, you have another A-spec badge, but it's also stitching. You can see around the steering wheel rim, you have some nice sporty looking stitching that matches the interior. And on the gear selector, you can see here some more nice sporty looking stitching that helps class up the interior a bit compared to a standard Integra model. But anyway, next we move on to the back seat, which I have to say is surprisingly roomy. It's kind of impressive back here, how much space there is, at least for knees and legs, a lot more than you'd expect from a traditional compact car and way more than what you get in the Civic. Like I said, Integra's a little bit bigger than the Civic, and you could feel that back here. You definitely have more leg and knee space, even enough room for larger adults, which is pretty nice. Now, one drawback back here is headroom. When I sit up straight, my head is right up against the ceiling, pushing into it. And that's kind of a reality of this sloping roof line. It certainly does rob a little headroom back here, but still, I'm surprised how much space you have in back. Now, a few other items worth pointing out in back. One, you get two USB ports back here. This is part of the technology package. If you don't get that package, you don't get any USBs, but with it, you get some charge ports, which is nice. However, no climate vents back here. You can see a big space where they might be, but they aren't. No rear seat climate controls and no climate vents. You're just stuck with whatever the front seat occupants do. Next up, another notable item in the back is car seats. In a lot of cars, it's kind of difficult to find the car seat anchors at the bottom of the seat back. They're difficult to access, but here, it's quite easy. You just fold forward this leather panel and then there they are. Your car seat anchor is very easy to attach your seat, but if you don't want the car seat or if you take it out, just fold the leather panel back and the seat looks like it never had those anchors at all. Makes it pretty practical and easy. But anyway, next we move on to the cargo area. In order to open the tailgate, I stick my hand into the little Integra RSX bumper cutout and I press a little rubber electronic popper and then I open up the tailgate and you can see into the cargo area. Now, pretty good size cargo area back here. It's pretty impressive and practical for a car in this size and segment, although I will say the height to get items in here is pretty tall. You can see you gotta lift stuff all the way over the bumper, the license plate. It's pretty high, especially if you're carrying something heavy. Not incredibly easy, particularly for a compact car rather than SUV or a crossover. But anyway, speaking of the cargo area, if you want more cargo space, you can get it by folding down the rear seats, of course, which is pretty easy. You just have these latches on the side of the seats, you pull and then the seat folds down flat. And you see with both seats folded down, you do have a pretty large cargo space back here, which makes this car pretty practical. Now, as for its hatchbackness, Acura told me there were several reasons they wanted to make the new Integra a hatchback. Obviously, the Civic Si is only offered as a sedan, so making this a hatch gives it an advantage, but there's more than that. One is heritage. The old Integra was offered as a sedan or a hatchback, but the hatch is the best known model. It's the one that everybody thinks about. And so it made sense to revive the Integra name with a hatchback. But there's also the practicality component, particularly against crossovers. In the modern era, 2022, everybody wants a crossover. So if you're launching a brand new car, it better have some features to compete with crossovers like a hatchback, which gives it some of the appeal and practicality that people expect from a crossover. And next up, final item back here, you do have a cargo cover. You can see it here, sort of attached to the rear window, to the tailgate. It is removable, but Acura pointed out that it's also mesh, which means you can put some larger items back here and it'll sort of fold to conform to their shape and size. So you don't have to remove it if there's something too big for the cargo cover. It'll just sort of push through it as opposed to a hard plastic cargo cover, which you gotta take out if you have something big in back. And finally, let's talk competitors. Like I said, this car will be priced around $30,000 to start, mid thirties for a fully spec'd, well-equipped version, which puts it in competition with the Audi A3, the BMW 2 Series Grand Coupe, and the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Interestingly, this is really the only non-European car in this segment. No rivals from Japan, Korea, America. There's just not that much interest in entry-level luxury cars anymore. Most of these buyers have turned to crossovers. So this is kind of an interesting decision, but there are still a few models and this compares relatively favorably from a pricing standpoint. Like I said, mid thirties for the best version of this, that's where most of the rivals start. And this includes a lot of stuff that those cars don't have. Standard on every Integra is a long list of safety features, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist. That's on every Integra. And those are options on some competitors that cost more. So this car certainly wins the value proposition, although the Acura brand name, not as strong as Audi, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz. So some people will be willing to pay more even though they're getting less features just because they want a stronger brand name. Which is kind of the history of consumer products. And so that's the new 2023 Acura Integra. The ILX has not been a tremendously popular or successful car for Acura. So it makes sense to revive this iconic name from Acura's past in order to drum up some more interest in this car. And based on the reception so far, it seems like it's worked. This has certainly captured the attention of a lot of nostalgic nineties car enthusiasts. Now, like I said, I can't drive the new Integra just yet, but it's coming out later this spring and I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel soon. But for now, that's a thorough tour of the new Acura Integra.