It’s a cop-out transfer to say there received’t be a loser in a comparability check between two vehicles, however when the pair is as comparable to one another as these are right here, it wouldn’t be a stunning conclusion. However we’re not cop-outs, and there’s a winner to be picked between the Honda Civic Kind R and Acura Integra Kind S.
Anyone purchasing for one ought to deeply think about the opposite. Even when you’re a hardcore Kind R homer, you’re assured to search out objective and positives within the Kind S. Unusually, it’s the Acura that comes throughout as extra boy-racer in individual. Certain, it doesn’t have a giant wing, however the stuck-on-looking widebody, muscular hood vent, dramatized rear diffuser and obtainable bronze wheels lend it a tough edge that the smoothed-over Kind R simply doesn’t match. The Civic speaks efficiency extra subtly with flowing fenders, a smaller grille and simplified design language. All the things is purposeful, and it scratches a sure sort of itch the Kind S doesn’t fairly attain.
That Honda and Acura supply each of those vehicles in any respect is a blessing in itself – there wasn’t a Civic Kind R within the U.S. lineup previous to 2017 and it’s important to return to 2001 for the final Integra Kind R. To say it’s time to be a Honda fanatic can be an understatement.
2nd Place: Acura Integra Kind S
The Kind S doesn’t earn its second-place standing as a consequence of it being demonstrably worse to drive than the Civic Kind R. Arguably, the Kind S is the superior automobile to drive once you’re away from a racetrack or pristine pavement. No, the principle purpose it fell was as a result of it didn’t fairly dwell as much as the promise of being a extra daily-driver-ready, “luxurious” model of Honda’s hottest hatchback.
The Integra Kind S has energy seats, however not the memory-programmable ones that come on the non-Kind S. It makes use of the weird four-seat configuration of the Kind R as an alternative of constructing itself a extra helpful five-seater like different Integras. The backseat expertise is hardly luxurious both, as Acura doesn’t embrace rear vents or USB ports for charging, limiting its use as a child hauler. There’s no sunroof obtainable, not whilst an possibility like on the usual Integra. You possibly can even make an argument that the Integra’s inside trim isn’t as good because the Kind R’s, as Acura plasters piano black and a plasticky grey materials throughout versus the Kind R’s candy steel weave gear encompass and flat black sprint trim accented by racy crimson LEDs.
The value delta between the 2 vehicles is $6,105, which buys you 5 further horsepower, the aforementioned energy driver’s seat, heated entrance seats (coated in leather-based and suede), a head-up show, ELS 16-speaker audio system and full LED exterior lights. After all, it drives a little bit otherwise, too, with an improved trip through a damper tune that makes on a regular basis driving extra civil. The softer tune (in each drive mode) versus the Kind R hardly appears to decrease its dealing with expertise on the highway, although it makes attending to and from the canyons extra nice.
Bumpier roads are dispatched with much less violent bouncing or skipping round, making the automotive simpler to drive rapidly in these conditions. We didn’t convey the pair to a monitor, however the distinction there in trip management is sure to be minute, with the Kind R taking a slight edge as a consequence of its stiffer suspension and large wing for larger stability.
You might not discover the Acura’s further 5 horsepower (its 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four produces 320 hp and 310 pound-feet of torque), however its meatier torque curve within the low- and mid-range means you would possibly discover it lighting up the entrance tires earlier or exhibiting a smidgen extra torque steer accelerating via a nook. It’s not essentially a foul factor, however these are the tiny variations you discover when driving the 2 back-to-back on the identical roads.
What’s abundantly clear instantly is how a lot better the Kind S sounds from the manufacturing facility. Acura suits a extra aggressive exhaust and pairs it with an engine tune that produces an array of pops and bangs once you swap it into the extra aggressive drive modes. The Kind R simply sounds boring compared.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out the larger improvement prices and a focus to element paid to the Kind R’s exterior design. Honda went out of its solution to engineer a brand new rear door on the Kind R that completely flows with its a lot wider rear fenders, making a seamless and clear search for these rear hips. Acura, alternatively, went full Hellcat with the Kind S and fairly actually caught on some wide-body flares to the identical rear door that’s fitted to every other Integra. It comes off as low cost in comparison with the Kind R’s way more elegant answer, and we’d wager Acura’s design crew needs it have been capable of pull off the identical feat.
First Place: Honda Civic Kind R
The added gravitas of driving a Kind R smacks you within the face from the second you slide into the high-bolstered buckets that put the Integra’s extra sedate seats to disgrace. Its crimson carpet, crimson seats, crimson Honda badge and the numbered plaque on the sprint guarantee you already know this front-drive sizzling hatch isn’t like different Hondas. Then you definately hearth the automotive up, and the hits maintain coming. Shift lights arc throughout the highest of the instrument cluster in race automotive fashion, and a beeeep performs out conveniently at redline in case you end up so engrossed within the dealing with that you just neglect to search out the following gear. A novel digital cluster view amps up the environment with a horizontal tachometer and all of the important temperature knowledge one would possibly want on the monitor (to not point out the LogR app that Acura doesn’t supply).
These are all main pluses for the Kind R over the Kind S, and for the hardcore fanatic, maybe convincing sufficient to make you move up the Integra’s varied niceties. The Civic hardly wants these “upgrades” anyway, because the suede seats don’t get chilly like leather-based in winter, and Honda installs a really respectable Bose audio system within the Kind R that’s nice to hearken to already.
However these vehicles are about driving, and the Kind R does that half higher than every other front-drive manufacturing automobile on the planet. The transmissions could be an identical, however the Kind R’s knob and shift really feel is a bit sturdier and strong than the Kind S shifter. Each of those vehicles are about as severe and unflappable in corners because it will get, although it’s not possible to overlook the slight little bit of added stability from the Kind R in lengthy sweepers. The Honda’s aero bundle is visibly way more intense than the Integra’s, and we wouldn’t doubt if it’s making the Kind R really feel simply that little bit extra glued to the highway, as it would absolutely do on the monitor.
The one space the place the Kind R struggles in comparison with the Integra is on significantly bumpy stretches that present simply how stiff the suspension is. It’s right here that we’d somewhat be wheeling the Kind S to higher sop up the massive highway undulations and imperfections that find yourself jostling you round within the Kind R. You don’t essentially lose tire contact patch and grip, nevertheless it certain does shake a driver’s confidence to drive rapidly.
Sound will at all times be subjective, and it might even be a dealbreaker between these two. The Kind R’s exhaust sounds wonderful outdoors the automotive, however you received’t hear something over the blaring simulated engine noise inside. It’s simply not as pleasant to hearken to because the crackly and rorty tone exiting the Acura’s triple ideas. If sound is what you need, although, that’s simply solved with an aftermarket exhaust that’ll out-trumpet the Integra’s inventory pipes.
These two are so much like drive that the one approach you’ll find yourself liking one’s driving traits greater than the opposite is by nit-picking minute (generally ridiculous) particulars. The Civic’s stiffer dampers make it really feel the tiniest bit sharper on a smooth-as-glass highway. The brakes? Effectively, they’re precisely the identical and also you received’t discover a distinction. Sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires give each vehicles an equal quantity of grip, and good luck looking for a distinction in acceleration. The Integra has 5 further horsepower, nevertheless it additionally weighs 31 kilos extra. You’d be hard-pressed to inform a distinction in a race with out a stopwatch. Each vehicles use the identical aggressive limited-slip differential that yanks you thru a nook and brake-based torque vectoring that helps pivot you thru any twist and switch with alacrity. Visibility out of the Civic is a smidgen higher, however once more, nit-picking.
What this comparability comes all the way down to greater than the rest is worth, appears and simply how spicy you need your FWD Honda expertise to be. If you happen to can afford each, purchase the one you like the appears of essentially the most. Objectively, although, the Kind R’s decrease beginning value makes it robust to offer the nod to the Integra – particularly when the Civic entices you with these lovely and near-perfect crimson seats. And whereas many are unlikely to care, the Kind R’s hatchbacked cargo space is superior to the Integra’s. Not solely is it larger, however the Acura’s annoyingly excessive liftover top makes it arduous to hoist issues inside.
If Acura added just a few extra luxurious options and gave it some correct bucket seats, this dialog could possibly be a little bit nearer to a real tie or even perhaps an Integra victory. And if Honda continues to tick the Kind R’s value upwards, the worth proposition might dwindle additional. However Honda and the Kind R deserve the nod as we speak, which solely appears becoming. The Kind R needs to be the most effective front-drive fanatic automobile on the earth, and it fulfills the prophecy.