Driving Impressions
reviewed by
The Integra steers crisply and always feels connected to the road. With only 2,600 pounds of car to propel, the standard engine delivers decent performance. But we love the urgency--and high-tech sound--of the wonderful VTEC engine. That's why we chose a GS-R for this evaluation.
The GS-R claws to 60 mph in a little more than 8 seconds, emitting a determined, high-tech snarl in the process. The 5-speed gearbox shifts precisely. The foot pedal layout encourages heel-and-toe downshifting and the variable assist power steering provided just the right blend of effort and road feel.
Like all Acura and Honda automobiles, the Integras employ Honda's control arm suspension system, with common spring and shock absorber damping rates right across the board. GS and GS-R models get a heavier front antiroll bar, along with more aggressive tires on 15-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.
Handling response is quick and precise. Yet the ride quality is comforable. That may be one of the reasons for the Integra's ongoing popularity: it is sporty, without being harsh. The suspension compliance that goes with a relatively smooth ride, by sporty car standards, shows up as body roll in really hard cornering, and we know from driving at the limit on various race tracks that the Integra GS-R isn't quite as agile as a Honda Prelude.
On a race track the Integra tends toward understeer, but this is easily managed by lifting off the throttle or trail-braking into tight corners to transfer grip to the front tires and rotate the rear. Body roll limits cornering potential to just below that of the Honda Prelude. The payoff for this concession is superb ride quality. The suspension feels firm, but never jarring. The steering strikes an ideal balance between power assist and sufficient road feel. Your daily rounds probably include a lot more commuting than autocross maneuvers, and feeling every pothole and tar strip isn't really that much fun.
Yet when it's time to let the tachometer wind up on a sinuous country road, the GS-R gives a great account of itself with performance that is superior to what most sport coupes in this size class offer. That it's able to do so without making the owner suffer in everyday driving is a tribute to the suspension engineers.
If you dislike these compromises, there's always the Integra Type R. Add 25 hp to the GS-R package, take away most of the comfort compromises, and you have an almost-race-ready white-on-white screamer that's just born to be wild. Integra Type R's torque peak comes on at 7500 rpm--that's torque, not horsepower--while horsepower, all 195, tops out at a dizzying 8000 rpm. That's a high-revving motor. That output works out to more than 108 horsepower per liter, a power-to-weight ratio no other normally aspirated car can match.
The slightly outrageous Type R is just about the hottest thing going in this class, but it's not for everyone and Acura plans to import only 500 this year.
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