In order for you a two-liter Honda with a turbo, a six-speed guide, and a chassis that’s an absolute riot to whip round, you’ve two actual choices: The Honda Civic Kind R and the Acura Integra Kind S. Deciding between them may be troublesome, although. With lower than $10,000 separating the 2 — and that’s earlier than vendor markups — why would you go for the extra barebones Civic over the gorgeous show of spec-sheet-destroying perfection that’s the Integra?
Nicely, it’s easy. You purchase the Integra Kind S if you would like a automobile that’s higher each objectively and subjectively, with its bevy of options and genuinely wonderful character. You purchase the Civic Kind R should you’re only a teenage dirtbag, child.
Full Disclosure: Honda loaned me a Civic Kind R for a protracted weekend gallivanting round New England. I returned it simply as good as I discovered it, as a result of I’m thoughtful like that.
The Civic Kind R will not be, as you may think, a far cry from the Integra Kind S. Not solely do the 2 automobiles share an engine, transmission, and chassis, however the important numbers are almost similar between the 2. The turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 makes 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque within the Civic, versus 320 hp and 310 lb-ft for the Integra. Gear ratios are the identical all the way down to the ultimate drive, and the 2 solely differ by a mere 31 kilos of curb weight — 3,188 for the Civic, 3,219 for the Integra.
Should you had been to place a robotic behind the wheel of every automobile, it could verify that the 2 drive a lot alike. Steering really feel, throttle response, brake suggestions; none of it’s all that completely different between the Honda and Acura in goal, measurable methods. However pull a human being from the Integra’s leather-trimmed seats and put them within the Civic’s vibrant crimson temple to automotive shenanigans, and also you’ll be instructed the Honda is the extra aggressive of the 2. The Integra enjoys being pushed arduous, however the Civic begs for it.
Put the Civic in first at a useless cease, dump the clutch, and also you’ll end up barely shifting — the entrance wheels merely is not going to hook up when requested to deal with the automobile’s most torque. Second gear will get you shifting, lastly letting you expertise the total pressure of turbocharged VTEC, and third shortly will get you into speeds that you just shouldn’t be happening public roads. With how keen the engine is to rev, fourth and above may be thought-about freeway fuel-sipper gears, or just ornamental.
When it’s worthwhile to decelerate from these speeds you’ll be handled to among the greatest brakes this facet of a six-figure price ticket. The four-piston Brembos up entrance echo the seatbelt-tensioning pressure of the Focus RS, which stays a benchmark for warm hatch braking efficiency. Throw the Civic right into a nook, and the entrance is unshakeable. Ask for an angle, and also you’ll get it with out grievance. Throw the automobile in more durable, and also you’ll begin to lose traction on the rear first — a function of the automobile that also astounds me, even all this time after my first observe drive. Entrance-wheel drive merely shouldn’t be capable of really feel like this, and but it does.
The driving expertise, although, will not be why you purchase the Civic Kind R over the Integra Kind S. Odd as that sounds, the Civic and the Integra don’t differ a lot in functionality till you’re effectively over the authorized restrict — a restrict that’s doubtless closely enforced on any automobile with such an enormous wing. Whereas the Acura sits undercover in its efficiency, unrecognizable besides to those that discover the Kind S’ flared fenders, the Civic is unapologetic about what it’s. It’s a tuner automobile, for hanging out together with your tuner mates.
In a Civic Kind R, Corvettes will play with you on the freeway. GTI homeowners will stare at your automobile, not theirs, as they stroll from the parking zone to the grocery retailer. You’ll make eye contact with the driving force of each modified automobile you see on the road, as a result of they’ll all be observing your Civic. The Kind R is thought, it’s famend, and folks get it. It’s a sign.
Suppose again to that third verse of Teenage Dirtbag, when the narrator is lastly approached by the woman of his desires. Her first traces within the track aren’t a praise, they aren’t flirtation, they’re a suggestion of tickets to Iron Maiden — the band the singer’s been mentioning the entire track. Beneath all of the eager for the new woman within the class, the need for the promenade queen, that narrator above all else desires somebody like him to be with.
The Honda Civic Kind R will assist you discover these folks such as you. You’ll come out to neighboring parking areas populated with modified WRXes and Preludes, you’ll be the hit of the Thursday night time Starbucks parking zone meets. The Kind R is a teenage dirtbag, child, such as you — and all these new tuner mates you’re about to have.
