Our Long-Term 2024 Acura Integra Type S Warms Our Cold Hearts
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The days are getting longer, the birds are beginning to sing, and we're anxiously awaiting temperatures consistently warm enough to warrant swapping our long-term Acura Integra Type S back to its sticky Michelin summer tires. Our anticipation should surprise no one, given our affection for this 10Best winner and its awesome driving dynamics. But the mere existence of winter doesn't mean that our ITS has been hibernating for the last few months. Quite the opposite.
Our Acura spent a good chunk of its first 10,000 miles trudging through a grim Michigan winter, its 320 turbocharged horses reaching the ground via two front contact patches. Though, in fairness, our car had some grip assistance in the form of narrower-than-stock 255/35R-18 Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 winter tires ($984 per set at TireRack), which we mounted on 18-inch BBS wheels left over from our 2019 Honda Civic Type R long-termer. Effusive praise in the Acura's logbook only reinforces what we already knew going into this 40,000-mile test: the Integra Type S is a stellar driver's car that blends a bit more refinement—and yes, cost—into the Type R's proven formula.
"The ITS has incredible bandwidth," noted managing news editor Eric Stafford. "It seamlessly switches from a practical four-seat hatchback to an impressive track car." In its regular duty as a commuter vehicle, our editors have heaped praise upon the sublime action of the Acura's six-speed shifter and its easy-to modulate clutch pedal, as well as its relatively conservative design. "It wasn't until I had to broom five inches of snow off the ITS that I appreciated it lacking the Type R's enormous rear wing," wrote technical editor Austin Irwin.
The accolades keep going from there. "I would happily drive this car to work for the rest of my life," read one recent logbook comment. "I just adore this car—the perfect sports sedan for the money," said another. Deputy video editor Carlos Lago went a little deeper when he called the ITS "a helluva deal: it's a budget BMW M3 that happens to be front-wheel drive and has a better manual shifter."
Since our introductory story on the ITS, its long-distance travel has been limited to a couple of treks into Michigan's great white north, including a nighttime SCCA ice race on Ross Lake in the middle of the Lower Peninsula. Despite the traction limitations of its front-drive layout, the Type S acquitted itself well, impressing associate news editor Jack Fitzgerald with its front-end grip and overall stability. Though the knobby Bridgestones did their part, credit also goes to the effectiveness of the car's dual-axis strut-type front suspension and its wonderfully crisp steering. Fitzgerald remarked that the Integra's willingness to produce lift-off oversteer helped preserve precious momentum around icy corners.
A tradeoff for the Blizzaks' traction in wintery conditions is the significant road noise they emit on the highway, exacerbated by Acura's rather modest sound insulation (we recorded a 73-decibel din inside at 70 mph on the stock summer tires). Most of us are content to drown out the racket by cranking up the 16-speaker ELS audio system. However, some drivers have noticed that the car's 9.0-inch touchscreen becomes almost too dim to see when driving at night, regardless of how the display's brightness is adjusted. Our initial thinking leans to a faulty ambient-light sensor or software glitch, but we'll have the dealer investigate it when the car goes in for its first service visit.
As is, our main expenditure continues to be fuel—our 24-mpg observed economy is spot on with its EPA combined estimate but down a smidge from its initial 25-mpg average. Ice racing and winter tires certainly didn't aid matters. The joy we get from working through the Acura's gears isn't helping, either. And that certainly won't change once we reinstall its summer wheels and tires.
Months in Fleet: 7 months Current Mileage: 10,172 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 24 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 12.4 gal Observed Fuel Range: 290 miles Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0 The 2024 Acura Integra Type S, affectionately known as the ITS around C/D headquarters, is somewhat conflicted. On one hand, it's a hot hatchback with serious performance and a spacious cargo hold, just like its red-Honda-badged sibling, the Civic Type R (CTR). Yet, its sleeker design and more mature demeanor imply sports sedan—a premium one at that, depending on how you weigh the worth of its Acura emblems. What does this all mean? We're about to find out, because we just welcomed an ITS into our fleet for an extended 40,000-mile test.
Like the Civic Type R, the sportiest Integra is one of our favorite cars to drive. Both share the same gutsy turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, mandatory six-speed manual transmission, limited-slip front differential, and dual-axis front struts that help them blast out of corners like no other front-wheel-drive cars we've sampled. Like the Honda, this Acura has a 10Best trophy on its mantel, though it did just lose out to its little brother in a comparison test. Sibling rivalries are tough.
The most obvious difference between the two is their styling, the Type R being the boy racer to the Type S's athlete in a sport coat. Many of us are quick to praise the Integra's understated handsomeness, but the disparities run deeper. The ITS rides a tad softer, lending it slightly better compliance over crappy Midwestern roads. It's a bit more powerful than the Honda (320 horsepower to 315), and it also sounds more convincing as a performance car: Its 83-decibel growl at full whack pleases our ears more than the Type R's 88-decibel impression of a vacuum cleaner. Inside, Acura has made a few subtle design alterations and added some nicer materials here and there, plus swapped out the Civic's crimson cloth seats for its own leather- and microfiber-covered chairs.
These revisions are arguably necessary to justify the ITS's starting price of $52,995—some $7105 dearer than the CTR's. The Type S comes loaded with equipment, including heated front seats with power adjustment for the driver, a 10.2-inch digital instrument display, a 9.0-inch touchscreen, and a 530-watt ELS Studio 3D audio system with 16 speakers. Automated emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and other driver aids also are on board. Limited availability precluded us from spec'ing our car in Acura's sizzling Tiger Eye Pearl hue, but our ITS wears Platinum White Pearl ($600) awfully well, and its standard black upholstery is tastefully subdued (Red and Orchid hues are no-cost options for the more adventurous). Our final tally: $53,595.
Once we eased our 3217-pound test car (a mere 34 pounds more than a CTR we previously tested) through its 600-mile break-in period, it posted a 5.1-second 60-mph time at the test track, with the quarter-mile falling in 13.6 seconds at 107 mph—in line with our previous test and only a respective 0.2 and 0.1 second behind (yet 1 mph faster than) its Honda kin. Worth noting is that both cars are similarly difficult to launch: Their engines won't rev beyond 3500 rpm when the car is still, which necessitates careful modulation of the clutch and accelerator pedals to produce the quickest times.
Shod with standard 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires, sized 265/30ZR-19, our Integra orbited the skidpad with 1.02 g's of grip and stopped from 70 and 100 mph in an impressively tidy 145 and 291 feet, respectively. That's some serious stick, which, combined with the car's excellent handling and slick manual shifter, will make for plenty of entertainment in the months ahead. A 73-decibel interior sound reading at 70 mph—the same as the CTR—is a tad noisy for a premium-branded car but not so much that we'll avoid it for longer voyages. In fact, though our car has mostly commuter miles on its clock, a trek to Virginia International Raceway in support of our Lightning Lap event helped bump its average fuel economy to 25 mpg, which is 1 mpg better than its EPA combined estimate.
With no issues or maintenance visits to report yet, our mission now is to accumulate miles and soak in the Integra Type S's experience. Additional comparisons with the Civic Type R are inevitable. But even if we end up preferring one over the other—or can't decide whether the ITS best channels a hot hatch or a sports sedan—we still have 37,276 miles to go with an exceptional driver's car.
Months in Fleet: 2 months Current Mileage: 2724 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 25 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 12.4 gal Observed Fuel Range: 310 miles Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0 Damage and Destruction: $0
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