Pros :
- Naturally aspirated engine gets bump up in horsepower.
- Great handler for a front-wheel-drive chassis.
- Subtle but still aggressive body kit.
- Gradual power build-up along rpm range with new i-VTEC.
- Larger interior than previous model.
Cons :
- Loses double wishbone front suspension in favor of a strut setup.
- Looks a little too tall for a sports car.
- Needs to rev very hard to produce maximum power.
- Needs total concentration during hard driving.
- Only sold in Japan...for now.
Press Coverage :
In Japan, an Acura is called a Honda, and the RSX is still known as the Integra. Based on the 2001 Honda Civic platform, the 2002 Integra is a sportier, more upscale two-door hatch. They like to simplify things, those Japanese. We fancy it for its blend of performance and luxurious touches, such as automatic climate control and an in-dash CD player, although we mourned the loss of the front double wishbone suspension configuration.
Alas, they kept the performance version of the 2002 Integra for themselves. We in the States get the sport-oriented Type-S making 200 horsepower, but the home market has the choice of getting the Type-R, geared toward the racing crowd. The 2.0-liter iVTEC engine is further massaged to make 20 extra horses, for a total of 220 in the Type-R. Inside, you'll notice the differences between the two by the red or blue Recaro bucket seats that ensure you don't get tossed about in the cabin and the Momo leather-wrapped steering wheel.
Shod with 17-inch wheels covered in 205/45ZR low-profile tires, the Type-R sports a host of amendments from the Type-S. Front and rear skirts for the airdam, and rocker panel extensions visually lower the profile. The rear spoiler is higher than on the Type-S, and, of course, the badging is instantly recognizable.
Why should you care?
The Honda Integra Type-R will probably go on sale in America sometime. Waiting just increases the anticipation.
Edmunds.com
You'll see that the Integra is more responsive right across the rev range in every gear except, oddly, sixth. Performance only gets you so far, though. The Integra has the same wheelbase as the Civic Type-R but is almost 250mm (5in) longer nose to tail, some 35mm (1.4in) lower and its wheels tracks are slightly wider. Positive differences. They share the same suspension, with MacPherson struts up front (Honda has resisted fitting them for years in place of its beloved double wishbones) and a quasi-double wishbone set-up at the rear. The extra you pay for the Integra does buy you some premium features, though – a Torsen limited slip differential and a Brembo braking system.
The Integra feels instantly different to the Civic, and for exactly the reasons you expect. You drop down into its lower-built bodyshell and find yourself at the centre of things, the blood red Recaro gripping your hips more assertively and the more stylish facia wrapping around you. This is one of Honda's best cockpits; busy but not cluttered, sporty with its silver dials, but not overblown. The materials chosen are a definite cut above the Civic's, too.
Clamped into the Integra, it feels as if you're sitting three feet lower than in the Civic, yet chasing the hatchback's square rump shows that it's only a matter of a few inches. Still, as any race car engineer will tell you, the lower you can get the major masses – engine, gearbox, driver – the better a car will handle.
The Integra does feel better configured for snicking in and out of bends but it's that Torsen diff that's responsible for the very different feel. It's quite forceful in its action and the Integra's steering is already a good few shades heavier than the Civic's. You need to apply more muscle to turn in and then keep up the pressure as you power through because if the inside wheel loses grip, say because it has hopped over a mid-bend bump, the Torsen responds instantly. In a front-driver with a free diff like the Civic, that bump will result in a smidge of understeer and a lightening of steering weight as drive escapes as slip. But with a Torsen, drive isn't allowed to escape; the diff diverts drive to the outside wheel, and the car tugs into the apex.
This takes time to get used to. Under full power the Integra feels quite willful down your average British B-road (are roads smoother in Japan?), especially in the damp, because until you've dialled into it, every time you expect the Integra to understeer wide it seems to find an invisible lamp-post to hook its arm around. On a track, where everything is smooth and predictable, I'm sure the Torsen is a boon, but in the unpredictable world of road driving, the simple, predictable reactions of the Civic are easier to exploit.
To be honest, in the dry the cornering speeds of the two Type-Rs really aren't so different, either. As far as is prudent to push them on-road, neither car makes a great play of getting the tail mobile to assist turn-in or mid-corner balance. The Integra finds more bite, sure, but the inside front tyre of the Civic rarely spins up, and when it does you're expect it to, so you cut a tighter line accordingly.
Evo.co.uk
History:
1997-2001 Honda Integra Type-R
1,797 cc / 195 hp / 130 lb-ft / 2639 lbs / 0-60 mph 6.2 sec.
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