We’re on report as being enormous followers of the Honda Civic Sort R. The Sort R helped put the Civic onto our 10Best checklist. It additionally topped the Toyota GR Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf R in our GRRR hot-hatch comparo, and by no small margin. And who amongst us may neglect its standout Lightning Lap efficiency, whereby it turned the occasion’s all-time quickest front-driver and the primary of that species to interrupt the three-minute mark?

As fast and rewarding because the Sort R is on circuit and canyon street alike, it is not good. The 2024 Acura Integra Sort S, however, simply could be. It retains all of the performance-driving goodness of the Sort R, however neatly rounds off a lot of its daily-driving tough edges. Its foremost disadvantage is the $51,995 value, which outpaces the 2023 Sort R by some $7105. The determine makes extra sense while you understand that Acura thinks you will cross-shop it with the Audi S3, the BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe, and the Mercedes-AMG CLA35—and possibly you’ll—however these automobiles are all-wheel drive and, crucially, lack a manual-gearbox choice.

Shared Components

Chucking the brand new Integra Sort S between the guardrails alongside Freeway 39 in California, we instantly see that this machine has the identical sharp steering, deft dealing with, and colossal grip as its shoutier Honda sibling. The Acura’s turbocharged 2.0-liter engine has been recalibrated to ship 320 horsepower and a smidge extra part-throttle midrange torque. Reaching peak horsepower requires 93 octane, and on the native 91-octane California brew, we will not level to any distinction—which is not any dangerous factor. The Integra nonetheless pulls mightily out of corners, with the Sort R’s helical limited-slip entrance differential and intelligent dual-axis strut entrance suspension absolving the Sort S powertrain of any of the same old high-horsepower front-wheel-drive sins.

The fortunately necessary six-speed guide gearbox feels as surgical and exact as ever, however Acura has made one change we absolutely assist. The Sort R’s metallic shift knob, which may get sizzling sufficient to cauterize your fingerprints in summer season or freeze-burn them in winter, has been changed with a tactilely satisfying leather-sleeved improve. The shift diagram continues to be engraved metallic, so you may model your palm in the event you shift like an ape, and decided masochists can go for a dealer-installed all-metal titanium substitute. Consequently, wounded Sort R homeowners can now go to an Acura elements counter for aid.

A lot of the Sort S’s dynamic goodness derives from the shared platform utilizing the identical floorpan, firewall, and suspension onerous factors. The suspension itself and the adaptive dampers are additionally similar from a {hardware} standpoint. All the assorted hyperlinks and bushings are shared, and the springs and anti-roll-bar specs are samesies too. As well as, you get the identical 265/30ZR-19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer season tires and boffo brakes that includes four-pot Brembo entrance calipers and two-piece ventilated rotors. In spite of everything of this, it ought to go with out saying that each automobiles share a 107.7-inch wheelbase and broad entrance and rear observe widths of 64.0 and 63.5 inches, respectively.

Key Variations

However there are variations, they usually account for a lot of the sting smoothing we hinted at earlier. For individuals who puzzled what a Sort R with just a few dozen additional kilos of sound insulation could be like, the Integra Sort S supplies a solution. Acura claims that this Integra’s weight is 36 kilos heavier than a Sort R. The Integra has extra ground and firewall insulation, although these supplies do not account for all the distinction. The Integra physique is made up of various stampings and has higher energy and noise-attenuating traits.

What’s extra, the software program controlling the adaptive dampers has been tweaked. An Acura suspension-development engineer tells us the Integra is programmed with much less rebound damping, and it feels prefer it. In truth, Sport+ may now be the ticket at Lightning Lap, one thing our man Tony Quiroga opted towards when he set the fast time within the Sort R. The electrical power-steering help maps have additionally been retuned, and whereas response continues to be razor sharp in all three drive modes, Consolation’s effort ranges at the moment are a tad lighter than we want.

The mixed impact of all of it is a extra fluid and settled each day driver. The Sort S does not really feel prefer it’s being chained down towards its will to undergo the roughest bits of tarmac with dampers unable to catch their breath and return to middle. And regardless of the similar footwear, much less tire noise finds your ears. Sport and Sport+ are usually not out of the query on damaged pavement, though the Consolation damper setting continues to be loads compelling—as long as you customise the Particular person mode to dial up the steering effort.

A part of the Plan

Chief engineer Masashi Iwai laid naked the philosophical variations between the 2 automobiles, and his clarification snaps every little thing we would seen and felt into focus. Basically, the Civic Sort R was conceived with time-attack occasions and observe days in thoughts. It is meant to have the ability to kick ass at Lightning Lap; R is for Racetrack. The Integra Sort S, however, was optimized across the thought of sporty avenue driving. The interpretation is not as swish, however S is for Road Sports activities, or one thing.

On condition that imaginative and prescient, different Sort S variations begin to make sense. In contrast with the Sort R, it flies beneath the radar (gun), with a small lip spoiler as a substitute of a stand-up wing (the carbon extension on our pattern automotive is $950 dealer-installed choice) and extra cleanly built-in (however no much less voluminous) air intakes for the radiators, intercooler, and brake cooling ductwork.

Inside, the perforated seats are barely much less aggressive however no much less grippy, however they do lose their shoulder-harness holes. The motive force will get a 12-way power-adjustable seat, and each entrance chairs are heated. They sit barely increased too, and whereas the ensuing minor discount in entrance headroom could be much less helmet-friendly for very tall drivers, there’s nonetheless loads of it. What’s extra, purple with black is not the only inside theme—Ebony and Orchid with black can be found too.

On high of that, the LogR information logger is absent, and the soundness management lacks competitors and absolutely defeatable settings. The Sort S does get an ordinary 16-speaker ELS Studio premium audio system, and it sounds incredible. However that is not the one good noise, as a result of the Sort S has a modified exhaust that lacks the Sort R’s entrance resonator. The result’s a deeper and fewer kazoo-like tone that is quieter within the Consolation engine mode, however one which growls, spits, and pops in Sport+ in a rowdier method the Sort R cannot match. The explanation? Honda’s Sort R is offered throughout the globe, and a few markets get sensitive about such issues. Acura’s Sort S is destined just for North America.

The Honda Civic Sort R is an absolute blast that we like to dying. However the Acura Integra Sort S provides the identical thrills to just about the identical diploma in a extra grown-up bundle that we may reside with for the lengthy haul.

Technical Editor

Dan Edmunds was born into the world of vehicles, however not the way you may assume. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building store, the place Dan reduce his tooth as a metallic fabricator. Engineering faculty adopted, then SCCA Showroom Inventory racing, and that mixture landed him suspension improvement jobs at two totally different automakers. His writing profession started when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to construct a testing division.