We’re on file as being large followers of the Honda Civic Kind R. The Kind 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 overlook its standout Lightning Lap efficiency, whereby it grew to become 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 Kind R is on circuit and canyon street alike, it is not excellent. The 2024 Acura Integra Kind S, alternatively, simply is perhaps. It retains all of the performance-driving goodness of the Kind R, however neatly rounds off a lot of its daily-driving tough edges. Its major disadvantage is the $51,995 value, which outpaces the 2023 Kind R by some $7105. The determine makes extra sense once 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 Kind 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 unhealthy factor. The Integra nonetheless pulls mightily out of corners, with the Kind R’s helical limited-slip entrance differential and intelligent dual-axis strut entrance suspension absolving the Kind S powertrain of any of the standard high-horsepower front-wheel-drive sins.

The fortunately necessary six-speed handbook gearbox feels as surgical and exact as ever, however Acura has made one change we absolutely help. The Kind 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 remains to be engraved metallic, so you may model your palm in case you shift like an ape, and decided masochists can go for a dealer-installed all-metal titanium substitute. Consequently, wounded Kind R house owners can now go to an Acura components counter for reduction.

A lot of the Kind S’s dynamic goodness derives from the shared platform utilizing the identical floorpan, firewall, and suspension exhausting factors. The suspension itself and the adaptive dampers are additionally equivalent from a {hardware} standpoint. All the varied 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 any case 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, and so they account for a lot of the sting smoothing we hinted at earlier. For individuals who puzzled what a Kind R with a couple of dozen additional kilos of sound insulation could be like, the Integra Kind S supplies a solution. Acura claims that this Integra’s weight is 36 kilos heavier than a Kind R. The Integra has extra flooring 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. Actually, Sport+ would possibly now be the ticket at Lightning Lap, one thing our man Tony Quiroga opted towards when he set the fast time within the Kind R. The electrical power-steering help maps have additionally been retuned, and whereas response remains to be razor sharp in all three drive modes, Consolation’s effort ranges at the moment are a tad lighter than we choose.

The mixed impact of all of it is a extra fluid and settled each day driver. The Kind S would not really feel prefer it’s being chained down towards its will to endure the roughest bits of tarmac with dampers unable to catch their breath and return to middle. And regardless of the equivalent footwear, much less tire noise finds your ears. Sport and Sport+ aren’t out of the query on damaged pavement, though the Consolation damper setting remains to be a lot 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 Kind 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 Kind S, alternatively, was optimized across the thought of sporty avenue driving. The interpretation is not as sleek, however S is for Avenue Sports activities, or one thing.

Provided that imaginative and prescient, different Kind S variations begin to make sense. In contrast with the Kind R, it flies below 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 is perhaps much less helmet-friendly for very tall drivers, there’s nonetheless loads of it. What’s extra, purple with black is not the only real inside theme—Ebony and Orchid with black can be found too.

On high of that, the LogR knowledge logger is absent, and the steadiness management lacks competitors and absolutely defeatable settings. The Kind S does get a typical 16-speaker ELS Studio premium audio system, and it sounds improbable. However that is not the one good noise, as a result of the Kind S has a modified exhaust that lacks the Kind 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 manner the Kind R cannot match. The rationale? Honda’s Kind R is offered throughout the globe, and a few markets get sensitive about such issues. Acura’s Kind S is destined just for North America.

The Honda Civic Kind R is an absolute blast that we like to demise. However the Acura Integra Kind S offers the identical thrills to almost the identical diploma in a extra grown-up package deal that we may stay with for the lengthy haul.

Technical Editor

Dan Edmunds was born into the world of cars, however not the way you would possibly suppose. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building store, the place Dan minimize his enamel as a metallic fabricator. Engineering college adopted, then SCCA Showroom Inventory racing, and that mixture landed him suspension growth 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.